Tool Selection: Learning Pick-and-Place Operations Using Smartphone AR Technology

This paper presents an ongoing development process for an experimental application that aims to train an inexperienced user to operate a mobile device and receive Augmented Reality (AR) guidelines for basic pick-and-place operations. The purpose of the presented work is to offer a learning environment for placing multiple physical tools in specific places, as indicated by various guideline notes. The current phase represents the 9th experiment from a series of others (24) that are conducted in order to identify the proper specifications, challenges and development estimations for a training station (room) built for manufacturing industry workers. The application is developed from a gamified perspective allowing users to explore 2 different games. According to the rules of each game, the user advances to the next level if he manages to place each object in a corresponding placeholder until all the spaces from a 2X3 grid are occupied correctly. The process is timed and the user sees a custom countdown timer alongside with guiding messages and feedback. While most of technical challenges were successfully surpassed, the interaction together with the performance measuring are currently going through an improvement process meant to identify and assess the educational advantages offered by this type of solutions. [For the complete proceedings, see ED601100.]