New AR tech helping to solve field service skills crisis
AI-enabled augmented reality (AR) smart glasses are emerging as a new practical solution to fill a shortage of field service technicians maintaining on-location equipment across industries from automotive and medical to complex machinery.
The AI-enabled AR wearable headset effectively becomes the “eyes” of a field service technician, allowing less experienced workers in remote or complex environments to be guided in real time by senior engineers working from a different location.
The technology, known as TP Reach, has been developed by TP, a leading global digital business services provider, to address one of the most urgent business challenges: retaining critical expertise at a time when skilled labour is in short supply, with long delays for simple jobs. Vision here.
Maurice Zicman, Vice President of CX Strategy at TP in Australia says it’s a way for industries like utilities and energy, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, games, retail and consumer electronics, and technology driven industries to ensure critical knowledge isn’t lost as engineers and technicians with decades of knowledge retire.
“Instead of inexperienced or a new grad technician having to shadow senior engineers on site, TP Reach enables them to go into the field supported remotely by experts who can see exactly what they see through this augmented reality headset,” Zicman says.
Unlike traditional video calls, the AR wearable headset frees up a technician’s hands entirely which is a critical advantage when working with complex machinery.
“You can’t safely repair or adjust equipment if you’re holding a phone in one hand trying to show someone what you’re doing,” Zicman says.
“These glasses allowing technicians to work hands-free and give the remote expert full visibility, along with access to schematics, diagrams and repair sequences in real time. Through smart glasses, live video, and AR guidance, it improves accuracy, reduces downtime, and enables faster issue resolution. It means fewer errors and significantly reduced training time for new technicians.
“Real-time collaboration reduces travel, improves first-time fix rates, and streamlines scheduling, helping companies cut labor and logistics costs while maintaining high service quality.
Zicman says the technology also allows experienced field technicians who may no longer want to travel to remote or regional locations to remain in the workforce for longer.
“TP Reach serves as a bridge for technology driven industries such as utilities and energy, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing and many more, to ensure that critical knowledge isn’t lost as veteran engineers and technicians with decades of knowledge retire.
