How Augmented Reality Technology Could Transform Shipping

Augmented Reality (AR) is predicted to be the next technology game-changer to improve business processes and employee performance and it's no wonder many companies are getting excited about its potential.
While virtual reality completely immerses people in a
computer-generated world, AR overlays computer-generated images
on the real world.
A great example of how AR combines the imaginary with the real
world is in the hugely popular AR game Pokémon Go, where people
search for and catch pocket monsters in the real world. This is
one of the most downloaded games ever and analysts predict AR has
the potential to have a similarly dramatic impact on businesses
too.
According to PwC's 2017 Global Digital IQ survey 24 percent of
executives will make a significant investment in AR in the next
three years.
According to PwC, the benefits to be derived are the real-time
delivery of relevant information to employees regardless of
location, the fact it will enable greater flexibility, increased
operational mobility and improved efficiencies.
AR has multiple uses for businesses across virtually any
industry. These include the ability to connect employees in
different global locations, deliver training and education or for
companies to use the technology to increase the efficiency of
product repairs or do demonstrations.
The appetite for AR technology is growing. Data from the
International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that augmented and
virtual reality headset device shipments will reach almost 100
million units in 2021, up nearly 10-fold from the 10.1 million
units shipped in 2016.
Fuelling this demand are the new devices being launched, the
lower price points for devices and the expanding content now
available for consumers and business users, according to IDC. We
believe AR will have a revolutionary impact on the shipping
industry and that it will be the next step on the industry's
digitalization journey.
While shipping companies have traditionally been slow adopters of
technology many are now embracing technology to optimize fleet
management, automate their processes and improve communication
between staff on ships and on shore.
Shipping companies won't want to be left behind as AR becomes the
latest must-have technology to transform business. But what
benefits can companies expect?
Benefits of Augmented Reality
Augmented reality, like any other cutting-edge technology, can
help shipping companies to accelerate and simplify their
processes. It is comparable to switching from pen and paper to a
computer and will provide new tools to execute tasks faster and
more intelligently.
It will also improve the performance of workers. For example, in
the aviation industry it was reported that the use of an AR
headset to help a technician wire a wind turbine's control box
improved a worker's performance by 34 percent on first use.
Rather than immersing us in an alternate universe as virtual
reality does, devices that use augmented reality enhance our
actual surroundings by adding holograms into our field of vision
to interact with. Augmented reality makes it possible to merge
the real and the digital world, creating a mixed reality.
There are nearly unlimited possibilities, especially as the
technology progresses. For example, instead of looking at a GA
plan on a screen, workers could look at the entire ship in 3D on
a table in front of them. They could look at it from all angles,
virtually highlight certain areas or display the main engine
making the interaction feel more natural instead of looking at a
screen.
Using AR-devices means screens and monitors could also become
obsolete, with employees able to access cloud-based data wherever
they are working. Additionally, it will render a lot of hardware
redundant. Just as the smart phone included the functionality of
a lot of gadgets such as camera, telephone, calendar or
calculator, AR devices are one more step forward.
For ship inspections for example, inspectors will no longer need
to take additional equipment with them because the questionnaire
could be displayed directly in the room and pictures could be
taken with the camera within the device. A report from analysts
Forrester says there are tangible benefits to using an AR headset
over a phone or tablet camera feed to obtain information, with
the added advantage of the worker's hands being free.
There are also communication benefits. The industry is already
working on projects that make it possible to have virtual
meetings. Holoportation is a new type of 3D capture technology
that allows high-quality 3D models of people to be reconstructed,
compressed and transmitted anywhere in the world in real time.
When combined with mixed reality displays such as HoloLens, this
technology allows users to see, hear, and interact with remote
participants in 3D as if they are in the room. Communicating and
interacting with remote users will become as natural as
face-to-face communication.
Who will benefit most?
Initially, it's likely that management teams will benefit most
from AR technology because of the possibilities it offers to
display all kinds of operational data, such as the movement of
fleets.
It will probably have the biggest impact on productivity and
training expenses, since it's possible to display instructions
right next to an engine to execute maintenance tasks or provide
general information that is essential for the staff. But
engineers can also benefit by displaying machine parts and simply
highlighting certain areas by gesture, for example for
maintenance purposes. The further the technology advances, the
more areas of application will be found.
Companies may have concerns that AR will be complicated, and that
staff will require extensive training to use it, however, this
isn't necessarily the case. Younger generations tend to be
digitally savvy so are unlikely to have any difficulties getting
started.
Other users might need an introduction to get used to the
headset. Apart from the headset, the technology relies on
software - so it's simply a question of understanding how it
works and getting used to wearing it.
We have been working with Microsoft HoloLens to make this a
reality for the shipping industry and we already implemented ways
to visualize data from our software using this device.
The HoloLens device is the first self-contained, holographic
computer which allows the user to project and interact with
holograms and recent research from analyst firm, CCS Insight
predicted that mixed reality devices like Microsoft's HoloLens
will start gaining sales come 2019, and that 2018 will mark the
start of growth in adoption of AR devices.
We are perhaps still two to five years away from AR devices being
rolled out across the shipping industry, however, companies
should start to investigate and learn about the possibilities, as
we believe this technology will revolutionise the way they will
work in the future.
The Author
Alexander Buchmann was inspired by the release of the first
iPhone to develop a software that would facilitate the complex
processes managed by shipping companies. He founded Hanseaticsoft
in 2009 and developed Cloud Fleet Manager. Since March 2017,
Lloyd's Register one of the world's largest ship classification
societies, holds a share in the software company.
(As published in the November 2017 edition of Maritime
Reporter & Engineering News)
Nov 22, 2017