Show HN: Augmented Reality Knowledge Management for Facility Maintenance Teams
aircada.com
During the pandemic, we noticed that some technical achievements from Microsoft's Spatial Anchors were finally at a point of opening the door to adoption for a magnitude of AR use cases, that in the past, weren't a viable option. And paired with the processing power and lidar capabilities of new phones, it seemed location based AR finally wasn't a pain in the a%% to use.
Until now, QR codes and advanced computer based setups were required, and just were not worth the effort for most.
But now, all with a mobile device - scan an area, place AR content, then scan that area again and have it show up exactly where you placed it. Awesome.
However, there were still some problems with Microsoft's system. Locating AR content sometimes took 30+ seconds, and cost up to a dollar to do.
So we built on top of their system and managed to cut that cost by about 10x, and increase the speed of locating content by about 10x. And by doing so, the use cases that opened up were quite vast!
With our backgrounds in industrial automation, we set out to address the following problem - The growing industrial skills gap.
The US Department of Labor estimated the 50% of the US workforce was set to retire over the next 5-10 years. In utilities and manufacturing, where turnover is high, this is becoming a huge issue.
Imagine Bob, a senior maintenance technician with 35 years of experience, about to retire. When Bob walks out the door, so do many of his trade secrets in how to operate the facility. After speaking with several managers at these facilities, there is an eery since of panic approaching, where they are wondering how they will transfer Bob's knowledge to the younger generation before it's too late.
Meanwhile, when hiring the younger generation, Bob continually has to hands on train these new hires with the same knowledge over and over again, just to watch them quit a year or so later.
And this is where location based AR can show some real value. If Bob can capture his knowledge and place it next to the machines where it'll live forever, and be accessible in seconds from any mobile phone, it's as if Bob never actually left. Sort of like Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars. New hires will be able to train themselves with the autonomy they so desire, while Bob can continue addressing the facilities larger issues.
Anyway, I appreciate you reading, and I'll finish with this - we'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and or any questions you may have. The market and use cases for what we've built it quite vast, so narrowing it down has been one of the most challenging aspects.