What challenges have been solved and what was the benefit of it (them)?

For SaarGummi, Industry 4.0 solutions offer the opportunity to explore untapped potential in the most diverse areas of the company, and at the same time, to increase efficiency. Especially information and communication exchange should be internationalized and more efficient with the support of AR technology. In case of problems occurring in the value chain, this solution helps the SaarGummi Group to significantly reduce the reaction time instead of conventional on-site assessment. In addition, it can avoid costly travel and improve therefore the company's CO2 balance.

Highlights of application

The development of Augmented Reality Support Glasses became very necessary with the internationalization of SaarGummi Group as well as with the global expansion of production and development sites. Neither the performance nor the functionalities of the existing solutions on the market can meet the requirement of SaarGummi. Therefore, a customized, efficient, flexible and cost-effective solution was developed in cooperation with a local service provider.

How can the Industry 4.0 solution approach be described?

Based on the EPSON BT-300 AR glasses, a web application has been developed that creates a virtual communication room and at the same time allows the employee to display very easily understandable instructions or information directly in the display, which makes additional interaction beyond conventional communication channels possible.

What impacts do the AR glasses have in the company?

The software and hardware combination makes it possible to globally establish our AR glasses with a reliable, flexible and simple operation. The recorded image data on the glasses is available around the world in real time. Likewise, bidirectional communication between the participants can be achieved by using AR glasses. For SaarGummi Group, this means the in-house services such as repairment of machines could be realized from a different location without incurring travel costs and time delays, and at the same time, strengthening the cooperation between the individual production sites and offices.

With what measures were the solution achieved?

The EPSON BT-300 AR glasses as a product itself did not met the requirements needed by SaarGummi out of the shelve. The AR glasses would be hardly usable for the production environment without the development of a suitable, customer-oriented web application in cooperation with the project partner. Our development focused on fault-tolerant, reliable functionality and the highest-possible user acceptance. To ensure a successful and fluent operation, data speed is an important factor which had to be checked and improved if required.

What else can others learn?

Through the use of state-of-the-art hardware and the successful cooperation with a specialized IT service provider, a communication platform tailor-made for SaarGummi was created. The conventional information sharing and exchange via telephone, web conference or attendance meetings should not be replaced, but meaningfully supplemented. The corresponding documentation in different subjects and areas as well as training courses are additionally necessary in order to increase or ensure the acceptance of the new technology.