Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 41

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

Fixed ops' road to augmented reality has had a few potholes

ugmented reality's journey to dealership service departments has included several false starts.
As early as 2007, BMW offered
the concept of an interactive headset that
would provide vehicle repair information,
step by step, to a service technician. But such
headsets and similar smart glasses have
proved reliable only in the past few years, and
remain expensive.
In 2013, Volkswagen introduced Mobile
Augmented Reality Technical Assistance, an
application designed to present 3-D images of
service tasks for VW's XL1 concept car.
The German augmented reality company
Metaio developed the BMW and VW initia-

tives. Metaio's acquisition by Apple in 2015 effectively ended those initiatives, although Apple has since developed its own augmented
technology.
BMW has since turned to Google's Tango
technology for augmented reality work, but
Tango will shut down March 1.
In 2014, Bosch used the Oculus Rift virtual
reality headset to provide views of its systems
to service technicians. After Facebook bought
Oculus that year for $2 billion, Bosch switched
to Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality
platform.
More recently, Bosch demonstrated an augmented reality service application it designed
for Land Rover. The application enables tech-

nicians to view internal vehicle systems, and
collects data from onboard diagnostic devices
to speed service writing.
In 2015, the supplier Continental introduced an application called Continental Connected Technician.
The tablet-based application displays instructions for vehicle repair. Although Continental Connected Technician was scheduled
for wide release in 2016, Continental says it
has not been rolled out.
Porsche's Tech Live Look, launched in 2017,
is the first practical application of augmented
reality glasses for fixed operations. It has yet to
be widely used.
- Alex Kwanten

ain. Land Rover did not respond to requests
for comment.
Microsoft's new HoloLens smart glasses are
similar to Porsche's glasses. Butz says such
devices can train dealership techs remotely,
enabling them to prepare to fix vehicles before they arrive or to practice for a recall repair
in the absence of needed parts.
"Somebody sitting here in my [Michigan] office can facilitate training to a dealership or
training center in Oklahoma because of the
remote capabilities we're now able to perform," Butz says.
He adds: "The practical applications for
[augmented reality], and especially in training, are going to increase significantly over the
next couple of years." 

Porsche dealership techs wear glasses
with cameras and microphones, enabling
experts at company headquarters to talk
with the techs and see what they see.

VIRTUAL
continued from Page 40

Porsche tested the system, which it developed with the augmented reality company
Atheer Inc., at nine of its North American
dealerships last year. Porsche says the program cut by as much as 40 percent the time
needed to resolve service problems at these
dealerships,
Porsche says it will roll out the system across
its North American retail network this year.
The automaker declined to discuss the progress of Tech Live Look with Fixed Ops Journal,
saying it is still refining the system.

Reality checks
Automotive suppliers also are working on
new ways to connect service departments
and automakers.
"We're trying to reduce the increasing complexity around service content," says Rob
Butz, director of business development and
technical information services at Bosch Automotive Service Solutions.
"We needed to make information more visual."
Bosch's Common Augmented Reality Platform uses computer-aided design drawings to
generate 3-D versions of vehicle systems. The
platform can guide a service technician
through individual repair steps.
Bosch developed an augmented vehicle
training application for Land Rover. The program allows techs to view 3-D mock-ups of
wiring diagrams and other systems without
having to disassemble components.
The German software developer Reflekt
One, which worked with Bosch on the application, says Land Rover is using it only in Brit-

FEBRUARY 2018

PAGE 41

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018