Fixed Ops Journal - February 2020 - F14

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

The glasses use a high-resolution
video camera to help experts at
Porsche headquarters guide local
technicians through repairs.

THE
EYES
HAVE
IT
Porsche glasses connect service technicians with factory experts in real time
hink of them as Google Glasses for
Porsche dealership service technicians - except that these devices, unlike their ill-fated predecessors, actually work.
Porsche Cars North America is completing
the rollout of its Tech Live Look program at its
189 U.S. dealerships. The effort uses online augmented-reality technology to enable dealership
techs to communicate directly with Porsche's
Atlanta-based technical support team about
thorny repair issues in real time in such a way
that the factory experts see what the tech sees.
This collaboration happens when the technician dons lightweight glasses with advanced projection technology, including a
high-resolution video camera. A mechanic's
flashlight illuminates the darkest nooks and
crannies under a vehicle's hood or other difficult-to-see areas. Special earphones enable
the dealership tech to speak with experts at
Porsche's U.S. headquarters.
Porsche says Tech Live Look is reducing the
time required to identify technical problems
and perform challenging repairs by as much
as 40 percent.

PAGE 14

FEBRUARY 2020

MARK ELIAS

foj@autonews.com

"With Tech Live Look,
you can see what the guy
is talking about instead of
relying on him to describe
it to you."

DOUG HOUSE, technical support
manager, Porsche Cars North America

Doug House, technical support manager for
Porsche Cars North America, directs the four
specialists who staff the hotline at headquarters in Atlanta, along with 11 regional field
representatives who work with Tech Live
Look. All U.S. Porsche dealerships will take
part in the program by early this year, he says.
"Our response time to a dealer is about 45
minutes," House told Fixed Ops Journal. "The
average call length is about 11 minutes. With
Tech Live Look, you can see what the guy is
talking about instead of relying on him to describe it to you."
The new technology enables precise recalibration of cameras to specific distances and heights

to capture needed images, House says. It also
permits precise measurement of high-voltage
batteries on electric and hybrid vehicles.
"We use it to make sure we are following safe
procedures because of the amount of voltage
we are dealing with," he says. "Technical experts and the dealership technicians are more
comfortable because they make sure measurements are performed in a safe and proper
manner. It makes our people comfortable."

Getting connected
Other automakers are using new technology, including robotics, to connect dealership
technicians with factory experts. Audi's Robotic Telepresence system employs onboard
diagnostic systems to enable members of Audi's national tech center team in suburban
Detroit to see what a tech in a service bay sees.
BMW uses a different vendor and hardware
- the Technical Support & Research Assistant
and its TSARAVision Smart Glasses - with its
BMW and Mini brands, but the underlying
philosophy is the same. The expert at headquarters can project step-by-step technical
bulletins and schematic drawings onto the
see GLASSES, next page

Fixed Ops Journal - February 2020

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