At the 2018 Switching Safety & Reliability Conference, Index AR Solutions executives joined customers and partners on stage to demonstrate how Augmented Reality is being used to boost human performance in a variety of ways.

The conference, held August 20-23 in Newport Beach, Calif. was hosted by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and brought together hundreds of representatives from U.S.-based utilities eager to learn more about how AR is transforming their industry.

Dexter Lilley, Executive Vice President and COO at Index AR co-presented on a panel discussion with Jason Autrey, Principal Research Engineer for the Transmission Systems R&D group at Southern Company.

Forward-thinking electrical utilities like Southern Company are making moves to address the fact that a significant percentage of field workers are expected to retire in the coming years.

Lilley and Autrey discussed how Index AR – an EPRI partner – is playing a key role in the knowledge transfer from one generation of worker to the next, using mobile AR apps to teach new workers how to safely and confidently perform unfamiliar tasks in hazardous environments such as electrical substations.

Lilley also showcased a combined AR and eBook training application being developed in partnership with MidAmerican Energy Company to modernize the utility’s gas apprentice program. Replacing paper-based materials with a rich and highly visual, complete training platform, the app will be used in the classroom and the field to boost engagement, knowledge retention and worker safety.

The gas apprentice app is part of the Index AR SuperApp® family of pre-packaged AR applications tailored to address common workforce challenges across industry.

Index AR Vice President for Client and Corporate Development Scott Sommers was also on hand, demonstrating various offerings such as the LineAssist SuperApp® a mobile training and field application that helps electrical utility linemen perform complex maintenance tasks more safely and faster.

LineAssist provides detailed, step-by-step instructions through AR, with imagery that is overlaid on the pole-mounted voltage regulator and control panel itself – enabling linemen to visualize and more easily perform key tasks in the process.

For more information on the Index AR SuperApp® family and other offerings, click here.