AR innovation for aircraft seating MRO

The augmented reality (AR) technology developed through the partnership provides a much-needed advancement in product maintenance training for the aerospace industry.

Jamco America, a subsidiary of Jamco Corporation in Japan, was established in 1982 as a commercial aircraft interior products and services provider. Located in Everett, Washington, the company is considered one of the most experienced interior products suppliers and turnkey aircraft interiors integrators in the industry.

Jamco America, has developed premium class seating for commercial aircraft, such as its forward facing business class ‘Journey’ seats in 2015 and its latest ‘Venture’ reverse herring-bone business class seat in 2019.

Alongside the Venture business class seat, Jamco America is introducing the latest AR technology to aerospace interior training and maintenance. Current product maintenance training, although effective, relies on video tutorials, face-to-face demonstrations, and written training guides with supporting component maintenance manuals. This has led Jamco America to explore alternatives and invest in the latest AR technology to develop more efficient maintenance services for its customers.

AR is the process of superimposing a 3D computer-generated image onto a user’s view of the real world. This provides a combined view that can easily guide a user through key maintenance tasks. This technology can be displayed through a variety of hardware, from handheld tablets to the latest Microsoft HoloLens headset.

In 2018, Jamco established the partnership with Object Theory, located in Portland, Oregon. Object Theory’s founders, Michael Hoffman and Raven Zachary – former employees of Microsoft and Apple – have built what has been described as one of the most innovative AR/VR companies in the US.

Jeremy Hunter, senior sales and marketing manager at Jamco America, comments: “We are very excited about this collaboration, as it will provide a more seamless and repeatable product maintenance training service for our valued customers.

“Jamco’s vision is to ensure that airlines’ operational efficiency is maximised. With the implementation of the HoloLens, trainee mechanics can work on our product hands-free, in real time, and without the need to refer to a separate manual. This system audibly communicates step-by-step instructions to the user as computer-generated images create a guiding overlay on the product. At the same time, the user has complete control over the pace of their work by selecting when they are ready to proceed to the next step.

“In addition, documents like the component maintenance manual will be easily accessible within the AR device. This combination of visual guidance and textual information provides a field ready, efficient, and comprehensive maintenance tool to solve problems as they arise.”

Occasionally aircraft interior products require additional troubleshooting as they travel to destinations across the globe. Jamco says the AR system will also provide the ability for mechanics in the field to access whatever assistance is required, no matter where in the world a problem arises.

AR instruction isn’t the end of Jamco America’s support. A drive for outstanding customer service, paired with this exceptional technology, will allow Jamco America product support representatives to communicate in real time with mechanics via remote assist. In those cases, both individuals will be able to see the same product and work together through AR to resolve the customer’s concern.

With the use of AR technology, Jamco says it continues to push the boundaries of current methodologies to improve safety and efficiency for all its customers.

This year Jamco and Object Theory intend to release the complete AR training module at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2020 (AIX) at the end of March in Hamburg - stand 6A110.

www.jamco-america.com