SIMULANIS REMOTE ASSIST
AR Remote Assist on Wearables
A voice-controlled, hands-free remote collaboration platform designed for industrial field engineers and ATEX hazardous zones.
The context
For heavy industrial teams like natural gas utilities (GAIL) and enterprise field-service groups (Honeywell), plant maintenance and unplanned shutdowns represent immense financial liabilities. Historically, field technicians facing complex faults had to call remote experts or fly in OEM engineers, causing critical delays. A real-time AR tool was required to connect field personnel immediately to global experts.
The challenge
The application had to succeed where consumer tools fail: functioning inside explosive ATEX environments where laptops or phones are banned, running smoothly on voice command in high-noise plant environments, adapting video resolution automatically over volatile low-bandwidth cellular/satellite networks, and integrating compliance reporting for audit trails.
The AR Solution
Simulanis built a comprehensive wearable platform combining WebRTC streaming with rugged hands-free hardware (RealWear Navigator Z1):
- Real-Time Collaboration ('My Assist'): Technicians voice-trigger video streams to experts who can freeze frames, draw live 3D visual markers/annotations directly on the engineer's headset viewfinder, and host multi-user troubleshooting calls.
- Workflow & Compliance Suite: Digitizes paper check-lists into interactive steps shown on the wearable display. Engineers complete items hands-free, auto-capture photo/video evidence of steps, and export instant PDF reports.
- Knowledge & Visibility ('My Recorder'): Stores recordings locally during offline states to prevent loss of telemetry. It features an Active Directory integration, role-based dashboards, and automatically syncs session data once a network link is established.
Deployments & Real-world Impact
The Remote Assist platform supported field teams for GAIL and Honeywell deployments:
GAIL (Natural Gas Utilities)
Accelerated machine troubleshooting and safety validation across 5 natural gas pipeline distribution centers and compressor stations in India.
Honeywell (Field Service)
Supported remote expert assistance, hands-free troubleshooting, digital SOP execution, and evidence capture for industrial field-service workflows.
Application Interfaces
Technical Highlights
- Voice-Guided Navigation: Flawless local offline recognition of simple vocal phrases ("my assist", "freeze camera", "next step") even in ambient environments reaching 95dB.
- Low-latency WebRTC Tunneling: Implements adaptive bitrates down to 150kbps, enabling steady video streaming over satellite links in hazardous offshore zones.
- Audit Checklist Automation: Automates standard compliance reports, appending GPS locations, active time on-site, expert voice notes, and high-res photo attachments into signing-ready documents.