Extended Reality Adaptive Workflows for Field Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for presenting workflows to users in field operations, such as device installation and maintenance, are cumbersome and time-consuming due to inadequate documentation and lack of guidance on locating specific parts within assets.
Innovation Solution
An automated adaptive workflow system in an extended reality environment that uses a data intake and query system to provide location-aware workflows, allowing users to access and execute workflows directly within an extended reality interface, with features like pipelined search language and late-binding schema for efficient data retrieval and visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional documentation methods (paper or virtual) are used, then users can access workflow instructions, but users must manually locate correct documentation and identify correct locations within documentation, making the servicing process cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-processes and indexes workflow documentation before service operations, creating a structured knowledge base that enables rapid retrieval. The documentation is organized with metadata tags and hierarchical structures that allow the system to automatically locate relevant information without user manual searching.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intelligent intermediary layer between the user and the documentation. This intermediary automatically interprets user context (asset type, location, detected issues) and retrieves appropriate workflow information, eliminating the need for users to manually navigate documentation structures.
2Ease of manufacture
If workflow descriptions refer to certain parts of the asset using only textual description and static images, then documentation can be kept simple, but users have little or no guidance on finding the relevant part on or in the asset
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from two-dimensional static images to three-dimensional augmented reality visualizations. AR overlays provide spatial context and depth information, allowing users to see exactly where components are located on the asset in their actual physical context, with directional guides and animated disassembly instructions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses color-coded indicators and visual highlights to draw attention to specific asset parts. Different colors indicate different types of information (e.g., red for warnings, green for completed steps, blue for interactive elements), making it easier for users to quickly identify relevant components without complex textual descriptions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If users must find and navigate to correct documentation locations manually, then documentation can be stored in standard formats, but the servicing process becomes even more cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system transforms static documentation into dynamic, adaptive workflows that automatically adjust based on real-time conditions. The workflow instructions reorganize themselves based on the asset's actual state, previously completed tasks, and detected issues, presenting only the relevant next steps to the user rather than requiring navigation through entire documentation sets.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automatic documentation retrieval and presentation without requiring user intervention for navigation. The workflow engine autonomously determines which documentation is needed, retrieves it from the knowledge base, and presents it in the appropriate format and sequence, allowing users to focus solely on executing service tasks.
Data Source
AI summary
A device is fitted with a camera and an extended reality (XR) software application program executing on a processor. Via the XR software application program, a technique is performed for automating adaptive workflows in the XR environment. In the technique, the XR software application program determines an identifier of an asset in the XR environment. The XR software application program sends to a data intake and query system a request associated with a playbook having one or more execution tasks associated with the asset. The XR software application program receives the playbook and generates an XR object associated with an execution task in the playbook. The XR software application program causes the XR object to be displayed at a location in the XR environment corresponding to a determined location, relative to the asset, of a portion of the asset with which the execution task is associated.