Author Topic: Interested in AR  (Read 3797 times)

Vindicated

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Interested in AR
« on: February 06, 2017, 03:05:58 PM »
I've been researching AR/VR quite a bit lately (specifically AR), and am blown away by the potential applications in so many fields.  I can see it becoming mainstream in the next decade, and want to be a part of it.  I'm trying to figure out where to start!  I'm aware of Unity and Unreal being common programs AR/VR developers are using, but haven't jumped into trying to teach myself yet.  I have a lot of experience in 3D modeling (Autodesk Inventor mainly, but other programs too), so I'm confident I can learn quickly.

I love the idea of developing AR for use in education and construction.  I have experience in both fields, and think it would be a great fit to find a career developing for one of them (or both?).  Imagine walking a project owner through an in-process construction site, and being able to show them exactly what it will look like when it's completed.  This is already done to some extent now, using BIM (Building Infrastructure Modeling), but I believe it will become more prevalent.  On the other hand, the primary difficulty in my experience as an educator is keeping the kids focused.  Imagine pulling apart an AR model of an atom, and showing how the atom changes when you add or remove a proton.

I've recently begun applying to construction design jobs (here in Indianapolis), with the goal of learning Revit, and possibly driving the implementation of AR/VR into the construction planning process.  I previously worked as a Building Systems Engineer (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, etc.) for a local Construction Management company.  There were parts of that job that I enjoyed, mainly the management of the BIM, but it wasn't the right fit for me.  Now that I've done a few different careers, it's made it more clear where my skills and my interests align.

Do any of you have experience working with AR/VR?  Any tips on what I should do to get started?

Thanks!

Drew0311

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2017, 04:51:15 PM »
I too am very interested in this area and agree that it will be quite transformative. I work in the steel industry and can see this really becoming a game changer for maintenance personnel. I would be happy to collaborate and kick around a few ideas on where this kind of thing could be implemented.

Check out what this company is doing:
https://www.daqri.com/products/

Cheers,

Drew

Vindicated

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2017, 06:22:51 AM »
Wow, I hadn't heard of them yet.  I've only briefly scanned the website, and it'll require some study tonight.

I have read that a lot of construction companies and architect/engineer firms are looking into how to add facility maintenance information into the BIM (Building Infrastructure Model), so that maintenance information can be easily accessible, and actually making the BIM useful post-construction phase.

I can see maintenance personnel wearing something like the daqri helmet or glasses while performing maintenance and receiving real-time updates as to next steps in the process.  Could even work for mechanics who work on many different & unfamiliar cars with varied engine compartments, showing them where components are for whatever task they're trying to complete.

prognastat

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2017, 08:36:37 AM »
I am very interested in AR/VR myself and actually ended up getting the PSVR as a middle ground between affordable and quality VR and have been amazed, by it and it isn't even a fully matured field yet.

I can see quite a few possibilities beyond just gaming:
- Architects/Real Estate Companies could model their houses/floor plans and have customer experience their house before it is even built or for real estate remotely if they are buying a house somewhere far from their current location.
- Training, the lower cost will make VR more affordable for use in training for things such as doctors, pilots, drivers, military and much more.
- Remote meetings
- Psychology, use in treating some disorders through things like guided exposure therapy.
- In engineering/product design, the ability to see a model in 3D and true scale before printing/creating a 3D prototype model potentially reducing the amount of prototypes necessary and reducing the time, cost and material used in prototyping.

I would say most markets are still very immature at this time and there won't be many that can give you a concrete career path in them yet.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2017, 08:47:45 AM by prognastat »

Vindicated

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2017, 08:46:34 AM »
I am very interested in AR/VR myself and actually ended up getting the PSVR as a middle ground between affordable and quality VR and have been amazed, by it and it isn't even a fully matured field yet.

I can see quite a few possibilities beyond just gaming:
- Architects/Real Estate Companies could model their houses/floor plans and have customer experience their house before it is even built or for real estate remotely if they are buying a house somewhere far from their current location.
- Training, the lower cost will make VR more affordable for use in training for things such as doctors, pilots, drivers, military and much more.
- Remote meetings
- Psychology, use in treating some disorders through things like guided exposure therapy.
- In engineering/product design, the ability to see a model in 3D and true scale before printing/creating a 3D prototype model potentially reducing the amount of prototypes necessary and reducing the time, cost and material used in prototyping.

I would say most markets are still very immature at this time and there won't be many that can give you a concrete career path in them yet.

You gave a lot of great examples.  And yes, that's what I'm finding.  Everyone I'm contacting is either only looking for experienced people, or just aren't growing because there isn't market growth yet.

I'll keep applying, and keep working, and hopefully I'll get a foot in the door somewhere :)

prognastat

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2017, 08:49:09 AM »
I am very interested in AR/VR myself and actually ended up getting the PSVR as a middle ground between affordable and quality VR and have been amazed, by it and it isn't even a fully matured field yet.

I can see quite a few possibilities beyond just gaming:
- Architects/Real Estate Companies could model their houses/floor plans and have customer experience their house before it is even built or for real estate remotely if they are buying a house somewhere far from their current location.
- Training, the lower cost will make VR more affordable for use in training for things such as doctors, pilots, drivers, military and much more.
- Remote meetings
- Psychology, use in treating some disorders through things like guided exposure therapy.
- In engineering/product design, the ability to see a model in 3D and true scale before printing/creating a 3D prototype model potentially reducing the amount of prototypes necessary and reducing the time, cost and material used in prototyping.

I would say most markets are still very immature at this time and there won't be many that can give you a concrete career path in them yet.

You gave a lot of great examples.  And yes, that's what I'm finding.  Everyone I'm contacting is either only looking for experienced people, or just aren't growing because there isn't market growth yet.

I'll keep applying, and keep working, and hopefully I'll get a foot in the door somewhere :)

I think it could be a great opportunity to join or make a promising startup though. However it hasn't hit critical mass yet and until it does growth and thus hiring will be quite low. However getting in on the ground floor of a company or creating one when the boom does occur could make the people in it at that time very wealthy. Just like the market though the right time can be very hard to predict.

I could see buying one or two HTC Vives along with computers powerful enough to run them. Have a programmer create a "viewer" program or buy one and modify it towards your need and then creating a few demos of your work and starting up a small company by showing off its capabilities to some local companies in examples such as the real estate/architecture/engineering/production fields and attempting to convince them of the value you could add to the experience for their employees and customers. It would take a decent bit of hard work and require very good salesmanship to get started though.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2017, 08:53:02 AM by prognastat »

Drew0311

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2017, 04:52:45 PM »
The challenge will be to prove that its not a gimmick and that it has to potential to save mountains of $. We have a few dreamers here at my company (ArcelorMittal) that have been kicking around some of these ideas, but actually getting them implemented has proven to be very difficult. It would literally take some hand holding, training classes, assistance with machine visibility, and (unfortunately) proof that it will save us money as many top executives struggle with this kind of thing. Many of our facilities are still in the stone age, so there is enormous potential here.

Again, I would be interested in collaborating with anyone and maybe developing a few hypothetical scenarios of where I could use this and what it might take to get it implemented at my mill. Shoot me your email and I will invite you to my ideafarm slack team, #AR/VR to discuss this futher.   

prognastat

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #7 on: March 02, 2017, 05:14:05 PM »
The challenge will be to prove that its not a gimmick and that it has to potential to save mountains of $. We have a few dreamers here at my company (ArcelorMittal) that have been kicking around some of these ideas, but actually getting them implemented has proven to be very difficult. It would literally take some hand holding, training classes, assistance with machine visibility, and (unfortunately) proof that it will save us money as many top executives struggle with this kind of thing. Many of our facilities are still in the stone age, so there is enormous potential here.

Again, I would be interested in collaborating with anyone and maybe developing a few hypothetical scenarios of where I could use this and what it might take to get it implemented at my mill. Shoot me your email and I will invite you to my ideafarm slack team, #AR/VR to discuss this futher.

It's a tough one to jump in at the right time. Too soon and it won't catch on, too late and the market will be saturated. I don't think it is a gimmick, however the price at this point is too high for ownership for most in the general public.

Vindicated

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Re: Interested in AR
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2017, 06:30:35 AM »
Again, I would be interested in collaborating with anyone and maybe developing a few hypothetical scenarios of where I could use this and what it might take to get it implemented at my mill. Shoot me your email and I will invite you to my ideafarm slack team, #AR/VR to discuss this futher.

I can think of a few ideas for possible implementations, but there are always alternatives that come up that may be cheaper, and have been around for longer.  So, if the Operations team hasn't taken the steps of implementing alternative ideas, I doubt they'll go for AR ideas. 

A couple ideas for AR in a manufacturing setting:
  - Equip a couple people from maintenance, or "set up" as it's called at my current factory, and using AR to show estimated life on grind wheels or other similar replaceable items.
    - Benefit:  Maintenance personnel can walk through production area and see which machines are going to need downtime in the near future.
    - Alternative:  Would it be simpler to have this person set up with a laptop or a connected tablet with IoT devices showing this same information?

  - Equip facility maintenance personnel so that they can see a "monitor" reading out real-time data
    - Benefit:  Having both hands free to turn a wrench (or whatever), and see how your work is affecting the system.
    - Alternative:  Having a second person with a laptop reading off relevant data.

  - Equip warehouse personnel and it could be used to highlight bin locations.
    - Benefit:  Expedite picking process.  Possibly cut headcount down in warehouse if much more efficient.
    - Alternative:  Automated picking robots (Much more expensive initial investment)

These are just a couple things that I just came up with now, but the cost of setting it up and training to make it work would be quite difficult to plan out and get approved by management.  Especially since there isn't much data to show benefits before it's implemented.

It's not really something I plan to focus on here, since I don't plan to stick around this place much longer.  If I get hired somewhere as a manufacturing engineer or lean engineer or something similar, I would definitely pursue it.

 

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