The words AR, VR, and technology have already gained citizenship. The technology group that added MR (Mixed Reality), which is mixed reality, is called xR. These technological advances are remarkable, and they are rewriting the methods of each industry. So, what will happen if this xR is used in the energy field? Mr. Satoru Higuchi of "Enegaeru", an energy diagnosis cloud service, introduces examples and ideas.
Themes such as energy tech and the digitalization of energy are hot right now. Optimal control of power consumption using storage batteries and EVs, utilization of data from smart meters, VPP, and peer-to-peer power trading using blockchain have become hot topics. As you can see from the news that NTT announced the other day that it will invest 600 billion yen in the development of its own power transmission network, and the release by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that there will be a license system for regional power distribution businesses, it is expected that real power will finally become a reality after 2020. Liberalization begins.
In this column, I would like to introduce overseas cases and application ideas, focusing on xR (AR, VR, MR), which is definitely important in the flow of the energy industry.
xR is already spreading in society
xR is a generic term for AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and MR (mixed reality).
A Google search will give you many definitions of the term. Rather than that, I would like you to search keywords on Youtube and experience it in the video. A typical example is shown below.
- Representative example of AR "Pokemon GO"
- Representative example of VR "Oculus Lyft"
- Representative example of MR "Hololens2"
I focus on the following three points in the use of xR in the energy industry.
The first is that the mega players such as GAFAM* 1 and China's BATH* 2 are placing xR as a major strategy against the backdrop of the spread of 5G. In particular, Apple's AR devices, which are expected to be released between 2022 and 2025, will be the trigger for people to move away from smartphones* 3 .
Second, xR will become a core technology that can solve the biggest management risks of Japanese companies, namely, the shortage of human resources, the retirement of older skilled engineers, and countermeasures against aging infrastructure* 4 . The MR device "Hololens2" provided by Microsoft has already been requested to purchase, mainly from large Japanese companies, in order to solve the above management issues * 5 .
Microsoft Hololens2
The third is that xR can be used in all layers of the energy industry, such as "cost reduction," "reform of existing businesses," and "creation of new businesses." For example, in the short term, we can expect more efficient operation and maintenance of power transmission and distribution networks and facilities, in the medium term, the utilization of data obtained from xR devices, and in the long term, changes in customer experience * 6 .
As if foreshadowing them, the overseas energy industry is already actively utilizing xR. The energy industry accounted for 17% of AR smart glasses shipments in 2018 alone, and there are reports that the market size will expand to US$18 billion by 2022* 7 .
From here, I would like to present overseas examples of xR and application ideas to everyone.
* 1 GAFAM = Google/Apple/Facebook/Amazon/Microsoft
* 2 BATH = Baidu/Alibaba/Tencent/Huawei
* 3 Weekly AR Review vol.4 | Shocking GAFA. I finally started to put my heart into AR! ｜Tommy / MESON｜note
* Demand for steel towers surged due to reinforcement of 4- interconnection lines. However, the steel tower industry is in trouble due to a shortage of human resources | Denki Shimbun website (link)
* 5 Shipment of Microsoft's new HMD "HoloLens 2", reasons why corporate purchase requests have increased significantly | Nikkei xTECH (Crosstech)
* 6 Accenture - Building the Responsible Future of Immersive Technology
* 7 How Augmented Reality Startups Transform The Energy Industry
Five overseas cases and application ideas
First, I would like to introduce one example and idea of a consumer (changing customer experience, co-creating).
Example 01: IKEA's AR furniture trial placement app "IKEA Place"
Overview IKEA Place is a smartphone app that allows you to "try out" by displaying 3D models of various IKEA furniture (approximately 2,000 types) in an AR room. You can take a photo of the furniture displayed in AR in your room and share it with your friends and family, making it easy to consider purchasing together. "IKEA has nothing to do with energy!"
This is the point of "trial placement" to eliminate anxiety before purchasing. In addition, even if the product is under development, you can place a trial order and place a pre-order. By co-creating (involving) with customers, it is also possible to shorten the on-site survey before installation and construction.
Applied Idea Storage battery manufacturers will distribute free of charge a "trial storage application" for household storage batteries that are expected to spread rapidly. Is it possible to increase the purchase rate of customers? Is it possible to shorten the installation and construction time by sharing the image and video data with the contractor?
Next, I will introduce three cases and ideas for enterprises (on-site maintenance and operation, efficiency improvement of maintenance, etc.).
Case 02: Real Wear-helmet type wearable AR device
Overview Real Wear (Vancouver, Germany) is an AR device development company (helmet type) in the enterprise area. The target is field workers who work in harsh working environments such as the oil, electricity, water, gas, and transportation industries. For example, even in dangerous field work such as wind power generation towers, you can complete complex repairs etc. in one shot while receiving advice from a skilled technician remotely via video call. In addition, the simultaneous translation function that can be used in 10 languages (including Japanese) enables smooth work even in rapidly increasing multinational teams.
Here's the point Focusing on strict field workers, we adopted a helmet type that is explosion-proof, waterproof, dust-proof, and shock-proof. We are solving the shortage of on-site workers who perform dangerous and complicated work by "manualless by AR x remote utilization of skilled engineers". In Japan, major electric power companies are already experimenting with research into the use of xR in the operation and maintenance of steel towers and transmission lines.
Application Idea Not only can it be used in power transmission and distribution networks and plants, but if the cost and weight are further reduced, it can be used in the installation and construction of various energy equipment for home use. In the future, it is also possible to introduce it to individuals as a digitized helmet as a firefighting and disaster prevention measure.
Case 03: Fieldbit - Field Service Augmented Reality
About Fieldbit is a leading company in real-time AR collaboration platform for field service. Awarded as an innovative project in the energy sector at Innovation Week by ENGIE, one of the world's largest energy providers. It supports a wide range of industries including oil & gas and other utilities, printing, manufacturing and medical devices.
Using smart glasses and smartphones, the data of various equipment connected by IoT is acquired via API in order to make the most of remote support by field workers with AR devices and skilled engineers.
This is where we focus on improving the productivity of point field services and utilizing the aging workforce. Aiming to increase the "first correction rate" that completes repairs in one shot. It can also be executed with commercially available smart glasses and smartphones.
Application ideas It will become commonplace for xR solutions to be introduced to the maintenance management of existing power transmission and distribution networks, steel towers, plants, etc. What's interesting here is that the introduction of xR is "improving the efficiency of predictive maintenance and repair of aging equipment", and at the same time, the on-site work that was not visible until now can be "automatically shared by technologies such as AR cloud". It can be converted into 3D data", and furthermore, "Retired elderly skilled engineers can use the resources of remote control".
If you start a business that focuses on this point, you can, without fear of misunderstanding, transform "dirty and painful field work" into "cutting-edge, data-driven, cool jobs" employment will be created for a diverse range of human resources.” For example, a solution such as Fieldbit could be used as a foundation to create a new crowdsourcing business that matches skilled engineers from around the world to field work that is suffering from a labor shortage in Japan. This should also be an effort to embody the vision of the SDGs.
Case 04: Interplay Learning - Solar power online education using VR and 3D technology
Overview Interplay Learning is an online training developer based in Texas. It offers learning programs for mechanical, electrical and industrial employees. Effective training is realized by utilizing 3D and VR for field surveys for installing air conditioning equipment and solar power generation, actual installation work, trial operation, and troubleshooting. I upload a lot of videos on Youtube, so it will be easy to understand if you watch the video.
This is the point The world's edtech (education field) market scale will continue to expand, and is expected to reach $10 trillion by 2030. Research results show that the use of VR dramatically improves the sense of reality and immersion, increasing the learning effect. In Japan, there are many problems such as accidents due to solar installation defects, so it is thought that such VR learning support will be established.
Application ideas The renewable energy industry will continue to expand in the future. Also, just as Adobe has already released "Adobe Aero", which allows you to create AR content without programming on the iPhone or iPad, anyone will be able to easily create xR content in the future. Therefore, as a third party, we will launch a VR learning support business that specializes in the energy field. Partnering with major companies that are already developing learning materials is also a good idea.
Is it possible to involve and develop VR learning support content that can cover complicated combinations of various industrial and home energy devices across manufacturers, electric power companies, and sales and construction companies?
There, he persuaded a top-class construction company in Japan and turned the know-how into an intellectual property as VR/AR teaching materials. It is also conceivable to provide a new source of revenue to ``serious and sober but skilled construction companies,'' such as paying part of the revenue as a license fee when expanding sales as a subscription business.
Finally, we introduce the case of smart cities (changing cities with national-level DigitalTwins).
Case 05: Virtual Singapore/Dassault Systèmes
Overview Virtual Singapore is a digital platform that creates a 3D model of the entire country and links various information such as Singapore's buildings and civil engineering infrastructure. The budget is estimated at 73 million Singapore dollars (approximately 6 billion yen). It is expected to be used in a wide range of applications, from simulations of solar power generation and wind power generation to guidance on commercial facilities, as well as the environment and disaster prevention of the entire country. It was developed with the system "3D EXPERIENCity", which enables simulations for various cities on 3D models provided by Dassault Systèmes of France. In Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced a similar data platform development plan* 8 .
This is the point The world of Digital Twin, where physical space and cyberspace are synchronized in real time, is being promoted at the national level. Data utilization of electricity smart meters will also be incorporated into a three-dimensional real-time simulator in the future and utilized for comprehensive urban design and management.
Application idea Is it possible to develop a real-time 3D simulator that measures the economic effect, environmental value, and disaster value of solar power and storage batteries, and to verify the return on investment for each town/city in chronological order?
