A new assistance system incorporating data goggles supports technicians doing maintenance work on wind turbines: Following two years of research and development, the Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH (BIBA) at the University of Bremen, together with its partners AnyMotion (Bremen) and COMback (Oberreichenbach/Baden-Württemberg), presented the results of their project titled “AR-Maintenance System”. The system is transferable to other sectors.
The collaborative project was funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in the frame of the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM). It was supported by practitioners from the Bremen firm wpd, which develops and operates wind parks worldwide.
See more with augmented reality and work more efficiently
“AR” stands for “augmented reality", the computer-aided extension to reality perception. It functions via an assistance system connected to semi-transparent 3d-data goggles. Alongside the real surroundings seen by the person wearing the goggles, the field of view displayed in the goggles is also fed with virtual images, such as routing directions and technical data.
The system helps users safely find their way around the complex internal workings of wind turbines. It then supplies them with all the information they need to carry out maintenance or repair work. If they need to, by means of hand gestures they can call up further information via a tablet connected to the system. And on top of all this, it is also possible via direct online links to seek live external advice, for instance from experts anywhere in the world.
As if that’s not enough, the system relieves its users from the time-consuming chores connected with documentation requirements. This is because the goggles record the work being done and upload it as documentation into the system.
The challenge of data management and IT security
A big challenge facing the project members was how to manage the large amount of data involved. “For example,” says Frank Bischoff, Managing Director of AnyMotion, “ensuring reliable and easy-to-follow navigation inside the wind turbines as well as the processing, availability and swift transfer of such large quantities of data are vital for the system’s operability“.
The project also had to place a strong focus on IT and data security, as well as the design of system interfaces. Project partner COMback was responsible for this side of things. “We had to be sure that the data can only be accessed by customers or authorized persons”, says the Managing Director of COMback, Achim Issmer. “No matter which transmission path is used, the data have to be safeguarded and storable”, he explains.
“Easy to use and it eases the burden on technicians”
The verdict passed by maintenance personnel asked to test the system was “helpful” and “extremely easy to use”. The leader of BIBA, Professor Michael Freitag, is deeply impressed. After just a few simple instructions he was able to call up the information he wanted into the goggles display. “Operation is almost self-explanatory”, he declared.
“This is yet further proof that modern information and communication technology is able to make work much more efficient”, says Freitag and stresses: “Our ultimate aim is to help people do their work and safeguard jobs. Developments like this contribute towards the international competitiveness of German corporations.”
Oliver Klausch, who heads technical management at wpd, is quick to confirm what Freitag says: “There is an ongoing shortage of skilled maintenance personnel in the wind energy sector. And it’s not only a German problem. The particularly time consuming and cost-intensive maintenance of wind turbines calls for highly skilled specialists with comprehensive qualifications. They have to know about all the different types of equipment used. When they are on the job, and sometimes under extreme conditions, they have to make important and costly decisions”, he explains. “We want to find ways to ease this burden on our technicians as much as possible and also make it possible for others to do maintenance work on the wind turbines”, says Klausch.
Attracting keen interest in business circles – also suitable for other sectors
“Other enterprises are showing keen interest in the system”, says Moritz Quandt, project leader at BIBA. “Our research was designed to explore the system’s feasibility in other sectors of industry”, he says. There are already numerous fields of application and, of course, possibilities to find many others. Following the successful development of the demonstrator, the innovative AR Maintenance System now has to be refined and made ready for market entry. The project participants are in the process of finding additional partners to implement this next stage of development.
Sabine Nollmann
Note to editors: You can obtain image material on this topic from Sabine Nollmann (Cell: 0170/904 11 67, email: mailprotect me ?!kontextaprotect me ?!.de) or under www.biba.uni-bremen.de/press2017.html.
If you would like to have more information, feel free to contact:
University of Bremen
BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH
www.biba.uni-bremen.de
Prof.Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag
Phone: 0421/218-500 02
email: freprotect me ?!biba.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
Dipl.-Wi.-Ing. Moritz Quandt
Phone: 0421/218-501 33
email: quaprotect me ?!biba.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
