Wearable Maintenance Support With Time-Zone Routing and Translation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current maintenance support systems lack the ability to obtain observation information and site image information from on-site maintenance workers, leading to inadequate support tailored to the worker's situation.
Innovation Solution
A maintenance support system comprising a wearable device for on-site workers, multiple maintenance support terminals in different time zones, and a maintenance management server that provides translated instructions and site information, allowing for continuous 24-hour support by selecting the most suitable representative based on expertise and language.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If local workers are contracted for night and early morning maintenance support, then 24-hour maintenance support is achieved, but contract costs increase and worker availability becomes limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a wearable device as an intermediary that captures observation information and site image information from the maintenance site, transmitting this data to remote monitoring centers. This mediator enables remote workers to perceive the actual maintenance site conditions without being physically present, thus eliminating the need for costly local night shift contracts while maintaining continuous support availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of deploying physical workers to remote locations for night shifts with an information-based system. By substituting human presence with electronic transmission of observation information and site images, the system achieves 24-hour support coverage without the economic burden of round-the-clock local staffing.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If remote monitoring centers rotate based on standard work hours, then continuous 24-hour support is provided, but the monitoring center cannot obtain observation information and site image information from the maintenance site
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable device continuously captures and transmits observation information and site image information to the maintenance management server before maintenance issues arise. This preliminary collection of data ensures that when remote monitoring centers rotate to provide continuous support, the incoming team already has access to accumulated site information, eliminating information loss during transitions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where the wearable device continuously sends observation information and site images back to the maintenance management server. This real-time feedback mechanism ensures that rotating monitoring centers always have access to current site conditions, maintaining full situational awareness across 24-hour operations without information gaps.
3Ease of operation
If maintenance instructions are translated between languages, then communication between international monitoring centers and on-site workers is improved, but translation accuracy and language matching become complex
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable device and maintenance support terminal each store their own language settings, and the maintenance management server automatically detects and matches languages without requiring manual intervention. The system self-adjusts translation requirements based on the identified language pairs, reducing operational complexity while maintaining effective multilingual communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes translation parameters based on the language settings stored in the wearable device and maintenance support terminal. By automatically adjusting translation requirements according to the specific language pair involved (e.g., Japanese-German, English-French), the system handles linguistic diversity without adding operational complexity, as the translation process adapts automatically to the parameters of each communication instance.
Data Source
AI summary
A maintenance support system includes a wearable device that provides an on-site maintenance worker with maintenance instruction information; a plurality of maintenance support terminals installed in a plurality of regions having time differences; and a maintenance management server connected to the wearable device and the maintenance support terminals. The maintenance management server includes a representative selection unit that selects a maintenance support terminal on the basis of representative level information, the standard work hours being fixed for each of the plurality of regions; and a translation unit that translates audio information transmitted and received between the wearable device and the maintenance support terminal selected by the representative selection unit on a basis of a language set on the wearable device and a language set on the maintenance support terminal selected by the representative selection unit.