Augmented reality to help UK steel industry protect vital skills

PTC, one of the world’s leading authorities on Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has joined forces with the Materials Processing Institute, a research and innovation centre serving global steel and materials organisations, to explore the potential of AR at its Normanton Plant in Teesside.

The project will initially use Vuforia Studio technology to overlay live data – taken from the ThingWorx industrial platform – to various points of the facility, so that operators moving around will be able to make informed decisions on changes to casting and melting lines or troubleshoot issues before they happen.

It is anticipated that augmented reality will make it easier for staff to have the right information at exactly the right point they need it.

This project will contribute to the sector’s move towards a net zero steel works by 2050 and is part of the £22 million PRISM steel and metals sector R&D programme.

Chris Oswin, group manager of digital technologies at the Materials Processing Institute, commented: “We are taking responsibility for exploring IIoT platforms and AR and working out how we can get the most out of them in a live steel plant, learning from testing and trials to identify best use cases.”

“This means we absorb a lot of the time and remove the initial expenditure that could act as a barrier to entry for companies in our industry, hopefully encouraging digital adoption as we will have proved it works and how it can be applied to businesses.

PRISM is guided by a team of industry leaders on our Industrial Advisory Board, including the Aluminium Federation, British Manufacturing Plant Constructors’ Association, British Steel, Celsa Steel, Liberty Steel, Outokumpu Stainless Steel, Sheffield Forgemasters, Swansea University, Tata Steel and the UK Metals Council.

The Materials Processing Institute has a long-term relationship with PTC, with the latest project following on from the introduction of ThingWorx as part of the £10 million programme to explore how digital technologies can be implemented in brownfield manufacturing sites.

In addition to optimising processes and introducing new efficiency improvements, AR will also be used to capture some of the traditional skills in the sector that could be lost if the knowledge of older workers is not retained before they retire.

This will be achieved by using PTC’s Vuforia software, with Vuforia Expert Capture allowing operators and technicians to film their daily tasks in step-by-step instructions, in situ of when and where they do their work.

This will be uploaded to the cloud, which can then be accessed by new starters or people switching roles, using HoloLens or RealWear to get a real hands-on experience, or other devices such as mobiles, tablets or on desktop computers.

PTC www.ptc.com

Materials Processing Institute www.mpiuk.com