Virtual & Mixed Reality Training for Automotive Manufacturing

Increase engagement by 90% and dramatically reduce production line training times with virtual reality training.

VR: The future of training in the automotive sector

New technologies, Industry 4.0, the drive for digitalisation and the benefits it brings are fuelling a new industrial revolution.

Many automotive companies are suffering from a shortage of employees and the ability to upskill new staff quickly enough.

Extended Reality (XR)

One way to mitigate this is by using new immersive training technologies. XR covers a spectrum of devices. At one end of the spectrum is augmented reality and devices like smartphones or glasses that allow a visual overlay of enhanced information on a screen while seeing the world around you, and at the other end is virtual reality where wearing VR glasses you are closed off in a simulated digital environment.

In the middle, there is also a new category of mixed reality with glasses that allow you to see the real world but using either holograms or passthrough video cameras allows 3D content to be augmented into the real world.

The Luminous XR platform allows you to harness these devices to enhance training, operations, and maintenance procedures -delivering a huge ROI. It’s training that is transforming the workforce, brining better engagement, faster time to competency and successfully onboarding and upskilling staff.

Learning By Doing

VR learners are 275% more confident to apply their skills learned after training and can be trained up to 4x faster than traditional learning methods.

In an automotive manufacturing environment, most new members of staff will learn specific operational procedures by shadowing an experienced operator.

This type of on-the-job training can be slow and is restricted by access to experienced operators. One way around this is to build a virtual digital twin of your factory and the different lines and equipment within it, where staff can immerse themselves and train virtually.

With a background in 3D laser scanning, we have the ability to quickly and efficiently digitise your plant to create an accurate real-time 3D digital twin. Once we have the 3D model, standard operating procedures can be replicated. Staff can meet up virtually in the 3D version of your facility and can be taken through the required training, reducing the need for inductions and permits to work which can be time consuming, and allows then to train in a safe, repeatable environment.

The result? When trainees visit the site for the first time, they’re already familiar with the different types of equipment and operating procedures. Customer using interactive digital twins to virtually train staff are seeing a 50% reduction in on-the-job training and can drastically increase the number of staff members being trained at a single time.

Enhance Training and Upskilling with Mixed Reality

Mixed Reality using devices like the Microsoft HoloLens 2 allows holographic instructions to be overlaid on real equipment in a live operating environment.

In automotive manufacturing, there are several applications for Mixed Reality:

Learn As You Go

Using a HoloLens headset, 3D holographic instructions can be overlaid on the real equipment guiding the user through complex processes. This can be supplement by additional content such as how-to videos or technical documentation. By using mixed reality, these can be pinned around the operator in the real environment providing access to multiple real-time sources of data and virtual screens.

Save Costs through Remote Assistance

Using the HoloLens2 an operator can dial in a remote expert to see what they are doing and guide them through the process. This means instead of flying in an expert and slowing production, a member of staff with minimal experience can be guided through a process of fault finding and repairing complex equipment through VR skill training, with the expert seeing everything and providing access to interactive documentation.

Work with Contextual Data in Real-time

Another application is the ability to access contextual data from IoT devices or live plant equipment and machinery. This allows a factory operator instant access to critical information such as operation speed & performance and temperature & environmental data all through a heads-up display, allowing them to make better informed operational decisions.