Advanced Assistive Maintenance Based on Augmented Reality and 5G Networking.

Area of Science:

• Industrial IoT and Remote Maintenance
• Augmented Reality Applications
• 5G Networking Technologies

Background:

• Internet of Things (IoT) facilitates remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance.
• Complex industrial environments necessitate human intervention, posing safety risks.
• Augmented Reality (AR) offers potential for integrating real-time data with on-site operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a 5G-based system for remote assistive maintenance.
• To enhance operator safety in hazardous industrial settings.
• To demonstrate the integration of heterogeneous sensors with AR visualization.

Main Methods:

• Development of a remote assistive maintenance setup utilizing 5G networking.
• Implementation of a lightweight AR Head-Mounted Display (HDM) with thermal and depth sensors.
• Testing the system at a Vodafone Base Transceiver Station (BTS) within the Vodafone 5G Program.

Main Results:

• The 5G-enabled AR system improved technician safety by enabling collision avoidance with hot surfaces.
• The setup demonstrated effective integration of diagnostic data with real-time in-situ acquisitions.
• Field testing confirmed the viability of the approach for egocentric environment understanding.

Conclusions:

• The proposed 5G and AR solution provides a viable method for remote industrial maintenance.
• The system enhances operator safety and enables immersive integration of augmented data.
• This technology supports remote specialists in guiding maintenance operations effectively.