Case Study

A Mixed Reality application for training and maintenance procedures

Isotta Fraschini Motori needed a solution that could improve the performance of certain stages of the production cycle. Infinity Reply took up the challenge and together with Fastweb realised a mixed reality, hands-free application that runs on Microsoft HoloLens.

# 3D & Mixed Reality
# HoloLens

The challenge

Isotta Fraschini Motori is an historical Italian manufacturing company, founded in 1930, that designs and develops engines for ship propulsion and energy generation, and manages the related maintenance and support services. Isotta Fraschini needed a solution that could improve the performance of certain stages of the production cycle, in particular those related to training, maintenance and remote assistance.

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The solution

Infinity Reply took up the challenge set by Isotta Fraschini, and, together with Fastweb, developed a mixed reality, hands-free application that runs on Microsoft HoloLens. This app, combined with cloud services and 5G network, is able to support training operations.

Once the user wears the HoloLens, a spatial mapping functionality allows to map the surrounding environment and overlay a virtual model of the engine (or of a single component) onto the real one, without the need of markers. During the job execution, then, the app shows 3D animated previews of the operations that must be performed, the tools to be used and the safety warnings.

A shared point of view

From inside the application, the user can start Skype videocalls with other experts to ask for remote assistance and, thanks to a Multilens functionality (the virtual model), animations and the main user point of view can be shared. This means that other people from all over the world can connect their HoloLens to access the “main” application and observe the scene from their point of view, as if they were physically together with the main user, in the same place. Whenever a task is completed, the user is invited by HoloLens to take a picture to verify his job.

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From training to maintenance activities

During the second phase of the project, the application was extended to the whole engine (operations on 16 cylinders had to be covered) and was mainly devoted to maintenance activities instead of training: for this reason, the graphical previews of the tasks were shorter and simpler.

Most importantly, cloud integration and performance tracking implementation turned the app into an analytical tool, as the system was able to track the actual operations performed, requiring the user to take pictures, record audio contents and store serial numbers of spare parts.

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Infinity Reply is the Reply Group company specialised in the design and development of advergames and interactive 3D, augmented and virtual reality content and applications, leveraging the latest technologies to create innovative digital experiences. The areas of application for these solutions range from providing support to marketing and communication campaigns, to the creation of space-time travel experiences designed to allow users to appreciate artistic and architectural beauty from different time periods. Another key area of application is the training domain: these solutions make it possible to train workers in dangerous situations, while in total safety, using augmented and virtual reality experiences.