Shipbuilding companies are upgrading their inner workings in order to create Shipyards 4.0, where the principles of Industry 4.0 are paving the way to further digitalized and optimized processes in an integrated network. Among the different Industry 4.0 technologies, this paper focuses on augmented reality, whose application in the industrial field has led to the concept of industrial augmented reality (IAR). This paper first describes the basics of IAR and then carries out a thorough analysis of the latest IAR systems for industrial and shipbuilding applications. Then, in order to build a practical IAR system for shipyard workers, the main hardware and software solutions are compared. Finally, as a conclusion after reviewing all the aspects related to IAR for shipbuilding, it proposed an IAR system architecture that combines cloudlets and fog computing, which reduce latency response and accelerate rendering tasks while offloading compute intensive tasks from the cloud.

A Review on Industrial Augmented Reality Systems for the Industry 4.0 Shipyard

A welding training system includes one or more welding operator device which provides positional feedback relevant to a quality weld. The positional feedback is analyzed and, when the positional feedback is outside of a predetermined range, a signal is provided to the welding operator. In one embodiment, tactile feedback is provided in a welding gun.

Welding training system

The principles of the Industry 4.0 are guiding manufacturing companies toward more automated and computerized factories. Such principles are also applied in shipbuilding, which usually involves numerous complex processes whose automation will improve its efficiency and performance. Navantia, a company that has been building ships for 300 years, is modernizing its shipyards according to the Industry 4.0 principles with the help of the latest technologies. Augmented reality (AR), which when utilized in an industrial environment is called industrial AR (IAR), is one of such technologies, since it can be applied in numerous situations in order to provide useful and attractive interfaces that allow shipyard operators to obtain information on their tasks and to interact with certain elements that surround them. This article first reviews the state of the art on IAR applications for shipbuilding and smart manufacturing. Then, the most relevant IAR hardware and software tools are detailed, as well as the main use cases for the application of IAR in a shipyard. Next, it is described Navantia’s IAR system, which is based on a fog-computing architecture. Such a system is evaluated when making the use of three IAR devices (a smartphone, a tablet, and a pair of smart glasses), two AR software development kits (ARToolKit and Vuforia) and multiple IAR markers, with the objective of determining their performance in a shipyard workshop and inside a ship under construction. The results obtained show a remarkable performance differences among the different IAR tools and the impact of factors like lighting, pointing out the best combinations of markers, and hardware and software to be used depending on the characteristics of the shipyard scenario.

A Practical Evaluation of Commercial Industrial Augmented Reality Systems in an Industry 4.0 Shipyard

A real-time virtual reality welding system including a programmable processor- based subsystem, a spatial tracker operatively connected to the programmable processor- based subsystem, at least one mock welding tool capable of being spatially tracked by the spatial tracker, and at least one display device operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem. The system is capable of simulating, in virtual reality space, a weld puddle having real-time molten metal fluidity and heat dissipation characteristics. The system is further capable of displaying the simulated weld puddle on the display device in real-time.

System and method providing arc welding training in a real-time simulated virtual reality environment using real-time weld puddle feedback

A system and a method for tracking and analyzing welding activity. Dynamic spatial properties of a welding tool are sensed during a welding process producing a weld. The sensed dynamic spatial properties are tracked over time and the tracked dynamic spatial properties are captured as tracked data during the welding process. The tracked data is analyzed to determine performance characteristics of a welder performing the welding process and quality characteristics of a weld produced by the welding process. The performance characteristics and the quality characteristics may be subsequently reviewed.

System for tracking and analyzing welding activity

A mixed reality system has been created for simulating gas metal arc welding (GMAW) welding. This simulation system is intended for use in training human welders. The system is comprised of a real welding torch attached to a force feedback device, a head-mounted display, a 6 DOF tracking system for both the torch and the user's head, and external audio speakers. The welding simulation is based on empirical results from detailed analysis of a series of test welds. The simulation runs in real-time, using a neural network to determine the quality and shape of the created weld based on the orientation and speed of the welding torch. The welding process and resulting weld bead are displayed in a virtual environment. Weld quality and recorded process values can be displayed after welding for review.

Kenneth Fast

Papers

Virtual Training for Welding