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Bringing digitalisation and augmented reality to the assembly line: Konica Minolta launches the AIRe Lens in Europe
Thursday 25. October 2018 - With the AIRe Lens, Konica Minolta is launching a new wearable augmented reality (AR) solution in October 2018. This smart glasses device is set out to seize the benefits of digital processes at a stronghold of paper-based processes in industrial companies: assembly and maintenance guidance at the factory floor.
The AIRe Lens is developed specifically for industrial applications. It offers the durability, comfort and high optical quality required for all day use in manufacturing contexts, where precision and safety are paramount. Thanks to this head-mounted solution, end users receive technical information and step-by-step guidance while maintaining mobility and keeping hands free, allowing for new processes to be more effective.
“While digitalisation is shaping and improving many processes in the industry, it often still stops with the workers at the assembly line. Their work processes are frequently paper-based and therefore inefficient. This has had practical reasons in the past: Workers need their hands free, particularly when assembling complex and bulky machinery,” explained Zden?k Vrbka, Program Manager Smart Glasses at Konica Minoltas Business Innovation Centre Europe, with regard to the requirements for this solution in the industry. Stationary or handheld devices are impractical for this. This is where Konica Minoltas AIRe Lens comes in.
The solution is designed to guide industry operators step by step through work processes, such as assembly, maintenance or quality assurance tasks. It is an optical, head-mounted augmented reality device with a transparent display that can be controlled via simple gestures or the push of a button. It is built with an optimal combination of rugged design, low weight, ease of use and high optical quality. Powered by a hot swappable 7-hour battery, it supports a full working shift at the production facility. Implementing the solution delivers productivity enhancements, reduced training costs, improved quality through fewer mistakes, and a reduction of workplace accidents. The technology can also be utilised in more complex maintenance procedures. “The AIRe Lens is perfectly designed to support workers executing these tasks, streamlining production processes and significantly reducing the costs of training and supervision,” Vrbka elaborated.
In order to comprehensively meet its industry customers needs, Konica Minolta designed the software with a deep understanding of those requirements and tested the products application with partners such as Siemens Brno – with very positive results. “At the Siemens factory we were able to achieve results that went even beyond the clients expectations. The time required was reduced by as much as 42 per cent and the necessity to have a supervisor overlook the process was reduced by 89 per cent,” Vrbka stated. Testing the AIRe Lens at the Siemens facility in Mülheim, Germany, for quality assurance applications, Julian Melsbach, Project Lead for Smart Glasses, was particularly impressed by the high level of flexibility workers have wearing this solution: “The feedback from the operators was very positive, not only with regard to the mobility and light weight of this solution, but also concerning the unhindered vision compared to other smart glasses solutions, thanks to the high transparency and position of the lens. Therefore, the device can be very well integrated into the employees PPE[1], which is why there is no impairment of occupational safety.”
The AIRe Lens is a unique Konica Minolta development. It is a collaborative creation of the companys own Industrial Optical System Business Headquarters (IOH) in Japan that has designed the optical element at the core of this solution and Konica Minoltas European Business Innovation Centre (BIC). The solution will be launched in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic in October 2018.