Safety in Industry 4.0: The Multi-Purpose Applications of Augmented Reality in Digital Factories

Abstract

The digital factory is a concept signing a new era for industry, the so-called Industry 4.0, in which ordinary production systems like manufacturing plants, machineries and utilities are being equipped with diagnostic and sensitive instrumentation to be connected to digital shared networks. This data-sharing, trough the big data management techniques, is a fully integrated base on which digital tools can be installed and exchange information. Data stored from physical world of machines can be redirected to simulation environments like Digital Twins and can be inspected, for several purposes like predictive analysis, by humans too. On top of these scopes, within the realization of an Internet of Things, there is safety, especially in industrial sites where injury risk for operators and workers is a key factor for production sustainability. This paper, starting from a tested case study in mechanical stressed monitoring, focuses on the application of upgraded augmented reality systems for safety practices, expanding the area of interest to electric and overheating risk mitigation in electrical equipment and to emergency management.

Industry 4.0 enabling technologies for increasing operational flexibility in final assembly

“…Extended reality is central in enabling industry 4.0 in the final assembly. AR is an interactive experience that combines real and virtual worlds, provides real-time interaction and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects [43]. Virtual reality can train new operators and help them acclimatise to the real environment [44].…”