Mixed Reality Meets Soft Goods Manufacturing
ISAIC started our first year of operation during the height of the pandemic—making PPE items to meet the needs of the community. Everything we did with the outside world was virtual—even technician support for machines. As we reflected on our lessons from the pandemic and how we could leverage our newfound knowledge, we decided to identify and test virtual delivery mechanisms that would support virtual training and technical support.
In the apparel manufacturing sector, there is an aging talent base that is leaving the workforce—taking their knowledge and experience with them. Many sewing technologies haven’t changed since the dawn of industrial revolution, meaning older technicians are some of the most intellectually qualified rarities left in the industry. In order to capture their wisdom, we’ve got to make it easier to communicate and transfer information. Traditionally, when sewing facilities have a problem—they call on one of few technicians in the US to fly out and help them solve the problem.
We propose using augmented and virtual reality tools to remotely connect with technicians, so they can support industrial manufacturing facilities from anywhere in the world. This month, November 2022, we will receive our first sets of smart glasses to experiment with to determine the best solution for the sewn goods manufacturing industry. Once proven, ISAIC will showcase the best technology for sewing facilities to adopt in their practices across the US.
Industries outside of industrial sewing, like the oil industry, have used mixed reality tools. For example: a worker on an offshore oil rig uses virtual reality tools to receive remote support from a land-based mechanic. We’ll be looking at prior cases of success to transfer their tactics into usable procedures for the soft goods manufacturing industry.
The plan is to work with both augmented and virtual reality tools. The difference between the two is demonstrated in the breakdown below.
Augmented Reality
Uses technology to create an amplified version of reality by overlaying digital information (graphs, icons) over the real world
You have more flexibility to work with the normal world that is just enhanced, instead of replaced
Virtual Reality
Uses technology to create a simulated environment, which can be perceived as reality
You can move around in the environment displayed through a VR headset
In essence, you can teleport to any environment
Two of our departments will be able to benefit from the mixed reality tools: the education and training department and our production team. As an Advanced Robotic Manufacturing project member, on two different projects, we will use virtual reality tools to meet with our partners across the state to save time traveling—while still being able to actively observe and document the process of operating emerging manufacturing technologies to standardize the adoption of these solutions.
Read below for specific details on how each department will integrate these innovations.
Production Team
The production department uses emerging manufacturing technologies, while working to standardize training and instructions to support widescale adoption across the industry. Smart glasses are wearable innovations that the technician can use to provide a point of view of the technology that the recipient of the technical support will be able to see. Augmented reality uses smart glasses to interface between the actual technology and supporting materials by overlaying documents, icons, and other features. The smart glasses have the capabilities of an iPad or tablet, which are operated by voice controls and toggled to display certain features, like zooming in and out. Some smart glasses can be voice-activated with 17 different languages for multilingual operators to use the innovation without language barriers.
Education Team
The Education Department will be using VR headsets to provide remote training for the Fundamentals of Industrial Sewing Program (FISP) and to offer training to FISP instructors across the country—currently, we have 11 sites with the FISP curriculum. Oftentimes, teachers need assistance setting up machines, troubleshooting sergers, or adjusting thread paths. The smart glasses will enable support staff from the institute to create a 3D rendering of the machine and draw annotations or demonstrate how to solve the issue, saving time and money dispensed to travel from one facility to another. It’s a powerful knowledge sharing tool that can be scaled to support the need for mechanical assistance.
Ultimately, this technology will transform the future of work and optimize transparency and collaboration across the industry!