Challenges to Deploy Augmented Reality in Manufacturing

Augmented Reality (AR) has the potential to revolutionise manufacturing by incorporating digital technologies into day-to-day activities. Nevertheless, its adoption in the industry remains slow. Although most research has focused on understanding the barriers to adoption and its impact on industry, only a limited number of studies have discussed how to deploy AR in manufacturing. This paper investigates the industry’s perceived challenges when deploying AR in manufacturing. Off-the-shelf and customised AR applications were analysed to understand how AR has been implemented in manufacturing. Additionally, 89 industry workers were surveyed to validate the observed deployment challenges and identify possible solutions. The survey showed that AR has a significant entry barrier due to its complexity and limited personalisation possibilities. Finally, an initial solution framework to address implementation issues is presented and discussed. It includes a module to match industry needs with AR capabilities, AR authoring tools, and off-the-shelf AR infrastructure.