Augmented Reality Features Added to Emerson’s Existing Asset Management System

After taking the gaming industry by storm, augmented reality (AR) platforms have been gaining a lot of traction for industrial applications. Emerson’s recently launched AR support for its industrial asset health and performance management platform, Plantweb Optics, that improves performance, remote interactions, and system efficiency
 

Plantweb Optics Platform

Plantweb Optics is an asset health monitoring platform that combines data from multiple distributed sections of an enterprise (a factory, machinery, energy plants, etc.), interprets the correlation, and generates appropriate personnel-specific alerts and KPIs.

Plantweb Optics automates data acquisition from different assets in the system, runs it through AI-powered diagnostics and analytics tools, and generates real-time reports for visualization and performance prediction. The platform brings different sections of a plant, like an instrument/device management division, process monitoring division, and reliability management division, all under one roof of central intelligent data interpretation through a streamlined communication channel. The related personnel involved in the different divisions also become a part of the actionable group.

Plantweb Optics Integrates Device Manager, Process Manager & Reliability Manager under one roof. Image courtesy of Emerson. 

How Useful is Plantweb Optics?

The information from different assets is collected with all relevant parameters and features and the system automatically contextualizes it appropriately for individual assets. Gathering data from sections like AMS Device Manager and AMS Machinery Manager, Plantweb Optics helps personnel decide machinery maintenance and repair tasks thereby avoiding downtimes and increasing the performance output. 

Integration of PlantWeb Optics helps bring all subsections of the factory under one roof. Image courtesy of Emerson. 

Plantweb Optics personnel-targeted instructions and tasks with relevant background for asset problems speed up the knowledge transfer step before the requisite corrective or preventive measures are deployed in the plant.

AR Technology Helping PlantWeb Optics Solutions

Implementing digital transformation solutions in industries is incumbent upon companies to enhance output and efficiency, while also improving the work environment and experience. Augmented reality is an interactive experience of a real-world scenario through digital interfaces that replicate the perceptual data using sensors, primarily visual, haptic, and auditory senses.

AR technology in PlantWeb Optics helps become aware of the environment with more contextual analytics and option for live remote assistance. Plantweb Optics uses augmented reality to display asset critical information on a mobile device, based on the location in the facility (derived from its spatial computing algorithms). The system also populates more information in the personnel’s field of view, like real-time analytics, documentation, and critical health/operational and functional parameters of the system. A

R is revolutionary in enhancing the insights into existing industrial management systems, beyond the naked eye view, into the apparent system information which is very often lost in transition or buried deep inside.

Plantweb Optics AR populates plant asset data in the mobile device. Image courtesy of Emerson. 

AR in remote collaboration allows technicians to view the workpiece and interact with them remotely, removing the barriers of physical presence for debugging, maintenance, and inspection tasks. Using the AR technology, live audio/video calls can be made while sharing the same field of view, and exchanging data and media files. The AR features also allow technicians to interact with the annotated steps in visual guides for standard inspection, maintenance, and debugging procedures for the different plant components.

AR boosts the existing Plantweb Optics solution to provide more relatable insights for enhanced interpretation that increases the productivity and safety of the system. Augmented reality allows the option to maintain a centralized knowledge base with standardized solutions that ensure easy learning, transfer of asset information between personnel and history of asset health for better diagnosis and prognosis. 

With this new AR technology, Emerson is adapting to digitalization in industries as technologies like augmented reality are well set to bolster the next wave of Industry 4.0.