11 Aug 2023
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Mike Boland
AWE Talks: Putting the AR in Aerospace
AWE USA 2023
Welcome back to AWE Talks, our series that revisits the most engaging content from AWE’s catalog of conference sessions. Now that AWE USA 2023 has concluded, we have a fresh batch of sessions to dive into.
This week, we spotlight the drivers and success factors in bringing AR to aerospace assembly. Why is it needed, and how do you position it to scale? We hear from an AR innovator and adopter for both sides of the story.
See the summarized takeaways below, along with the full session video. Stay tuned for more video highlights each week and check out the full library on awe.live and AWE’s YouTube Channel.
Speakers
Scott Montgomerie, ScopeAR
Michael Hinckley, Northrop Grumman
– The great resignation impacts many sectors, especially high-stakes ones like aerospace.
– Covering gaps in assembly & maintenance, for example, can be expensive problems.
– This was already a challenge given the skills gap that results from retiring boomers.
– This is where AR can come to the rescue in optimizing institutional knowledge.
– It does this by disseminating knowledge from senior experts and upskilling novices.
– The former occurs by placeshifting centralized experts through remote assistance.
– Beyond optimizing institutional knowledge, AR can create valuable "digital threads."
– This is when AR meets PLM (product lifecycle management) for equipment history.
– Northrop Grumman, for example, can see AR overlays for maintenance history.
– Having such in situ insights empowers technicians when diagnosing new issues.
– But this is easier said than done. Anyone can build AR but integration is the key.
– There’s also cultural resistance among frontline workers to emerging tech like AR.
– The key is to align goals and incentives to get everyone rowing in the same direction.
– That includes basic change management and clear communications to stakeholders.
– When these best practices are followed, AR has the best chance of success.
For more color, see the full video below. 
