At the Fall 2019 Index AR Solutions Retreat, a gathering of industry experts and visionaries shared their experience with augmented reality (AR) and how current implementations of the technology are driving substantial returns on investment.

Index AR Solutions CEO Dan Arczynski kicked off the event at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, noting that the company has dramatically expanded its capacity to deliver complimentary AR app and eBook solutions.

“A few years ago, when we were introducing our eBooks and AR apps, clients asked ‘can you scale, can you support us,’ and today, we are in major production,” said Arczynski, explaining how the company now has capacity to delivery 40-60 apps and 80-100 eBooks per year.

A major theme of the retreat was how AR and eBooks are being used by utilities and other companies to boost human performance and revolutionize workforce education.

Training and education have become critically important for many companies adjusting to shifting demographics and a large percentage of their workforce approaching retirement. Recruiting, hiring, training, employee retention and knowledge transfer are more crucial than ever to establishing a quality workforce.

“What is the impact of augmented reality in learning outcomes?” asked Dr. John J. Simmins, Associate Provost for Research and Economic Development at Alfred University. “Can we leverage augmented reality or virtual reality to improve outcomes?”

The answer, according to retreat attendees, is a resounding yes, demonstrated by how AR can be coupled with interactive and highly immersive eBook apps to deliver real business value.

“Index clients are getting great ROI and willing to talk about how the solutions are transforming their workforce,” said Arczynski.

Speakers and panelists discussed how AR-enabled training solutions are highly flexible and an effective way to train today’s worker. At the retreat, attendees saw first-hand demonstrations of dozens of available Index apps that address the reality that different people learn and consume information in different ways.

The apps and eBooks created by Index for companies like MidAmerican Energy allow tribal knowledge and best practices to be shared via mobile tablets. The devices have proven to be intuitive for older workers to use while also appealing to younger generations of workers, giving them the modern learning tools they are accustomed to using.

“We’ve got to train people,” said Dr. James Merlo, an accomplished human factors engineer and former Vice President for Reliability Risk Management at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). “We’ve got to have the tools out there that work off of how we know humans are built.”

Other retreat attendees shared how dynamic visualizations in the apps from Index help their companies proactively avoid trouble in the field.

“We’re developing practices, systems and applications that effectively allow us to get ahead of issues on the grid,” said Giovanni Herazo, Lead Project Manager for Smart Grid and Innovation at Florida Power & Light Company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy.

At the end of the day, the retreat underscored that AR is not about technology for technology’s sake, rather, it has come to represent the epitome of how technology can be used to serve humans.

“This is not about augmenting reality, it’s about augmenting people,” emphasized James R. Golden, Ph.D., a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General and Senior Consultant to the President of William & Mary.

For more information on events hosted by Index AR Solutions, visit indexarsolutions.com/retreats.