Digital devices, in combination with mobile applications, have been revolutionary for putting information in the palm of a worker’s hand. Mobile email on smartphones was the first example of technology that changed the way workers collaborated and exchanged information. Where there has been a gap for mobile workers is getting contextually-relevant visual information in real time from the mobile device. Images and videos accessed through the smartphone or tablet are helpful, but still extremely limited for providing highly targeted information based on time-of-day, location, thing or product data, and other occupationally-relevant business process and environmental information.

A new technology called augmented reality (AR) is now available to address these limitations. AR is the overlay of digital information, including text, images, and videos, onto a real-time view of the physical world through a camera-enabled device, such as a smartphone or tablet. AR is taking information that is found in a variety of applications, such as maintenance records, inspection and repair manuals, and engineering specifications, compiling it, and displaying it on the physical features of the thing or machine. Moving the smartphone or tablet around the object to show different views reveals new information related to the object’s features.

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