About
Welcome to a fascinating exploration of RTRMA (Real-Time Remote Maintenance Assistance), an initiative that foresees the Navy’s future in remotely maintaining its mine countermeasure vessels. In this blog post, we delve into the evolving landscape of remote maintenance solutions. Discover how this project sought to redefine acquisition requirements by uncovering existing capabilities and envisioning possibilities, all while addressing the unique demands of the Belgian Navy.
The mission
The project aimed at exploring through the conduct of a technology horizon scan, “Real-Time Remote Maintenance Assistance” (RTRMA) technologies which could be used to revamp and replace the solution currently used by the Belgian Navy. This project focused on innovative technologies leveraging augmented reality to revolutionize remote maintenance, identifying solutions that can remain viable for a minimum of seven years.
To achieve this goal, a preliminary phase was implemented to frame the scope of the target solutions and to support the Belgian Navy in defining their user requirements. The list of requirements was used to guide the second phase of the project which consisted in an in-depth market research to identify relevant commercial off the shelves (COS) technologies.
The horizon technology scanning highlighted numerous remote maintenance software solutions developed by start-ups or large groups which are compatible with the most renown smart glasses reference models on the market and other hardware (PC, laptops, tablet, smartphone, etc.). The outcome of the horizon technology scanning consisted in a structured mapping of 21 remote maintenance support software among which five appeared to best match the most critical requirements of the Belgian Navy. Once the short list of software and hardware was validated, a deep dive was performed through interviews with the solution’s providers and the analysis of technical documentation sent by the companies.
Key takeaways
Wide offering of remote maintenance software based on similar hardware
Among the various technologies commercialised, most of the companies are offering a tailored software with AR functionalities which are compatible with the main smart glasses’ hardware of the market and other hardware (laptop, PC, tablet, smartphones).
Companies building their own smart glasses are often research centers currently developing solutions as part of R&D projects.
Mature offering of solutions dedicated to support maintenance for the industry
The market study showed companies that have worked for 10 to 15 years to develop mature software with AR functionalities to support remote maintenance. Beyond experimentations, major industry players are already using such solutions to perform a wide range of maintenance activities among which:
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- Identification, highlighting and/or labelling of elements (parts, objects, modules, etc.);
- Identification of hotspots (dangers, sensitive equipment …);
- Spatial guidance of operators;
- Display of 3D modelization;
- Display of supplemental, often context-sensitive information (technical documentation, procedures, measurement results);
- Simulation of movements and paths for inserting (or extracting) parts from equipment.
Limited offering for defence use cases
The use of AR for maintenance still appears to be still very limited for defence stakeholders. Several navies seem to have conducted proofs of concept for AR remote maintenance solutions (France, Australia, the United States, Switzerland), but few are communicating about a potential purchase or regular use of such solution.
Such solutions appear to be more used in aeronautics, automotive, and pharmaceuticals, chemical industries which are advertising it as part of their innovative capabilities.
Image source: Picomto
Next steps
RTRMA exploring phase was finalised in December 2023, the next phases of the project are currently discussed:
Request live demo with solution’s providers to have a more in-depth understanding of the solutions.
Run proof of concepts for the pre-defined use case and explore other opportunities (training maintenance personnel on shore, performing step-by-step maintenance operations, etc.).
Explore the coupling of a RTRMA support solution with connected maintenance tools to bolster the efficiency and precision of maintenance tasks.
