Project Details
Description
Innovate UK aims to stimulate innovation in infrastructure systems. As part of the Infrastructure Systems Round 2 competition, the Augmented WorkEr (AWE) was funded in response to the 'smart' infrastructure strand, focusing on the use of Augmented Reality within Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). Although not funded under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Transforming Construction call, the project aligned with the following core themes:
• Digital information management, tools, systems and standards.
• Modern methods of construction and platform-based approaches.
• Whole-life asset performance, including active buildings.
The AWE System was conceived to support the intelligent design and build of pre-fabricated components within an off-site manufacturing strategy, whilst also improving the whole-life value of built assets. The implementation of a wearable augmented solution, would enable assembly information to be presented in context and just in time. Supported by a series of backend handling applications, the project would demonstrate how cutting-edge technology could be made enterprise ready by creating a pipeline from enterprise ERP / PLM, through to the end user (operator) experience.
The primary goals of the project were to demonstrate how the use of Augmented Reality technology could:
• Help projects to be delivered on time and within budget through a right first-time culture, delivering not only the performance gains in the assembly manufacturing process, but also a substantial reduction in rework and waste.
• Improve cross team collaboration, in particular from design to manufacture, to help drive product quality and provide more accurate and complete asset information for full life cycle and cradle to grave usage.
• Create a more informed operator who is better trained on both the tools and the components being worked on, whilst also fully abreast of the specific Health and Safety requirements of any operation.
The project goals were underpinned by a drive for improved efficiency and productivity that is not unique to the construction sector, and is applicable to other sectors such as transport, energy, manufacturing and medical. Although AWE was tested for modular off-site construction, it was important that it was built in such a way that it could be easily applied to the wider construction industry, as well as to the other sectors listed above. As such the primary goal of the AWE project was to respond to the need of the UK construction sector (and others) to enable and better help them compete in a global market.
• Digital information management, tools, systems and standards.
• Modern methods of construction and platform-based approaches.
• Whole-life asset performance, including active buildings.
The AWE System was conceived to support the intelligent design and build of pre-fabricated components within an off-site manufacturing strategy, whilst also improving the whole-life value of built assets. The implementation of a wearable augmented solution, would enable assembly information to be presented in context and just in time. Supported by a series of backend handling applications, the project would demonstrate how cutting-edge technology could be made enterprise ready by creating a pipeline from enterprise ERP / PLM, through to the end user (operator) experience.
The primary goals of the project were to demonstrate how the use of Augmented Reality technology could:
• Help projects to be delivered on time and within budget through a right first-time culture, delivering not only the performance gains in the assembly manufacturing process, but also a substantial reduction in rework and waste.
• Improve cross team collaboration, in particular from design to manufacture, to help drive product quality and provide more accurate and complete asset information for full life cycle and cradle to grave usage.
• Create a more informed operator who is better trained on both the tools and the components being worked on, whilst also fully abreast of the specific Health and Safety requirements of any operation.
The project goals were underpinned by a drive for improved efficiency and productivity that is not unique to the construction sector, and is applicable to other sectors such as transport, energy, manufacturing and medical. Although AWE was tested for modular off-site construction, it was important that it was built in such a way that it could be easily applied to the wider construction industry, as well as to the other sectors listed above. As such the primary goal of the AWE project was to respond to the need of the UK construction sector (and others) to enable and better help them compete in a global market.
Layman's description
Within the construction industry, both off-site and on-site, quality control and defect prevention are integral to ensuring repeatable, reliable units are fit for public occupancy and abide by set safety standards for these structures, including specific torque values for bolts and fittings throughout the dwellings.
As part of a wider series of work packages; NMIS was tasked with developing a smart tool application with the intention of integrating existing commercially available digital tooling with AR headsets, such as the Hololens 2.
Industrial consortium member Laing O’Rourke had identified some of their internal manufacturing processes for which there would be a requirement for DC tooling for specific off-site manufacturing operations.
The outcome of this solution was a demonstrator capable of wirelessly connecting a Hololens 2 headset to a digital smart torque wrench and controller which allowed management and activation of specific jobs of various torques to be executed and the subsequent data captured.
NMIS also supported the consortium with the report write-up of AWE platform trails and results which were conducted at the AMRC Factory 2050 on a physical Laing O’Rourke demonstrator.
As part of a wider series of work packages; NMIS was tasked with developing a smart tool application with the intention of integrating existing commercially available digital tooling with AR headsets, such as the Hololens 2.
Industrial consortium member Laing O’Rourke had identified some of their internal manufacturing processes for which there would be a requirement for DC tooling for specific off-site manufacturing operations.
The outcome of this solution was a demonstrator capable of wirelessly connecting a Hololens 2 headset to a digital smart torque wrench and controller which allowed management and activation of specific jobs of various torques to be executed and the subsequent data captured.
NMIS also supported the consortium with the report write-up of AWE platform trails and results which were conducted at the AMRC Factory 2050 on a physical Laing O’Rourke demonstrator.
Key findings
The overall project set out to build a suitable platform which would not only interface with existing operational systems, but also provide an AR interface and overlay, by which such data could presented and interacted with harnessing Just in Time principles.
AWE was developed as a cloud based platform, this enables collaborative and secure information management, from multiple sources, including PLM and MES systems, to create a mechanism by which industry can easily plug data sources into, enabling information from previously disparate systems to be handled, translated, optimised, and analysed, ready for delivery in an augmented format.
Working directly with Laing O’Rourke the project acted to identify the user-centred requirements for an assembly process within their pre-fabrication manufacturing facility, before going through a technology led R&D process where a range of technologies were explored and identified.
Having developed the applications, the Laing O’Rourke operatives helped quantify the solution. Trials were conducted over a number of days and showed gains in both the assembly time and the number of non-conformances identified, not just on the paper based baseline, but also the hand held mobile solution developed. When incorporating the broader benefits of both the platform based approach and the heads up, hands free benefits of the technology, it presents a very compelling case for adoption.
Aside from the technology development, the AWE project also worked to deliver a series of baselines enabling future procurement and innovation teams within LoR to utilise the data to develop business cases built on actual ROI data, not hypothetical information.
AWE was developed as a cloud based platform, this enables collaborative and secure information management, from multiple sources, including PLM and MES systems, to create a mechanism by which industry can easily plug data sources into, enabling information from previously disparate systems to be handled, translated, optimised, and analysed, ready for delivery in an augmented format.
Working directly with Laing O’Rourke the project acted to identify the user-centred requirements for an assembly process within their pre-fabrication manufacturing facility, before going through a technology led R&D process where a range of technologies were explored and identified.
Having developed the applications, the Laing O’Rourke operatives helped quantify the solution. Trials were conducted over a number of days and showed gains in both the assembly time and the number of non-conformances identified, not just on the paper based baseline, but also the hand held mobile solution developed. When incorporating the broader benefits of both the platform based approach and the heads up, hands free benefits of the technology, it presents a very compelling case for adoption.
Aside from the technology development, the AWE project also worked to deliver a series of baselines enabling future procurement and innovation teams within LoR to utilise the data to develop business cases built on actual ROI data, not hypothetical information.
Short title | Augmented WorkEr |
---|---|
Acronym | AWE |
Status | Finished |
Effective start/end date | 1/04/19 → 1/03/22 |
Keywords
- virtual reality
- Augmented reality
- Construction
- visualisation
- manufacturing
- tools
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