Augmented Reality Based Maintenance Within Virtual Environments

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology used for maintenance support of existing products. The service instructions are depicted directly into the operator’s vision and enhance his product view while maintaining the item. In order to provide high-quality maintenance support the manuals have to be created and tested at the development stage of the product.This paper describes a possible solution for testing AR instructions on virtual prototypes by combining AR and Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Technical aspects for combining VR and AR displays are outlined and a combined system is presented. Furthermore, the paper shows the development of a specific test scenario for evaluating the created system and contains design patterns for depicting AR instructions in Virtual Environments. Finally, the usability of the solution is tested by a user study.Copyright © 2012 by ASME