SLEM: Augmented and Mixed Reality

How MR glasses can help in the workplace

Within the logistics partnership SLEM, research is being conducted into how the virtual world combined with the real world can help make workfloor activities at logistics companies easier and more uniform.

This research is done in collaboration with the companies Broekman Logistics (Born) and Herbalife Nutrition (Venray). In addition, Maastricht University will investigate what the influence of these new techniques on employees may be. The coordination of the technical research is in the hands of project leader Anton Winkelmolen of GreenTechLab, a research department of Fontys University of Applied Sciences Venlo.

Extra quality check with AR/MR application

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Broekman Logistics is the European partner of Kubota Baumaschinen, a manufacturer of excavators weighing up to 8 tons. Through Broekman, many thousands of machines go to dealers in Europe every year. In addition to its logistical role, Broekman carries out numerous modifications to the machines based on specific customer requirements. In the future, Broekman wants to bring the uniformity of these modifications to the highest possible level using the aforementioned techniques. This could possibly be done by an additional quality check using an AR/MR application.

Easier packing via virtual instructions

Herbalife Nutrition is a company that sells nutritional products. It focuses on the areas of weight management sports, breakfast and healthy aging. The research in collaboration with Herbalife Nutrition focuses on unifying and facilitating the packing of products in a box. The central question is how tools, such as mixed reality glasses, can help employees to make packing easier via virtual instructions, allowing new employees, for example, to start independently right away.

Investigate Effect of Mixed Reality Glasses

University of Maastricht, through BISCI (Brightlands Institute for Supply Chain Innovation), will investigate what effect implementing these new techniques can have on the user. Think of the effect of wearing Mixed Reality glasses for hours on end.

The studies with the companies have now started. The entire team meets every two months to discuss progress.

From GreenTechLab, two software engineers are working on the technical investigations. They will do step by step experiments to find out what is technically feasible. If you have any questions feel free to contact them at redactie.slem@liof.nl.