RusHydro Group, in collaboration with the "Energy Without Borders" Foundation, conducted real-life trials of the augmented reality platform "IKSAR"

RusHydro Group, together with the "Energy Without Borders" Foundation, as#nbsp;well as#nbsp;the companies "Inter RAO" and "Inline Group", tested the augmented reality platform "IKSAR" in#nbsp;real-life conditions, in#nbsp;combination with#nbsp;AR glasses.

The development was tested on#nbsp;two branches of#nbsp;RusHydro: Votkinskaya HPP and Volzhskaya HPP. Specialists from the operational services of#nbsp;both branches participated in#nbsp;the trial launch.

The trials were conducted through several scenarios: equipment inspection, performing switching operations in#nbsp;electrical installations with and without the control of#nbsp;a#nbsp;remote expert, preparing workstations in#nbsp;electrical installations according to#nbsp;work permits, and conducting training or#nbsp;control anti-accident drills.

The main objectives of#nbsp;the testing were to#nbsp;evaluate the efficiency and convenience of#nbsp;industrial#nbsp;AR glasses, assess the functionality of#nbsp;digital work regulations and control software of "IKSAR".

Before the start of#nbsp;the trials, RusHydro, "IKSAR" and the "Energy Without Borders" Foundation promptly prepared large volumes of#nbsp;digital work regulations, which were loaded onto#nbsp;AR glasses, smartphones, and tablets for employee use. The innovative technology is#nbsp;easily adaptable as#nbsp;it#nbsp;contains functionality that can be#nbsp;widely applied to#nbsp;various work scenarios.

Thanks to#nbsp;its intuitive interface, employees quickly mastered the technology and began working after a#nbsp;brief briefing.

During the trials, employees alternated between monocular and binocular models of#nbsp;AR glasses, on#nbsp;whose screens instructions and regulations corresponding to#nbsp;real production tasks appeared. All actions were accompanied by#nbsp;audio prompts. The tag reading function helped identify equipment and the corresponding instructions. Performers controlled all actions on#nbsp;the glasses using voice commands.

During the work, employees recorded voice comments, which were automatically converted into text messages during processing on#nbsp;the server side of#nbsp;the platform, with the ability to#nbsp;review this information in#nbsp;a#nbsp;report on#nbsp;completed operations.

Using the camera on#nbsp;the glasses, operators communicated in#nbsp;real-time video calls with remote experts and received necessary comments and instructions. The received data was displayed on#nbsp;the glasses' screens.

A#nbsp;significant advantage of#nbsp;the "IKSAR" platform is#nbsp;that internet connectivity is#nbsp;only required for video calls, while all other scenarios can be#nbsp;performed offline, with the data being saved.

After the successful completion of#nbsp;testing at#nbsp;both locations, the operational staff identified the platform’s ability to#nbsp;digitise various processes performed by#nbsp;employees in#nbsp;production and send tasks to#nbsp;AR glasses, smartphones, and tablets.

Vladislav Sergienko, Head of#nbsp;the Operation of#nbsp;Existing and Newly Commissioned Facilities Department at#nbsp;RusHydro, noted the versatility of#nbsp;the "IKSAR"" platform, its high adaptability to#nbsp;various production tasks of#nbsp;industrial enterprises, and its ability to#nbsp;optimise processes.

Igor Starodubtsev, a#nbsp;representative of#nbsp;the "IKSAR" team, thanked the employees of#nbsp;RusHydro Group for conducting real-time joint trials and highlighted the company’s focus on#nbsp;using advanced technologies to#nbsp;improve productivity.