New Research: Real-Time AR-assisted Inspections for Quality and Compliance

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The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) recently published a new research report, “The Adoption of Real-Time AR-assisted Inspections for Quality and Compliance.” The report examines the barriers to adopting Augmented Reality (AR) to assist or enhance inspections for quality and compliance and proposes approaches to addressing them.

“AR-assisted inspections can greatly benefit aerospace and defense, oil and gas, and healthcare industries due to intricate processes and inspection protocols, strict safety and quality compliance guidelines, and the high cost of downtime,” said AREA Executive Director Mark Sage. “AR solutions enhance task performance, reduce mental workload for frontline users, minimize errors, and allow for better utilization of resources.”

The findings reveal several key barriers to AR adoption, categorized into technological, economic, organizational, and regulatory challenges.

The study underscores the multifaceted nature of these barriers, which range from financial and technical constraints to human and regulatory issues. Addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach, including technological advancements, workforce training, regulatory clarity, and user-centric design.

AREA provided recommendations on how organizations can overcome the challenges of AR-assisted inspections:

  • Technological barriers can be mitigated by establishing innovation hubs outside of their IT infrastructure to enable close evaluation of potential AR solutions for quality and compliance inspections.

  • Economic barriers can be addressed by implementing scalable proofs-of-concept (POCs) that show tangible ROI for solutions using data and performance-driven KPIs. This showcases the potential savings and efficiency gains and provides flexible pricing models and financial incentives to lower the initial investment barrier.

  • Organizational barriers require effective change management strategies. These include engaging stakeholders at all levels, providing comprehensive training programs, and designing intuitive, user-friendly AR solutions.

  • Collaboration with governing and compliance bodies to establish clear guidelines and standards for AR-assisted inspections can mitigate regulatory and compliance barriers.

The full report includes a comprehensive view of the factors affecting the adoption and implementation of AR solutions for inspection use cases and a template for measuring the direct impact of AR-assisted inspections. The full report is available to AREA members, and the executive summary can be downloaded on the AREA website.

Industrial IMMERSIVE is a proud AREA Industrial Partner.