QuEST Global wants to digitize the MRO world. The worldwide engineering powerhouse bought an engineering software company, Mobiliya, earlier this year, acquiring Mobiliya’s augmented reality product AR360.
AR360 promises to make maintenance and repair work faster, cheaper, and more reliable, said Steve Gerber, senior vice president of strategic accounts for QuEST Global. Using AR360, an aircraft maintenance technician can point a smartphone at a piece of equipment, and on the screen will see the assembly and precise directions for the task at hand.
“You can help the technician visualize each step as he looks at the machine. He knows which handle to push, which bolt to tighten,” Gerber said.
The technology has been in use in the medical device and retail industries for nearly a year, and is close to being deployed in aerospace. “There’s a lot of validation before it gets deployed. In general, this has been a very smooth deployment,” he said. “We’re just getting started [in this industry].”