Combining Virtual and Augmented Reality to Improve the Mechanical Assembly Training Process in Manufacturing

Nowadays, the industrial sector and specially manufacturing companies, have a huge challenge trying to train the workforce while maintaining up to date with the technology, machinery and manufacturing techniques involved in the production process. For that reason this sector claims for effective, in time and quality, training methodologies that do not interrupt or interfere with the continuous workflow of the company or its technological evolution. Virtual reality offers an alternative that has been successfully implemented in other industries. Virtual reality based training systems have numerous advantages over the conventional methodologies, however, for some applications, virtual reality cannot replace the whole training process because it may be incapable of sufficiently transferring the skills to real world. On the contrary, augmented reality operates in a real environment, providing computer-generated aids to the user in order to “enhance” the real world; therefore, augmented reality based training systems may transfer skills in a greater extent compared to virtual reality. However, augmented reality does not provide all the advantages that virtual reality does, as it makes extensive use of resources like traditional methodologies do. This paper proposes a new methodology that combines virtual and augmented reality; a complete and robust process that fits more complex and demanding training needs of manufacturing companies. Key–Words: Training Process, Training System, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Manufacturing, Mechanical Assembly