Page 27 - Harvard Business Review (November-December, 2017)

automobiles, have been a key feature in elite AR also lets engineers superimpose The logistics giant DHL and a growing
military products, such as fighter jets, for CAD models on physical prototypes to number of other companies are using AR
years and have been adopted in commercial compare how well they match. Volkswagen to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of
aircraft as well. These types of displays is using this technique—which makes the picking process. AR instructions direct
are too expensive and bulky to integrate any difference between the latest design workers to the location of each product to be
into most products, but wearables such as and the prototype visually obvious—to pulled and then suggest the best route to the
smart glasses are a breakthrough interface check alignment in digital design reviews. next product. At DHL this approach has led
with wide-ranging implications for all This improves the accuracy of the quality to fewer errors, more-engaged workers, and
manufacturers. With smart glasses, assurance process, in which engineers productivity gains of 25%. The company is
a user can see an AR display on any product previously had to painstakingly compare now rolling out AR-guided picking globally
enabled to communicate with them. 2-D drawings with prototypes, and makes and testing how AR can enhance other types
If you view a kitchen oven through it five to 10 times faster. of warehouse operations, such as optimizing
smart glasses, for example, you might see We expect that in the near future AR- the position of goods and machines in
a virtual display that shows the baking enabled devices such as phones and smart layouts. Intel is also using AR in warehouses
temperature, the minutes remaining on the glasses, with their embedded cameras, and has achieved a 29% reduction in picking
timer, and the recipe you are following. If accelerometers, GPS, and other sensors, time, with error rates falling to near zero.
you approach your car, an AR display might will increasingly inform product design And the AR application is allowing new Intel
show you that it is locked, that the fuel tank by exposing when, where, and how users workers to immediately achieve picking
is nearly full, and that the left-rear tire’s actually interact with the product—how speeds 15% faster than those of workers
pressure is low. often a certain repair sequence is initiated, who’ve had only traditional training.
Because an AR user interface is purely for example. In this way the AR interface Marketing and sales. AR is redefining
software based and delivered via the cloud, will become an important source of data. the concept of showrooms and product
it can be personalized and can continually Manufacturing. In manufacturing, demonstrations and transforming the
evolve. The incremental cost of providing processes are often complex, requiring customer experience. When customers
such an interface is low, and manufacturers hundreds or even thousands of steps, and can see virtually how products will
also stand to save considerable amounts mistakes are costly. As we’ve learned, AR look or function in a real setting before
when traditional buttons, switches, can deliver just the right information the buying them, they have more-accurate
and dials are removed. Every product moment it’s needed to factory workers on expectations, more confidence about their
manufacturer needs to carefully consider assembly lines, reducing errors, enhancing purchase decisions, and greater product
the disruptive impact that this next- efficiency, and improving productivity. satisfaction. Down the road, AR may even
generation interface may have on its In factories, AR can also capture reduce the need for brick-and-mortar stores
offering and competitive positioning. information from automation and control and showrooms altogether.
AR and the value chain. The effects systems, secondary sensors, and asset When products can be configured with
of AR can already be seen across the value management systems and make visible different features and options—which can
chain, but they are more advanced in some important monitoring and diagnostic make them difficult and costly to stock—AR
areas than in others. In general, visualize data about each machine or process. is a particularly valuable marketing tool.
and instruct/guide applications are now Seeing information such as efficiency The construction products company AZEK,
having the greatest impact on companies’ and defect rates in context helps for instance, uses AR to show contractors
operations, while the interact capability is maintenance technicians understand and consumers how its decking and
still emerging and in pilot testing. problems and prompts factory workers paver products look in various colors and
Product development. Though to do proactive maintenance that may arrangements. Customers can also see the
engineers have been using computer- prevent costly downtime. simulations in context: If you look at a house
aided design (CAD) capabilities to create Iconics, which specializes in automation through a phone or a tablet, the AR app can
3-D models for 30 years, they have been software for factories and buildings, has add a deck onto it. The experience reduces
limited to interacting with those models begun to integrate AR into its products’ any uncertainty customers might feel about
through 2-D windows on their computer user interfaces. By attaching relevant their choices and shortens the sales cycle.
screens, which makes it harder for them to information to the physical location where In e-commerce, AR applications are
fully conceptualize designs. AR allows 3-D it will be best observed and understood, allowing online shoppers to download
models to be superimposed on the physical the AR interfaces enable more-efficient holograms of products. Wayfair and IKEA
world as holograms, enhancing engineers’ monitoring of machines and processes. both offer libraries with thousands of 3-D
ability to evaluate and improve designs. Logistics. Warehouse operations are product images and apps that integrate
For example, a life-size 3-D hologram of a estimated to account for about 20% of all them into a view of an actual room, enabling
construction machine can be positioned logistics costs, while picking items from customers to see how furniture and decor
on the ground, and engineers can walk shelves represents up to 65% of warehouse will look in their homes. IKEA also uses its
around it, peer under and over it, and even costs. In most warehouses, workers still app to collect important data about product
go inside it to fully appreciate the sight lines perform this task by consulting a paper list preferences in different regions.
and ergonomics of its design at full scale in of things to collect and then searching for After-sales service. This is a function
its intended setting. them. This method is slow and error-prone. where AR shows huge potential to unlock

NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2017 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 53