Extended Reality Technology for Maintenance of Complex Machine in Manufacturing Training

Abstract

This research was the development of extended reality technology used to improve traditional maintenance training in manufacturing. Conventional practice is an instruction that uses texts, images, and videos. Moreover, during the training session, the machines in the production line had to be stopped. Therefore, the extended reality technology, which was actually augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality combined enhanced the trainee’s experience through virtual environment training by simulating the machine’s maintenance procedure. Three of 21 failure cases of the machine were simulated for the case study. The system enabled learning and searching for information with the case. The system was evaluated for the satisfaction of the trainees for confirmation to be genuinely available. The system was then tested by 30 participants, where the experiment was conducted in a laboratory instead of a production line. There was less chance of these failures occurring on the production line. Therefore, a more appropriate way was to simulate the failure in the laboratory. By comparing the mean time to repair and mean time between failure of the current machine, it could be concluded that the maintenance time could be reduced.