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Augmented Reality To Help Mechanics Fix Vehicles
kkleiner writes "ARMAR, or Augmented Reality for Maintenance and Repair, is a head mounted display unit that provides graphic overlays to assist you in making repairs. An Android phone provides an interface to control the graphics you view during the process. Published in IEEE, and recently tested with the United States Marine Corps on an armored turret, ARMAR can cut maintenance times in half by guiding users to the damaged area and displaying 3D animations to demonstrate the appropriate tools and techniques."
That technology looks to be pretty cool and excellent for routine maintenance, but I can see how it would suck for troubleshooting. For example the video in TFA locates a cable and instructs the user to unscrew it. With all that fancy visual stuff going on, it could be easy for the technician to overlook a pushed pin or a pinch in the cable which could be causing a problem. The small screen on a wrist-mounted phone would not be sufficient to display the necessary detail. The solution as-is is not suitable for finer military electronics which are tangled messes of RF hardlines, circuit cards, and even wire-wrapped backplanes. A full-size LCD to the side showing 3-D animation would be much more suitable for that. Additionally,
Which works fine for vehicles, but would totally suck for aircraft. Did the guys who came up with the statistics factor in the time it takes to set up and/or calibrate the camera array? Of course, embedding a few sensors within the vehicle and setting up the display's position with respect to them would be much easier.
How do I use this thing to locate the muffler bearings my service shop says need replacing?
The manifest absurdity of it is too obvious to require explanation
So much for repair certifications like A+ etc, you just need the right headset and the ability to use simple tools apparently :)
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
Now if only there was something like that for the G-Spot. A perfectly overlayed G-Spot. Damn, I'd buy one!
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We are very likely to see people like the major auto manufacturers providing this sort of
thing ONLY to their authorized dealers, and possibly trying to claim that any repair information
of any kind is copyrighted, just like they've done with the diagnostic codes on the black boxes.
I can't comment on military applications, but I do have 30 years experience in mobile equipment and vehicle maintenance and fleet management. Despite the OBD 2, the major vehicle producers are increasingly requiring proprietary information and specialized tools for what could be simple routine repairs and maintenance. The described system could be a boon to technicians but my cynical view is that it will just be turned into another income source for vehicle manufacturers and dealer service departments. On many cars now you can't even change a coolant hose without a substantial investment in a "hose fitting disconnect kit", let alone accessing any non-generic DTCs from OBD2 or CAN. And of course Ford, Honda, GM, Toyota etc. are all different.
Now I finally understand how an ensign with a couple years of starfleet training knows how to repair and operate everything! He's cheating his arse off! Sweet! I want one!
And of course, I'm looking forward to the kama sutra edition coming out next month! "Tickle here."
Based on the pictures, it looks like this thing sticks a few inches off of your face while worn. That could make maintenance in tight areas (read: under low riding cars) a bit of a problem/pain in the ass. I know when I crawl under my little deuce coup, even when the back end is lifted off the ground, My face is about 4 inches under the frame. I think these goggles could make that clearance, but I could easily see this being a problem in other models and in other areas of the vehicle.
It certainly seems like an interesting idea, nonetheless. I would love to see it hit the civilian market at a low enough price. I have to admit, though, that I would be irked if vehicles and other machines began to be designed in such a way that this piece of hardware was near essential to work on them. If it has a low cost, sure, then it might not be a big deal. However, if it has a high cost like some code-readers and is essential to work on your own vehicle, well, that would make me start ranting about my lawn and my Phillips screwdrivers.
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welcome to Windows Mechanical, I see you have picked up a wrench, please wait while Microsoft Clippy WrenchBuddy .NET SP 6 is downloaded.
No children, learn basic electricity, pressure, geometry. Buy a good 2 channel scope. Invest in service manuals.
No mechanic anywhere is going to use this. Most mechanics I work with own Combo 2-channel scope/ 5gas analyzer/ live pcm display. These tools also contain databases of known fixes, connector diagrams, even basic electric theory like Ohms law and hall effect. They dont even use that. They just scan it for codes and look it up on the internet, try something someone has already tried, repeat if that didnt fix it.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Microsoft Virtual Mechanic, I see you picked up a wrench, Please wait while we install Misrosoft Clippy WrenchBuddy .NET SP6
Boeing started using this tech in the early 90's to help assemble cables in aircraft. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality
How long before we get something like this merged with something like Project Natal to give us anywhere, anytime DIY options. Just download the e-version of your flying car's manual and then shove your iPhone into the engine cavity for it to see what's wrong. Then it gives you what you need, how to do it, and then runs a search online to see where you can buy it and for how much. Throw in the possibility of wireless signals from your car's diagnostic system and now you have something!
If this thing knows what the problem is, where the problem is, and how to fix the problem... what exactly does it need a human being for?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
The controllable overlay is not the interesting part; Microvision had such a system several years ago. Google for "microvision nomad expert technician" to find the references. The interesting part is the beacon & camera system that allows the overlay to react to where the user is and what part of the vehicle he is looking at.
It feels like augmented reality is becoming the next buzzword to follow cloud computing. Honda in Japan have had HUD tech for years, where their repair people could identify engine parts. Apparently it made them something like 30% more efficient. Even this article has AR features and is from 2004.
http://www.allbusiness.com/automotive/automotive-trade-motor-vehicle-parts/5531755-1.html
Call me when it can be put inside a contact lense or into the eye permanently, until then it's just a mash of tech we've had for a while.
It's good to know that technology will be helping my car mechanic replace my headlight fluid and reinforce the pushrods on my overhead cams.
Not a typewriter
All this time, I thought "AR" meant "Anal Retentive"!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Yeah and maybe it could help me find the pesky DRL (daytime running lights) module on my F250. Who the heck would put it behind the bumper except Ford?
Or perhaps it would provide appropriate expletives to use while pulling the starter out of a Suzuki JLX.
Kidding aside, I could see the usefulness of a heads-up reference display. It would be great if it also displayed OBD results and test meter readings... oh and would remotely start/operate the vehicle controls while you're stuck under the hood.
What an auto mechanic really needs is a Green Lantern power ring. If you had a power ring, it would make any tool you needed, plus act as a hydraulic lift and all the other stuff you'd find in a well-equipped shop.
Yeah, yeah -- Green Lantern power rings are only supposed to be used for galactic peacekeeping missions. But I'm telling ya, if I ever get my hands on a power ring, that galactic police force has seen the last of me, because I'm busy making a ton of money repairing cars!
-kgj
But this can only work if things are exactly designed to factory spec.
How is it going to handle the fact that my blinker fluid line had to be re-routed to make room for the alarm system? Or I'm now running a hydrogen engine? [soundbyte="Mythbusters - Well there's your problem.mp3" /]Will I have to put everything back so the headset can understand the reality it needs to augment to show me that I need an oil change?
so easy that side show bob can fly them only if he had the room to get up to speed.
As a mechanic/diagnostician myself, I can only see the usefulness of this tech for a certain type of mechanic, the sort that cannot really grasp what they are working on, or the kind that simply does not have diagnostic skills.
Let me explain.
There is simply WAY too much information to store in ones head regarding the intricacies of maintaining/repairing a modern vehicle. There are too many different systems, variations within those systems and, to be quite blunt, too many external variables such as the environment the vehicle is operating in.
That being said, the best approach is to learn how to quickly understand how a system works. You look at what the system is designed to do, then figure out how it does it. Once you understand how it does so, it is FAR easier to understand what is going wrong in that process. A good mechanic understands this and has developed the skills to do this rapidly and fairly accurately. It requires independent thought, a fairly good understanding of physics and a thorough understanding of the process of elimination. It also requires the ability to devise test procedures, i.e., the scientific process, to determine what the problem is (to test ones own theories on what may be the cause of the problem).
The problem is that MANY mechanics lack these basic skills. They rely on flow charts and exact step-by-step procedures that are spelled out in technical manuals (Clymer repair manuals are a good example). If you take these away from them they are completely lost as they have no understanding of how the system actually works, and thus cannot determine WHY it doesn't work.
This is the difference between a good mechanic and a "parts changer".
This technology is for "parts changers", NOT mechanics. Now, understanding that this is primarily a military application, this is understandably a good technology for them as the military LIKES troops that don't think for themselves (Don't believe me? Then explain why they are spending billions trying to replace them with robotics). You can't have officers doing all the wrenching on vehicles.
Basically I foresee one GOOD mechanic in each vehicle pool that goes from vehicle to vehicle doing the diagnosis, then passing the actual repairs onto the other mechanics...all equipped with one of these things...essentially a fancy, very expensive Clymers repair manual.
Very often auto shops have exactly this setup. The "A" techs do the diagnosis and the "B" and "C" techs do the actual parts changing.
All this technology does is replace repair manuals and save the mechanic the trouble of going back and forth between a computer terminal (the current replacement for paper/book manuals) and the vehicle they are working on...and cost the taxpayers billions.
Putting all the paper manuals on eReaders and handing those out would achieve the same thing.
I can imagine this will end up in "Shoot the enemy here or here to kill him." Also available in spanish.
Ceterum censeo Microsoft esse delendam.
I have to show everybody how cool and smart I am because I am a fat neckbeard with a small penis who works at McDonald's.
Since you mentioned it, a Jerk-off might actually be a good idea.
having to make and deal with printouts from alldata is a PITA. It would be vastly better to not have to go anywhere to see the manual. I would be very happy with something less than this system, though; I would like parts I look at to be labeled, bolts and other fasteners to be labeled with their torque specs, fuel, coolant, and oil lines labeled with their direction of flow and so on.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
While this tech is being employed in a vehicular maitenance aspect, it could come in handy for other things as well. For example, for those of us who work in field support for larger entities (ie. huge gov buildings with f-ed up wiring runs thanks to different contractors) could use something like this to help us locate the machines that have open tickets on them on top of diagnosing network issues, etc.
The AR bit would overlay all the wiring runs, hubs, switches, etc. while we are walking around in an attempt to locate the problematic device or cable.