Avatour
Assembly Line
Warping in the real world: Remote factory meetings in 360°
In a research project with SB&D, ETH students Michael Stegmaier and Cesare Primultini led our field test of interactive mixed reality live streaming technology in manufacturing. Michael and Cesare conceptualized two ways to transmit live-streaming 360° video from the shop floor of SB&D: A first-person view where a camera was mounted to a hard hat and a fixed-position view where the camera could be mounted inside a machine during a changeover. Live-streamed 360° video would be transmitted to a cloud, where participants would meet virtually from anywhere (see figure below). Back in 2021, we identified Avatour, a startup from California, as our project’s only viable software provider.
Where can this technology find good use? High-potential use cases are safety audits, training programs, and tasks that require the presence of an expert or coach. Other use cases are factory tours, external or internal audits, technology transfer projects, inspections, and on-the-job coaching of individuals.