Fast augmented reality authoring: fast creation of AR step-by-step procedures for maintenance operations

Augmented Reality (AR) has shown great potential for improving human performance in Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) operations. Whilst most studies are currently being carried out at an academic level, the research is still in its infancy due to limitations in three main aspects: limited hardware capabilities, the robustness of object recognition, and content-related issues. This article focuses on the last point, by proposing a new geometry-based method for creating a step-by-step AR procedure for maintenance activities. The Fast Augmented Reality Authoring (FARA) method assumes that AR can recognise and track all the objects in a maintenance environment when CAD models are available, to knowledge transfer to a non-expert maintainer. The novelty here lies in the fact that FARA is a human-centric method for authoring animation-based procedures with minimal programming skills and the manual effort required. FARA has been demonstrated, as a software unit, in an AR system composed of commercially available solutions and tested with over 30 participants. The results show an average time saving of 34.7% (min 24.7%; max 55.3%) and an error reduction of 68.6% when compared to the utilisation of traditional hard-copy manuals. Comparisons are also drawn from performances of similar AR applications to illustrate the benefits of procedures created utilising FARA.