In mastering this balancing act, Strothmann consistently relies on digitalization methods in service and commissioning, as in many other areas. What was ridiculed five years ago is now a professional reality at Strothmann: the use of augmented reality, or "AR" for short. Augmented reality generally refers to a computer-supported extension of human perception of reality. In many cases, additional information is superimposed or superimposed as a supplement to real camera images.

© Strothmann

In Strothmann's specific application example, the aim is to apply the commissioning engineer's expertise at several locations worldwide at the same time. This is achieved through the use of AR data goggles, which are worn by a fitter who has been trained in the basics of system technology during commissioning. The data goggles are equipped with a camera, microphone and a miniature display that can be folded in front of the eye. The wearer of the glasses sees data on the miniature display, which is fed directly to him by the specialist at the company's headquarters in Schloß-Holte Stukenbrock. The specialist at home continuously sees the image from the smart glasses camera and can comment on it using annotations such as circles or arrows and mirror it back to the wearer on site. This enables precise analysis and guidance of the fitter on site, even in very difficult technical situations.

The HMT-1 goggles from the manufacturer RealWare are specially designed for use in harsh industrial environments. They are waterproof and can be dropped from a height of two meters onto the floor without being damaged. They can be voice-controlled in several languages and therefore allow completely contact-free operation, leaving the operator's hands free for their actual task. Strothmann uses the Oculavis Share software platform from Aachen-based Oculavis GmbH for communication between the data glasses and the expert's workstation. Oculavis Share integrates very well with the RealWare data glasses and offers various functions to be able to work in sufficient detail even with low transmission bandwidth. This means that even if the connection is poor and the resolution of the video image is low as a result, it is always possible to take individual shots in high resolution, which can be used to analyze the situation in detail. Strothmann sees great potential in this technology and will continue to pursue this path in the future and align its service and commissioning processes accordingly.