The use of augmented reality in industry is no longer a dream of the future. From assembly and quality assurance to maintenance and repair, industrial AR applications offer enormous potential for process optimization. The focus is on the digital twin as the digital replica of every real existing object. In addition to CAD data, this also contains various other information, metadata on the properties of individual components or materials used. Access to this data is extremely important and can be used profitably at many stages of the process.

However, the enormous volume of data associated with the use of the digital twin is not easy to handle. For the visualization of 3D models, the amount of data is therefore reduced many times over, and stored metadata is lost in the process. In addition, the creation of 3D visualizations has so far required special software and computers set up specifically for this purpose. Visual processing for industrial applications also requires not only specialist knowledge, but also long processing times. Those who would gain real added value for their day-to-day work by accessing the planning data - the fitters, inspectors or purchasers - are denied access.

Fraunhofer platform accelerates visualization of 3D models
With the new release of Instant3Dhub, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD is providing a platform that accelerates the visualization of 3D models based on original CAD data. Based on the platform, immense amounts of data can be visualized automatically and in real time, regardless of the device used - AR glasses, tablet or smartphone. A new feature is the integration of Visionlib, an AR tracking library licensed by Visometry, a Fraunhofer IGD spin-off.

It is already a powerful tool for capturing objects in 3D and preparing them for AR visualization. Tracking, i.e. determining the exact position of objects in the camera image, is the decisive basis for AR applications, as this is the only way that additional information and superimposed information can be precisely superimposed. Precise positioning of this information in relation to the object visible in the camera image is essential when it comes to projecting welding points onto an object. The model-based tracking technology works directly on the basis of the customer's original CAD data, which is also used to visualize the 3D models. A complex and interactive reduction of the data by IT experts, which often results in valuable additional semantic information being lost, is therefore not necessary.

Siemens is already testing the advantages of using Instant3Dhub and Visionlib together in the field of electric drive technology. The drive systems are manufactured on a customer-specific basis and each drive is backed by an individual CAD data set, the digital twin with all product specifications. AR technologies will be used throughout the entire product life cycle at Siemens in the future. This also applies to quality assurance, such as checking whether a manufactured component matches the CAD design.

Fraunhofer IGD is also currently researching data transformation in preparation for 3D printing directly from the application, for example for required spare parts. The establishment of greater collaboration options, which allow several end devices to participate in the same AR session, is intended to facilitate remote maintenance scenarios. Another vision for the future is the integration of recognition of previously unknown objects using artificial intelligence. as