Making good on its promise last year, Porsche will begin equipping its dealership technicians with augmented reality (AR) glasses this week. According to Porsche's Tuesday announcement, the glasses may help reduce service times by up to 40 percent.
The special glasses, called Tech Look Live, give technicians access to remote experts to help with service issues. Another Porsche Cars North America expert can see exactly what the dealer tech sees in real time and provide assistance in troubleshooting various problems. Additionally, and perhaps the neatest part of Tech Look Live, a remote Porsche expert can then project bulletins and schematic drawings onto the display inside the technician’s glasses, as well as take screen shots and enlarge images for better visibility.
Porsche augmented reality glasses for technicians
The glasses feature two major technology components to bring the AR functions to life: ODG (Osterhout Design Group) R-7 smartglasses and the AiR Enterprise software platform from Atheer, Inc.
Upon receiving the desired information, the tech can also open the documents hands-free while wearing the glasses. Porsche claims this means of communication is far much more efficient than sending emails, text messages, or hopping on the phone to troubleshoot an issue.
Before Tech Look Live, a Porsche expert would typically arrive in-person to help diagnose a particular issue.
Porsche first piloted the AR glasses in 2017, and after analyzing feedback, the brand opened enrollment for the service this past April. This week, the first three dealerships will receive Tech Look Live with plans for 75 additional dealers to receive the technology by the end of 2018. Porsche believes most of its 189 of its U.S. dealers will feature the technology in 2019.