Augmented reality in industry: how AR glasses are revolutionizing the cooling and heating market

Jörn, what motivated you to integrate AR glasses into the development processes at ENGIE Refrigeration?

Jörn: First of all, I would like to emphasize that augmented reality and AR glasses are no longer new territory for us. We've been working with them since 2017, when this technology was still just a vision of the future. Even then, we at ENGIE Refrigeration recognized that augmented reality offers revolutionary possibilities in the industry for the visualization and construction of complex machines - and thus for the further development of our chillers and heat pumps. That's why we worked early together with Hololight, a specialist in AR and VR software for industrial companies, on suitable AR solutions for our company.

What was the aim of this collaboration?

Tatiana: Clearly, we wanted to make the processes in the design and development of our chillers and heat pumps significantly smarter and more efficient. After all, we aim to maintain our position as market leader in technology and design with our products both today and in the future. This requires the courage to constantly question our own practices and test out new innovative strategies. This is the only way we can stay one step ahead of the fast-moving market. The use of AR glasses in conjunction with the Hololight Space solution opens up completely new perspectives for us in the full sense of the word.

How has augmented reality in the industry changed the way ENGIE Refrigeration designs and visualizes its products?

Jörn: Hololight Space has proven to be groundbreaking for us. It enables our teams to map 3D models directly from CAD files without having to change the data - and in their actual size and with the same level of detail as the CAD files. This significantly enhances our collaboration. Team members can view the internal and external structure of our systems at any time, regardless of their location. Whether QUANTUM, SPECTRUM or thermeco2: our chillers and heat pumps can be easily broken down into their individual parts using augmented reality. Potential technical weaknesses are thus visible at an early stage.

What are the advantages of this form of joint product development?

Jörn: Our teams interact more efficiently when designing systems, which significantly shortens development times. Of course, the quality of our products is not neglected in the process. On the contrary: by identifying technical optimization points at an early stage, we use augmented reality in the industry to exploit the full potential of our chillers and heat pumps. Be it in terms of performance, energy efficiency or sustainability. In addition, the use of AR glasses creates a new sense of community in our teams, as everyone involved can take part in product development in real time, regardless of their location. Shared success brings us even closer together.

What about the data security of the solution?

Jörn: Where large and complex data models are in use, data security is naturally a top priority for ENGIE Refrigeration. I guarantee you that Hololight Space works absolutely data secure. The application transmits the holograms from our local server directly to the AR glasses. This means that the data remains protected in our IT infrastructure all the time. Another benefit: this type of data streaming ensures that everyone involved in the team is always working with the latest version of our chillers and heat pumps.

What further steps would you like to take at ENGIE Refrigeration in the field of augmented reality?

Tatiana: If we cleverly combine augmented reality in industry with our products and services, there are numerous paths open to us. We will make use of them! In order to visualize the prototypes of our machines at an early stage and thus further improve both their design and the technology, we are currently increasingly testing the use of AR glasses in our production. We are also striving to increase the efficiency of our processes in service and logistics with augmented reality. To achieve this, we are working on predictive maintenance solutions, for example, which offer our customers an even greater added value. And last but not least, AR glasses play an important role in our marketing activities. As you can see: augmented reality in industry is a key component of our innovation strategy. Our customers can look forward to numerous positive surprises.

Dear Tatiana, dear Jörn, thank you very much for the exciting insights!