The 'AmbiWise' assistance and collaboration system is designed to enable the mobile and cross-location exchange of knowledge within the company. It can be used to record and update knowledge directly at the workplace and enrich it with multimedia learning content. Thanks to QR codes, iBeacons or voice, workers can access the learning content intuitively and in the context of the production or assembly station. With the help of images, videos or instructions using augmented reality, new employees can be trained and the knowledge of existing staff can be refreshed.

'AmbiWise' stands for "everyday, mobile, context-sensitive user interfaces for optimized knowledge exchange". Five partners were involved in the project: Infoman, the Innovative Factory Systems research department of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Semantic Edge and the Institute of Technology and Labor. The project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for three years from 2014 to 2016 with a total of 3.1 million euros.

Video recording via smart glasses

The user interface of 'AmbiWise' is based on the web technologies HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript. According to DFKI, the system is compatible with the majority of mobile and stationary end devices. The content is stored as a tree structure, and the highest level is formed by stations that can be provided with activities and work steps. The work steps can be stored as conventional text or described with multimedia content such as images, videos and augmented reality instructions. This content can be recorded on site and assigned to an activity.

Smart glasses are used for video recording, which are superior to other recording devices such as tablets due to their first-person perspective. Before the content is visible in the system, it has to go through a multi-stage approval process. The foreman, works council and data protection officer, for example, can be involved in this process.

First pilot applications

Trainees using 'AmbiWise' at a workstation at Daimler.

© Daimler AG

The 'AmbiWise' system was tested by two application partners at five locations in the production environment. One of the pilot applications was the creation of training videos using smart glasses. At Daimler, the learning videos show the execution of work, including additional information, from the perspective of an experienced assembly worker. The learning videos were recorded under real working conditions and form self-contained, short learning units. At Schaeffler, employees were also able to rate the videos, add content and provide feedback. This serves to constantly improve the system and its content and keep it up to date.

"After a 15-minute briefing, the users were able to use the system productively. As 'AmbiWise' is virtually self-explanatory, we see it as a future-proof basis for preparing knowledge in a practical way at production sites and supporting knowledge transfer on the store floor," summarizes Quint. "AmbiWise" is currently being demonstrated in the demo center of the SmartFactory KL e.V. technology initiative.