Virtual AR HMI Testing for Industrial Plant Commissioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial augmented reality (AR) human-machine interfaces (HMIs) require physical installation and commissioning before testing, leading to delays and challenges in ensuring correct data linking and non-obtrusive data overlays, as they need to be physically present and navigate the environment to view relevant information.
Innovation Solution
A virtual reality (VR) system is developed to simulate an industrial environment, allowing for the testing and debugging of AR HMIs within a virtual representation, using a simulation component, user interface, and AR HMI component to overlay data based on user location and orientation, enabling pre-commissioning verification of AR HMI functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If AR HMI is physically installed and commissioned before testing, then the system can be deployed, but testing delays and commissioning challenges occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual replica of the industrial environment where AR HMI applications can be tested and debugged before physical deployment. This preliminary testing in a virtual setting allows verification of data linking and overlay positioning without requiring physical installation and commissioning, thereby reducing time loss while maintaining reliability.
2Ease of operation
If AR HMI is physically present in the environment, then data overlay can be displayed, but correct data linking and non-obtrusive positioning are difficult to verify
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy or replica of the physical industrial environment, including virtual representations of machinery, equipment, and spatial relationships. This virtual copy allows for easy verification of data linking accuracy and overlay positioning without the complexity of physical measurement, enabling thorough testing of AR HMI data presentation while simplifying the detection and measurement of positioning accuracy.
3Productivity
If physical installation and commissioning are required, then AR HMI can be deployed, but delays and commissioning challenges occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables preliminary testing and validation of AR HMI applications in a virtual environment before physical deployment. This allows configuration, data linking, and overlay positioning to be verified in advance, significantly reducing the time required for physical installation and commissioning, thereby improving deployment productivity while minimizing time loss.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial virtual reality (VR) system includes visualization processing capabilities that allow an augmented reality (AR) human-machine interface (HMI) application to be tested within a virtual representation of the plant environment. This approach can yield an interactable AR HMI that simulates, within the VR environment, what a wearer of an AR appliance will see while traversing the physical plant. In this way, proper operation of the AR HMI can be verified prior to commissioning of the physical system. This can include ensuring that graphics are tied to the correct data points, confirming correct and non-obtrusive locations of graphics within the user's field of view.