Virtual and Augmented Reality Applications in Manufacturing

Augmented Reality (AR) is a fast rising technology and it has been applied in many fields such as gaming, learning, entertainment, medical, military, sports, etc. This paper reviews some of the academic studies of AR applications in manufacturing operations. Comparatively, it is lesser addressed due to stringent requirements of high accuracy, fast response and the desirable alignment with industrial standards and practices such that the users will not find drastic transition when adopting this new technology. This paper looks into common manufacturing activities such as product design, robotics, facilities layout planning, maintenance, CNC machining simulation and assembly planning. Some of the issues and future trends of AR technology are also addressed.