Cutting-edge technology is augmenting the reality of construction and manufacturing for the better. That was the message Index AR Solutions President and CEO Dan Arczynski shared recently with the viewers of Fox Business. Arczynski told “Risk & Reward” host Deirdre Bolton that the digital 3D technology is helping to streamline construction and manufacturing, leading to smoother production processes.

“The way augmented reality changes the way companies can do business is that we’ll no longer need blueprints or over time we’ll no longer need blueprints,” he said.

What this means, Arczynski told Bolton, is that instead of using 2D drawings and written instructions to review construction or manufacturing specs, augmented reality takes the traditional three-dimensional engineering model and overlays it onto a work site using digital imaging technology. The images, Arczynski said, can be laid visually “directly on the work site to scale, to location, almost like a hologram,” using iPhones, iPads and other smart mobile devices.

And while Bolton pointed out the technology originated within the shipbuilding industry, its applications can go beyond construction.

“First of all construction is a great use, but any manufacturer: the aerospace industry, power, energy, all of these companies are taking a big interest in this and it’s because of the results that we’re seeing when we apply augmented reality to their work,” Arczynski said.

Is there a downside? Bolton questioned whether such technology could be a job killer. “What is the best mix of man and machine?” she asked.

Arczynski said augmented reality is not a threat to jobs. In fact, he said, it’s the opposite.

“It’s important to take a step back and realize we’re actually augmenting people,” he said. “We’re making people more capable and more productive vis-à-vis machines vis-à-vis robots.”

All that is to say, augmented reality simply helps workers do their jobs better.

“If you’re a company and your workers can do so much more, and have so much more capability, you’re going to want to hire more of those workers,” Arczynski said. “I would actually say this is not going to be taking any jobs away. Rather, it’s going to enhance workers’ abilities to produce more.”

And that, Bolton said, will help them “think more creatively.”

We at Index AR Solutions certainly think so.

About Index AR Solutions

Index AR Solutions is a 2015 tech startup based in Williamsburg, Va. Index AR Solutions empowers companies and workers to improve efficiencies and enhance productivity even in challenging construction environments through the use of augmented reality. Index AR Solutions was recently featured on the Fox Business News “Risk & Reward” show and can be found at www.indexarsolutions.com.