Seeing Is Believing: How Augmented Reality Increases Field Technician Productivity

By Bill Pollock, president & principal, consulting analyst, Strategies for Growth

We've all heard the expression "seeing is believing." But, what really should stand out fairly clearly is the fact that the phrase does not say, “reading is believing!” This is the main premise that supports the applicability of AR for the field services segment, in that it is more helpful for the field technician to “see” how to repair a piece of equipment, rather than having to “read up” on how to repair it.

Further, while the former can take place in real time, the latter often requires several minutes of delving into chapters and indices, finding the appropriate pages, writing notes, and otherwise wasting time — at least from the perspectives of both the technician and the customer.