Augmented Reality for the Industrial Enterprise

Chapter 2. AR Creators and Use Cases You Should Know

If you’re working on your strategy or budget, one of the first questions you might ask is “What is AR’s place in my enterprise/operations?” The best way to answer that is to look at how it is being used, and how it will most likely be used in the future.

The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance imagines use cases from warehouse picking to emergency response to aircraft cabin workflow. Some of these use cases are real. Some are hypothetical. Based on this list, the big question in my mind around enterprise AR was: Who is actually using this, and how? I found answers the best way I know: I interviewed people.

The interviewees are creators on the frontlines of industrial enterprise AR. Some run corporate AR programs, some have founded companies specifically focused on the needs of industrial AR, and some lead strategy teams. All are technologists who have been exploring, refining, and creating different ways of using, building, and piloting AR programs. Their various projects save significant time and cost, and actually do help people. That was part of what convinced me that now is indeed the time for enterprise to start thinking about testing and planning for this technology.

Each case study explores how a company is using AR, and has a specific narrative through line:

AR can save you lots of money

Case study: Boeing

AR is being used to help humans (do things like prevent oil spills and maintain machines)

Case study: Dotty ...