Developing augmented reality capabilities for industry 4.0 small enterprises: Lessons learnt from a content authoring case study

Augmented reality (AR) has been proposed as a disruptive and enabling technology within the Industry 4.0 manufacturing paradigm. The complexity of the AR content creation process results in an inability for Small Enterprise (SE)to create bespoke,flexibleARtraining support “in-house” and is a potential barrier to industrial adoption of AR. Presently, AR content creation requires a range of specialist knowledge (e.g. 3D modelling, interface design, programming and spatial tracking) and may involve infrastructure changes (e.g. fiducial markers, cameras) and disruption to workflow. The research reported in this paper concerns the development and deployment of an Augmented Repair Training Application (ARTA); a templatebased interface to support end user (shop floor) AR content creation. The proposed methodology and implementation are discussed and evaluated in a real-world industrial case study in collaboration with a Small Enterprise (SE) in the Used and Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment sector (UEEE/WEEE). The need for end user friendly templates is presented in the conclusion alongside further related work.