AR steps up to remote support

Karen Stretch, Marketing Manager, Kemtek Imaging Systems.

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COVID-19 has changed the way that a lot of tasks are being performed – and tech support is no exception. The good old days of sending a technician onsite to fix a printer or set up a piece of new equipment are long gone. In addition, as the skills shortage escalates, the ability to offer remote support to an onsite resource is going to prove invaluable.

Over and above the convenience factor, as South Africa moves through the different lockdown levels, it’s still considered best practice to avoid human contact wherever possible. This can prove tricky when you have a technical issue that can only be resolved by someone familiar with that piece of kit.

Remote support sounds like an ideal alternative, but providing technical instructions or directions via e-mail, social media or even in a phone call can be problematic, leading to errors in communication and gaps in understanding. Reporting a problem by phone or e-mail can itself be problematic. Language barriers, time delays and constant backwards and forwards as experts try to elicit information from customers who often don’t have the same level of technical knowledge – these can all prove challenging.

Karen Stretch, Head of Marketing and Sales Support at Kemtek Imaging Systems, says: “Even when international technicians were able to come to South Africa, it was expensive to fly them in and accommodate them while they trained local technicians. Now it’s possible for them to do the training or even attend client sites remotely and talk local technicians through the repair while they wear AR glasses.”

AR is a remote collaboration tool that enables technical experts in an entirely different location to receive a live video feed as someone onsite – wearing smart glasses – examines and services the equipment. A computer-generated image is imposed over the user’s view of the real one, encompassing elements of both, so that the specialist can communicate with the onsite technician and walk them through finding a solution.

“This enables remote, hands-free support of a client. Documents, images or even videos can be sent to the onsite technician’s AR glasses and can be layered over the user’s real-time view, to clearly indicate what needs to happen where,” explains Stretch.

The operator can also interact with still or moving images, using tags to indicate key points where action needs to be taken. So instead of saying ‘the small orange round part to the left’, the operator can flag the exact part that requires attention and what action needs to be carried out. This enables technicians onsite to feel confident that they can deal with any issue that arises at a customer as they have the remote backup and support of highly skilled operators.

This means a specialist based anywhere in the world can help multiple clients in a single day, instead of spending several days travelling to overseas customers. Stretch says: “This is particularly useful during a pandemic when travel restrictions apply, as well as increased flight costs. It enables trained operators, regardless of location, to assist with technical support, setting up new technology or even upgrading existing equipment at customers regardless of their location.”

• Reduces downtime and increases productivity;
• Specialists can be centrally located yet accessible to customers wherever they are;
• Reduces costs for service providers and customers alike;
• Improves service quality and reduces the likelihood of ongoing issues;
• Display the content you need to get the job done – and keep both hands free to manipulate components and tools;
• COVID-19 compliant; and
• Can also be used for technical training and mentoring, helping to upskill customers’ staff and show them how to identify and resolve common issues.

You can watch a video on the development of AR smart glasses here.