Augmented Reality Helps Northrop Grumman Build Up Satellites
Industry 4.0 and digital production rely heavily on augmented reality (AR) technology, which allows digital components to be seamlessly integrated into physical settings. Augmented reality (AR) improves perception and usability by superimposing computer-generated images over a user’s perspective of the real world.
Aerospace industry heavyweight Northrop Grumman Corp. has optimised operations at its world-famous Space Park facility in Redondo Beach, California, by embracing augmented reality technology. Over the course of its 63-year history, this complex—which includes 45 separate buildings—has grown to include more than 5 million square feet and serve as a centre for innovation. Engineers create, test, and integrate sophisticated systems, payloads, and electronics inside its walls for a variety of uses. Secret military satellites and the world-renown James Webb Space Telescope are among the projects finished here. Right now, everyone is working to build the Next-Generation Polar Infrared Missile Tracking Satellite and the Tranche 1 Transport Layer mesh satellite constellation.
Smartphones and, more lately, augmented reality headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens allow users to superimpose relevant and helpful digital data onto a real-world perspective. For example, similar to how a customer shopping online would use a smartphone app to see a new sofa in their living room, augmented reality enables technicians and engineers to see complicated assemblies as they come together in real time. On the other hand, VR allows users to experience a product in a new context, like a showroom or manufacturing facility, by completely replacing the real-world perspective with a digital one. The human brain has a remarkable ability to trust what it sees, which makes AR and VR powerful tools for delivering complicated information.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are integral parts of Space Park’s plan for digital transformation. Design teams may greatly benefit from virtual reality (VR) when it comes to assessing the producibility of a product from an ergonomics or human factors perspective. Potential design difficulties may be discovered early on with the use of engineering CAD models, which helps to save costs and minimise delays. Conversely, augmented reality helps production teams by giving workers easy-to-understand instructions, which in turn reduces manufacturing errors, shortens training times, and speeds up the learning curve for new hires.
Space Park’s production processes are ideal for augmented reality technology since the majority of goods are linked to 3D CAD models. These models are used by the engineers at Northrop Grumman to generate ARWIs. As an example, operators may see the proper installation and routing of a wire harness on a partly constructed spaceship by using an augmented reality headset. They are also able to foresee where other parts will go in the final product, pinpointing potential “keep out” zones that must be avoided at all costs. Technicians may enhance their comprehension of the tasks at hand by referring to images, videos, and process specifications directly via the headset.
Assemblers used to have to spend a lot of time interpreting complex technical diagrams and text-based instructions. When workers had to turn these intricate instructions into something more manageable, they often made mistakes. Reduced production time, error rates, and the learning curve for younger staff are the goals of the ARWI initiative, which attempts to give simple, intuitive instructions.
Northrop Grumman is using AR as part of its larger digital transformation initiatives. These initiatives aim to improve the employee experience, speed up product delivery without sacrificing quality, and equip the corporation to face future problems. By reducing human error and increasing manufacturing efficiency, augmented reality technology accomplishes all of these goals.
Space Park’s crew has been toiling away at the goal of company-wide augmented reality accessibility. They have worked with IT and cybersecurity teams to evaluate and verify the safe installation of different hardware and software solutions, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens2 and Scope AR’s WorkLink. Efforts are being made to expand the usage of augmented reality technology to all production areas throughout the complex, however it is currently only being utilised in open manufacturing areas.
The adventure started in 2018 when the team saw the enormous potential of AR within the business; nevertheless, AR has only been employed in production for approximately a year at Space Park. They have spent years perfecting this skill, and now it’s available to everyone in the building. As a result, they’re seeing improvements in productivity, quality, and morale.
