Use of wearable and augmented reality technologies in industrial maintenance work

Industrial maintenance is an increasingly complex and knowledge intensive field. Although new technologies in maintenance have been studied extensively, their usage is still lacking in the industry. We have studied knowledge-sharing solutions using augmented reality (AR) and wearable technologies in actual industry cases to find out if maintenance technicians find them useful and usable in their everyday work. Two test cases were included: the use of a wearable system consisting of three devices in the crane industry, and the use of AR guidance in the marine industry. In both cases two maintenance technicians tested the technologies and data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and observation. The maintenance technicians were positive towards the use of these technologies in their work. However, some practical issues were raised concerning the simultaneous use of multiple devices and the placement of the devices. A more system-level approach to designing wearable and AR technologies could be applied to ensure their utility in the field. Findings from this study can be used when designing and implementing wearable and AR technologies in maintenance, but also in other industry domains like the manufacturing industry.