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Procedia Procedia
CIRP 00 CIRP
(2017)100
000–000
(2021) 554–559
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
31st CIRP Design Conference 2021 (CIRP Design 2021)
31st CIRP Design Conference 2021 (CIRP Design 2021)
Digitization of industrial engineering processes using the augmented
Digitization ofreality
industrial
28th Design engineering
CIRPtechnology: Conference,industrial
Mayprocesses
2018, case
Nantes,using
studies
Francethe augmented
reality technology: industrial case studies
A new methodology to analyzeFahmi the functional
Bellalouna and physical architecture of
existing products forofan
University assembly
Applied SciencesFahmi oriented
Bellalouna
Karlsruhe, product
Moltkestarsse 30, family
Karlsruhe 76133, Germany identification
University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe, Moltkestarsse 30, Karlsruhe 76133, Germany
Paul Stief *, Jean-Yves Dantan, Alain Etienne, Ali Siadat
Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-721-925-1862; fax: +49-721-925-1915. E-mail address: fahmi.bellalouna@hs-karslruhe.de
Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-721-925-1862; fax: +49-721-925-1915. E-mail address: fahmi.bellalouna@hs-karslruhe.de
École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, LCFC EA 4495, 4 Rue Augustin Fresnel, Metz 57078, France

Abstract
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 3 87 37 54 30; E-mail address: paul.stief@ensam.eu
Abstract
Augmented Reality Technology is one of the key technologies of digital transformation in industrial and non-industrial areas. Due to the rapid
development of display hardware and tracking systems, virtual and augmented reality applications are being developed today that would only
Augmented Reality Technology is one of the key technologies of digital transformation in industrial and non-industrial areas. Due to the rapid
have been possible in large research laboratories with huge efforts a few years ago. This paper presents the application of the augmented reality
Abstract
development of display hardware and tracking systems, virtual and augmented reality applications are being developed today that would only
technology (AR) in the industrial field. Based on industrial case studies the implementation of two AR applications and their potential to digitize
have been possible in large research laboratories with huge efforts a few years ago. This paper presents the application of the augmented reality
thetoday’s
In product lifecycleenvironment,
processes will be discussed. The useproduct
cases were developed within cooperation projects
Duebetween the Universitythe of Applied
technologybusiness
(AR) in the industrial the field.trend
Basedtowards more
on industrial variety
case studies and
the customization
implementation ofistwo
unbroken. to this
AR applications anddevelopment,
their potential to need of
digitize
Sciences
agile and Karlsruhe and aproduction
reconfigurable fire truck manufacturer.
systems The to
emerged case studies
cope with focus on products
various the following
and topics: digital
product product
families. To configuration
design and management
optimize and
production
the product lifecycle processes will be discussed. The use cases were developed within cooperation projects between the University of Applied
production
systems planning and assistance. The objective of the caseproduct
studiesanalysis
is the investigation areoftopics:
the AR application in of
thethe
industrial environment and
SciencesasKarlsruhe
well as toand
choose
a fire the optimal
truck product The
manufacturer. matches,
case studies focus on themethods
following needed. Indeed,
digital most
product known management
configuration methods aimand to
its capability
analyze a as digital
product or one transformation
product family technology
on the alonglevel.
physical the product
Differentlifecycle.
product The presented
families, case studies
however, may deliver
differ experiences
largely in terms and
of suggestions
the number in
and
production planning and assistance. The objective of the case studies is the investigation of the AR application in the industrial environment and
terms
nature of praxis-oriented
of components. development and deployment of the AR technology in the engineering field, which can be used for future AR research
its capability as digital This fact impedes
transformation an efficient
technology alongcomparison
the productand choiceThe
lifecycle. of appropriate
presented case product family
studies combinations
deliver experiences for andthe production
suggestions in
works. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to cluster
system.
terms of praxis-oriented development and deployment of the AR technology in the engineering field, which can be used for future AR research
these
works.products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization of existing assembly lines and the creation of future reconfigurable
© 2021 The
assembly Authors.
systems. BasedPublished
on Datum by Elsevier
Flow Chain, Ltd. the physical structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and
© 2021
This is The
an Authors.
open access Published
article by Elsevier
under the CC Ltd.
BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
a©functional
2021 The analysis
Authors. isPublished
performed. Moreover,
by Elsevier a hybrid functional
Ltd. and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the
This is an
Peer-review open access
under article under
responsibility of the scientific
the CC BY-NC-ND
committeelicense (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
of the 31st CIRP Design Conference 2021 and product designers. An illustrative
similarity
This is an between
open product
access families
article under by
the providing
CC BY-NC-NDdesign support
license
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 31st CIRP to both, production system2021. planners
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Design Conference
example of a nail-clipper is used to explain the proposed methodology. An industrial
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 31st CIRP Design Conference 2021 case study on two product families of steering columns of
Keywords: Augmented Reality (AR); Product Configuration Management; Production Planning and Assembly Assistance; Industrial Digitization
thyssenkrupp Presta France is then carried out to give a first industrial evaluation of the proposed approach.
©Keywords:
2017 TheAugmented
Authors. Published
Reality (AR);by Product
ElsevierConfiguration
B.V. Management; Production Planning and Assembly Assistance; Industrial Digitization
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 28th CIRP Design Conference 2018.
1. Introduction
Keywords: Assembly; Design method; Family identification
non-industrial areas. Due to the rapid development of display
1. Introduction hardware and tracking
non-industrial areas. Due systems,
to the virtual and augmented
rapid development reality
of display
The Progress in information and communication applications are being developed today that
hardware and tracking systems, virtual and augmented reality would only have
technologies (ICT) eliminated
The Progress in information and communication economic and technical been possible in large research laboratories a
applications are being developed today that would only have few years ago [3].
1.restrictions
Introduction and creates completely
technologies (ICT) eliminated economic and technical new opportunities for Indeed,
of the modern
product smartphones
range and and tablet
characteristics computers,
manufactured
been possible in large research laboratories a few years ago [3]. although
and/or
action. This and
restrictions leadscreates
to innovations
completely that were
new previously
opportunities simply
for they weremodern
assembled
Indeed, mostly not primarily
in this smartphones
system. In this purchased
andcontext, by
tablet the their
mainusers
computers, for AR,
challenge
although in
unimaginable
Due to the [1].
fast This process
development inis
action. This leads to innovations that were previously simply thecalled
domain "digitalof are now
modelling very
and useful with
analysis their
is now cameras,
not sensors
only to and
cope
they were mostly not primarily purchased by their users for AR, computing
with single
transformation"
communication
unimaginable and [1]. isanThis
defined
ongoing by trend
process the MIT isof Center
called of "digital
digitization Digital
and performance
products,
are now very as
a limitedthe product
useful basis
with for AR
range
their systems. Large
or existing
cameras, sensors companies
product like
families,
and computing
Business as
digitalization, “the use
manufacturingof new digital
enterprises technologies
are
transformation" and is defined by the MIT Center of Digital facing (e.g. social
important Google
but also or
to Apple
be able provide
to analyzeSDKsand (Software
to compare Development
products
performance as the basis for AR systems. Large companies like to Kits)
define
media,
challenges
Business smartphone,
asin“the useanalysis
today’s newand
ofmarket integrated
environments:
digital devices)
technologies a (e.g.to enable
continuing
social for
new the
Google development
product families.
or Apple of AR
It can
provide SDKs applications.
be observed
(Software Accordingly,
that today
classical existing
Development Kits)
significant
tendency improvements
towards reduction and
of to increase
product the
development
media, smartphone, analysis and integrated devices) to enable performance
times of
and there
product are thousands
families are of new
regrouped ARin applications
function of
for the development of AR applications. Accordingly, today available
clients or that
features.are
the processes
shortened productin the business
lifecycles. In environment
addition, there
significant improvements and to increase the performance of (e.g.
is improve
an increasing the waiting
However, for millions
assembly of potential
oriented users
product - users
families
there are thousands of new AR applications available that arewho
are already
hardly to have
find.
customer
demand of experience,
the processes customization, streamline
in the business at operations
beingenvironment
the same(e.g. or improve
time create
in a global new
the the necessary
On
waiting the hardware
forproduct
millions family [3].level, users
of potential products differ
- users whomainly
already inhave
two
business
competition models)
with [2]. Augmented
competitors all Reality
over the
customer experience, streamline operations or create new Technology
world. This is one of
trend, main Despite the exponential
characteristics:
the necessary hardware [3]. (i) the technological
number of development
components and that
(ii) AR
the
the
which key istechnologies
inducing of
the digital transformation
development from
business models) [2]. Augmented Reality Technology is one of in
macroindustrial
to and
micro has
type experienced
of components in recent
(e.g. years,
mechanical, currently no
electrical,
Despite the exponential technological development that AR observable
electronical). and
markets, results in diminished
the key technologies lot sizes due intoindustrial
of digital transformation augmenting and hasClassical
experiencedmethodologies considering
in recent years, mainly
currently no single products
observable and
product varieties (high-volume to low-volume production) [1]. or solitary, already existing product families analyze the
2212-8271 © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
To cope with this augmenting variety as well as to be able to product structure on a physical level (components level) which
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
identify
2212-8271 possible
© 2021 The optimization
Authors. Publishedpotentials in
by Elsevier Ltd. the existing
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 31st CIRP Design causes difficulties
Conference 2021 regarding an efficient definition and
This is an open
production access article
system, under the CCtoBY-NC-ND
it is important license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
have a precise knowledge comparison of different product families. Addressing this
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 31st CIRP Design Conference 2021
2212-8271 © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an©open
2212-8271 2017access article Published
The Authors. under theby CC BY-NC-ND
Elsevier B.V. license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-reviewunder
Peer-review under responsibility
responsibility of the
of the scientific
scientific committee
committee of theof28th
the CIRP
31st CIRP
DesignDesign Conference
Conference 2018. 2021.
10.1016/j.procir.2021.05.120
 Fahmi Bellalouna et al. / Procedia CIRP 100 (2021) 554–559
2 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000
significant breakthrough for this technology in terms of
application in the business processes can be noted in the
industrial environment. According to a trend study by Tata
Consultancy Services and Bitkom Research, only around 15%
of industrial companies in Germany used AR in their business
processes in 2019 [4]. According to the same trend study, the
major hurdles for the introduction of new digital technologies
such as AR within industrial companies can be summarized as
follows: lack of skilled employees with new digital
technologies; direct benefits for the own processes not
recognizable; Lack of acceptance among the company staff;
lack of time due to the daily workload. These aspects were the
major motivation for the initiation of the implementation of the
presented use cases. The carrying out of the in this paper present
case studies can be considered as feasibility study that has the
investigation of the follows topics as main objective: the needed
implementation effort for AR application; the benefit and
potential of AR for business processes; the employees’
acceptance for the AR technology. The AR case studies were
carried out for the business areas: “product configuration
management” and “assembly assistance”.
2. Definition and application of augmented reality
The According to Azuma [5] Augmented Reality (AR) is a
variation of Virtual Environments (VE), or Virtual Reality as it
is more commonly called. VE technologies completely
immerse a user inside a synthetic environment. While
immersed, the user cannot see the real world around him. In
contrast, AR allows the user to see the real world, with virtual
objects superimposed upon or composited with the real world.
Therefore, AR supplements reality, rather than completely
replacing it. A common example for an application of AR
would be the insertion of further information during the live
broadcast of a soccer game, e.g. the offside lines or goal
distances during a free kick are digitally shown on TV [6].
According to Azuma AR system should have the following
three basic characteristics [5] (Fig. 1):
 Combines real and virtual: using sensors (e.g. camera,
gyroscope, GPS) the real observed objects can be detected
and oriented according the user position in the real time.
Based on the position of the real object and the perspective
view of the user, the virtual objects can be rendered and
superimposed in the right geometric size and orientation in
the 3D space.
 Interactive in real time: by means of user interfaces (e.g.
touchscreen, hand gestures, microphone, earphone) can
the user interact (input / output of data) with the real and
the virtual objects in real time (e.g. overlay or hide digital
data).
 Visualization in 3D: 3D visualization of the virtual objects
in the 3D space can be done using special graphic software
and hardware (e.g. HMD, Display of tablet computers and
smartphones). The 3D visualization must be linked to the
user and follow its motion, so that the 3D virtual object can
be rendered in the real time according to the relative
position of user to the real object.
555
Fig. 1. AR system (AR app for the configuration of fire truck)
Currently, the AR Technology is already used in many areas
such as retail, construction, medical, education, marketing,
tourism. CaratLane, one of India’s largest online jewellery
retailers, implemented an AR-app to introduce the world’s first
virtual 3D jewellery Try-on app. Using a facial recognition and
3D imaging technology to turn the user’s laptop or smartphone
screen into a mirror. MAC Cosmetics implements this
technology on location in their New York retail store. Another
example is the IKEA Place app, which lets consumers
experience how true-to-scale furniture would look, and fit, in
their house [7]. The automobile manufacturer Volkswagen has
used AR to investigate and to plan a new hall building for a
new factory. The AR application enables a completeness check
and the reliable detection of position deviations on the
construction site [8]. AR technology has already found its way
into education. AR applications put students into the story,
what makes learning more lively. Instructors can use AR as
distracting technology to motivate and engage the students [9]
[10]. According to Horvath and Sudar, there are some
significant and determinate research results on learning
efficiency related to AR technology: 30% faster student’s
activity and team work, 50% better information
comprehension, 50% more complex information sharing, 30%
[11].
The AR technology is expected to perform well in the future,
especially towards the development of intuitive human-
machine interfaces [12]. The International Data Corporation
predicts an enormous market growth from 0.2 bn. USD in 2016
to 48.7 bn. USD in 2021 [13]. In spite of the depicted trend,
current applications in the industry sector are often
characterized as proprietary [14]. Especially the transfer from
a laboratory environment towards industry is considered to be
inhibited by specific requirements [14].
3. Related research works
In last few years several research and industrial works have
conducted, to investigate the application of the emerging AR
technology in the industrial environment. The results of these
works show the significance of this technology for improving
the industrial business processes and give new impulses for
future research projects. Furthermore, the analyzed related
works show some intersection with this presented paper
regarding the project target and the developed approach.
556 Fahmi Bellalouna et al. / Procedia CIRP 100 (2021) 554–559
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000
However, the ways of the realization differ. Bellow, a short
summary about the significant works is given without claim of
completeness.
Quandt et al. [13] discussed and defined the general
requirements for AR application based on two industrial case
studies: an AR-based assistance system for wind energy
services technicians and an AR-based welding simulator for
education and training purposes. In both case studies, the
authors identified approaches to meet the defined requirements
for successful application of AR solutions in industrial
scenarios. The work of Quandt et al. only presented a system
architecture for AR applications and does not provide any
information about their implementation and their introduction
in the industrial practice. Weiding et al. [15] presented a new
approach for a systematic development process for mobile AR
application to support production planning. The developed
approach delivers a theoretic basic methodology how to design
an AR application for a production planning process, however
it has not been realized into a concrete AR application and there
is a lack of how to be applied in the practice. Mura et al. [16]
proposed an approach for system based on the interaction
between a force sensor and an AR equipment, used to give the
worker during a manual assembly process the necessary
information about the correct assembly sequence and alert him
in case of errors. During this work two AR devices were used
and tested: a video-mixing spatial display and an optical see-
through apparatus. The presented approach was developed for
a small and simple assembly process and had prototypical
character with open issues and weaknesses. Servan et al. [17]
developed an approach for using AR in AIRBUS A400M shop
floor assembly work instructions. To replace the elaborate
paper-based work instructions (e.g. drawings of components,
torques to be applied, sealing system characteristics or paste,
etc.) AIRBUS Military developed within the MOON project
(asseMbly Oriented authOring augmeNted reality) an AR-
based assembly work instruction approach. MOON uses 3D
information from the iDMU (industrial Digital Mock-Up) to
generate assembly instructions by applying Augmented Reality
technology. A demonstrator was developed for the electrical
harness routing in the of the AIRBUS A400M. The results of
the project showed that the use of augmented reality in the shop
floor was a feasible alternative to the conventional paper-based
documentation. The project proposed a methodology, named
MOON, based on the combination of these two techniques:
iDMU and augmented reality. The paper of Porcelli et al. [18]
presents a case study in an industrial context, that depicts the
main technical and organizational challenges that have to be
faced in order to introduce AR in the delivery process of
maintenance services. Within this case study the technical and
organizational issues that can limit the actual introduction of
this technology were identified and discussed. The authors
believe the AR technology is directed, within a few years, to
become a standard equipment of service and maintenance
department.
4. Methodology
The realization of the presented case studies has been done
applying the scrum product design and project management
3
framework. Scrum is an agile process framework for managing
complex knowledge work, with an initial emphasis on software
development, although it has been used in other fields and is
slowly starting to be explored for other complex work, research
and advanced technologies [19]. The Term Scrum is borrowed
from rugby, where a scrum is a formation of players and it used
to emphasize the teamwork. Scrum is a lightweight, iterative
and incremental framework for managing complex work [19].
It is suitable for development projects dealing with new
innovative technologies with unpredictable challenges and
outcomes such as the AR technology, for which conventional
predictive and planned product design and project management
approaches are not suited [19]. For the implementation of the
case studies a so-called scrum team was built, which contains
a representative from the business unit “product owner”, a
“development team” of students and a project manager “scrum
master”. The implementation of the case studies was structured
in several successive iteration loops also known as sprint. Each
sprint starts with a sprint planning event that establishes a sprint
goal. The team accepts what they agree is ready and translate
this into a sprint backlog, with a breakdown of the work
required and an estimated forecast for the sprint goal. Each
sprint ends with a sprint review and sprint retrospective, that
reviews progress to show to stakeholders and identify lessons
and improvements for the next sprints [20]. The application of
the scrum project management approach in this work enabled
to cope with the challenges in terms of insufficient experience
with AR technology for the involved team members and it
reduced the project risk. Since, the performance and
possibilities of the AR technology were not known to most
project participants and stakeholders, it was difficult to define
the requirements and expectations on the AR applications at the
beginning of the use cases. Due to the Scrum method, the team
members were able to get familiar with the AR technology
during the project implementation and to set and to adjust the
project goals sprint by sprint while the carrying out of the use
case.
In order to evaluate the implemented AR applications
systematically, a qualitative questionnaire was created and
used as basis for the evaluation workshops with the business
unit experts and key users. The evaluation workshops were
structured in three phases: introduction phase to present the AR
application and its functions (time duration about 10 min), field
trial phase with the experts to test the AR application in real
field situations (time duration about 30 min), and the
assessment phase to fill out the questionnaire (time duration
about 30 min). The questionnaire focused on the following
topics:
 Performance: the ability of the AR application to exact
overlay of the virtual data on the physical object and the
real-time rendering when changing user position.
 Usability: intuitive use of the AR functions without any
hindrance while real task operation.
 Added value: the perception of added value for the
considered business processes due to the use of the AR
application.
The outcomes of the final assessment of the questionnaire was
a list of recommendation for the involved business units on how
 Fahmi Bellalouna et al. / Procedia CIRP 100 (2021) 554–559
4 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000
to deal with the AR technology in the future in terms of aptitude
for the own business processes and the application scope.
5. Case Study: AR-based product configuration
management for rescue platform
The rescue platform of a fire engine has approx. 50 different
special and optional equipment (e.g. diver leader, stretcher,
wheelchair ramp, camera, lighting) that can be selected by the
customer while the product configuration. The product
configuration is currently carried out with the help of the sales
documents, which exist in paper form as product catalogs. The
product catalogs are created individually for the single
equipment and provide a functional description with a simple
image presentation of the assembly position. In this way, only
one optional equipment can be considered at the same time, so
that the space available when installing two neighboring
components is not apparent. It also remains unclear whether the
components may collide and a simultaneous installation is not
possible. In addition, the installation position can only be
viewed from a fixed perspective. This current configuration
process of the rescue platform leads in the most of the case to
wrong decision regarding the selection of the optional
equipment, which not fit to each other. However, these wrong
decisions can only be detected during the assembly process of
the rescue platform. As consequence is cost- and time-
consuming reconfiguration of the rescue platform, which leads
to costumer dissatisfaction and in some cases to customer
churning. In order to simplify the configuration process for the
rescue platform, an AR application was developed in this
cooperation project between the University of Applied
Sciences Karlsruhe and an OEM for fire trucks. Using the AR
application, the costumer can overlay the virtual 3D models of
all the optional and extra equipment to a real basic rescue
platform. To use the AR application, only a real rescue platform
with basic equipment without additional components is
required. The assembly, disassembly and transport of special
equipment for demonstrative purposes at sales events is
omitted, which greatly simplifies and speeds up the
configuration process. Below the main function of the AR
application are presented:
Model recognition and tracking function uses a 2D
drawing as target model to orient the camera of the AR device
to real basic rescue platform and to detect it (Fig. 2). Once the
model is detected, the virtual 3D model of the rescue platform
is overlaid on the physical real one. This function allows an
uninterrupted model tracking even though the customer move
around. The detection of the rescue platform based on catalog
image can also be attained by this function.
Fig. 2. AR function “Model recognition”
557
Tree view function structures the optional and extra
equipment into several categories (e.g. safety, extinguish
system, camera system). Hence, the costumer can easy navigate
in the virtual equipment catalog and search for the needed
components systematically. The content of a category expands
as sub-tree view by selecting a category in the main tree view.
Overlay 3D Model function enables the display the virtual
3D model of one or more selected components in the tree view
based on the real rescue platform in the correct position and
size (Fig. 5). This function contains configuration rules that
prevent the selection of conflicting components. The tracking
function permits the observation of the shown 3D model from
different perspective for assembly and collusion check.
Animation function animates the in the tree view selected
components. The animation shows the real movement of the
components in the 3D space. Using this function, the costumer
can get a realistic impression of the built equipment and can
check its collision with the neighboring components. Thus, a
reliable and efficient configuration process can be ensured.
Load of technical documents function loads and opens
technical documents as PDF for the built equipment. Hence,
the customer does not have to page through the product manual
to look for the technical specification of a specific components.
As consequence, a valuable time during the configuration
process can be saved and mistakes in terms of using of incorrect
data can be avoided.
Play of videos function loads and plays videos to
demonstrate the use of the selected equipment in the field
during a rescue operation. This function offers a crucial support
for the costumer while the decision process. In this case, the
configuration process will be carried out based on accurate
technical information and not on assumptions.
Fig. 3. AR function “Overlay 3D model for optional equipment”
6. Case Study: AR-based assembly assistance for
firefighting equipment
The firefighting equipment (e.g. power saw, axe, fire truck,
hoses) is housed in various equipment boxes in a firetruck.
There is a wide variety of equipment configurations that can be
stored in the different equipment cases with different positions
(Fig. 4). The equipment configuration is determined in
collaboration with the fire department during the sales process
individually. Currently, the assembly process of the firefighting
equipment is based on paper 2D drawings, which depict the
equipment and its location in the firetruck. However, this
process is very elaborate and error-prone due to the high variety
of the equipment, its storage and positioning. This process is
558 Fahmi Bellalouna et al. / Procedia CIRP 100 (2021) 554–559
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000
particularly difficult for inexperienced employees and leads to
high error rates while the assembly process. This causes high
numbers of customer complaints, which lead to high costs for
guarantee and after sales service, as well as customer
dissatisfaction.
Fig. 4. Fire truck with firefighting equipment (Rosenbauer)
In order to improve the quality and to reduce the error rate
during the assembly process, an AR-based assembly assistant
application was developed in cooperation with the firefighter
equipment manufacturer. The AR application is intended to
display the firefighting equipment virtually in the empty
physical equipment cases using a mobile device (e.g. tablet,
smartphone). This should make it easier for new employees to
get started with assembly process and support them during the
firefighting equipment installation. In addition, the AR
application can be used to visualize the final assembly state of
the firefighting equipment to the fire department in the earlier
sales process phase. This leads to avoid misunderstandings
during the requirements management process and to identify
change requests at an early product planning phase. In
following the main functions of the AR application are
outlined:
To start the AR-based assembly process, the QR code of the
fire truck case that have to be assembled has to be scanned.
Based on this information the virtual data of the firefighting
equipment will be loaded while the following steps.
Afterwards, an AR visual target for the concerned equipment
box will appear, which can serve to identify and track the real
box in the fire truck (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5. AR target to recognize the real firefighting equipment box.
After the identification of the real equipment box, the virtual
graphic data of the box and the included firefighting equipment
will be displayed in the 3D space in the right position (Fig. 6).
Using the camera of the AR device, an uninterrupted model
tracking can be ensured even though the user move around the
equipment box. Furthermore, the firefighting equipment will be
shown as tree structure that can be shown and hidden. The
equipment can also be found via a search function applying the
part number or the part name. This will be displayed
5
graphically interactively with the information of the equipment
boxes, where is mounted. With those implemented AR
functions, the employees can visualize the virtual 3D models
of the equipment in interactive way in order to get a better view
about the equipment box bevor starting the assembly process.
Moreover, the AR application can also be used to check the
assembly process regarding the correctness and the
completeness of the fitted equipment.
Fig. 6. left: empty real equipment box, right: visualization of the virtual
graphic data of the box and the included firefighting equipment.
7. Implementation of the AR applications
The presented AR applications were implemented using the
software systems Vuforia SDK and Unity3D Engine. An
important element of an AR application is the model target. A
model target is a real-world object that has to be recognized in
the AR application by the camera of the AR device. It can be
an image, e.g. a photo or a page in a magazine, or a real object
like a chair. In order to have a stable and reliable detection, the
real object must be static and have a distinctive shape. The
target objects in this work were created with the Vuforia SDK
based on the 3D CAD models of the real objects (Fig. 7). The
UX (user experience) in the AR applications is designed and
implemented in Unity3D Engine. The UX describes the design
of the UI (user interface) in interactive context. Before the
development of the UX, the requirements for the AR
application were defined. These were derived from the tasks of
the target user groups. The best method to collect the user tasks
and to identify the user interactions with the AR application,
was the discussion with the user groups the typical everyday
experiences. The final AR applications were built from
Unity3D as Android Apps that can be run on any Android
device (Smartphone, Tablet) that fulfills the hard- and software
requirements.
Fig. 7. Create AR model target for the rescue platform.
8. Evaluation of the AR applications
In order to get final evaluation of the implemented AR
applications from the involved business unit experts, several
evaluation and review workshops were conducted at the end of
the use cases. The evaluation feedbacks are summarized in the
following table.
 Fahmi Bellalouna et al. / Procedia CIRP 100 (2021) 554–559 559
6 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

Table 1. Summary of the evaluation of the AR applications. support in carrying out this work and in evaluating and
Performance Usability Added values discussing the implemented AR applications.
AR-based Stable target The AR The AR-based
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