When automotive technicians need help diagnosing a problem, they can share what they’re seeing and receive helpful information through a pair of smart glasses. On the other end of that connectivity, a diagnostic troubleshooting team member from Ford Motor Company’s Technical Assistance Center (TAC) sees the real-time video and provides the information.
According to TeamViewer, a provider of remote connectivity and workplace digitalization solutions, Ford is using TeamViewer’s Frontline connectivity platform to add augmented reality (AR) assistance to the service TAC provides to technicians at Ford and Lincoln dealerships.
“We are very excited to add Ford to our growing list of forward-thinking customers that are leveraging AR solutions to improve business processes,” Patty Nagle, president of TeamViewer Americas, said in a Tuesday (Nov. 23) press release. “The majority of workers globally do not sit in front of a desk. Our goal is to enable those frontline workers with AR-guided solutions to enable them to do their jobs better by digitalizing and streamlining processes.”
Providing ‘See What I See’ Assistance
With this new program, TAC specialists can start a remote AR session, see in real time what the technician is seeing and add on-screen documentation that lands in the technician’s line of sight. This enables the technician to see a diagram on the screen of the smart glasses while leaving their hands free to continue working on the car, for example.
During the AR session, the TAC specialist can also zoom in, share their screen, record the session and turn on the smart glasses’ flashlights remotely. These remote AR sessions are created using TeamViewer Frontline through a pair of on-site RealWear smart glasses.
“Feedback from the dealers has been really good,” Bryan Jenkins, TAC powertrain operations manager, said in the press release. “From the dealer technician perspective, they just turn on their smart glasses and accept an incoming call, then it is like my specialists are there looking over their shoulder to help resolve the problem.”
Troubleshooting From a Distance
This is one of several use cases for TeamViewer connectivity platforms announced by the company. In another example, a maker of professional coffee machines uses TeamViewer to troubleshoot problems for customers and provide support to on-site technicians.
Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile U.S., too, have said that “see what I see” applications are among several exemplary use cases that show how technology may improve the customer experience in extended reality (XR) environments.
Read more: Worldwide Competition Seeks 5G XR Solutions for Retail
To help with education, the companies said, a hybrid XR environment may be used in training customers how to use products and services, aiding in the collaboration of internal employees with field service or customers at home, and developing hybrid meetings that ensure all participants can take part equally.
An XR customer experience also may “make the invisible visible” when visualizing new products at home, declaring or explaining software features in-store or enabling a “see what I see” or “do what I do” experience for customer service.
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