Abstract
Contemporary product maintenance is becoming an increasingly complex task due to rising product versatility, multiplicity of model variants and inherent complexity of the products themselves. Consequently, maintenance is becoming a bottleneck of many engineering systems. This paper discusses a new approach online product maintenance based on augmented reality. According to this approach, Java/VRML maintenance instruction and animation sequences are pre-coded for typical procedures using existing product models, at the design stage. These sequences are transmitted to the actual product location upon request and overlaid on the real product at the maintenance site where and when it is needed, based on inputs from the machine and updated knowledge at the factory This approach can alleviate much of the information overload and training required from maintenance personnel, and at the same time improve efficiency of maintenance procedure by bringing updated expert knowledge to the field. This paper discusses the concept of the system, its function and components, standardization issues and design considerations for systems to be maintained using this approach.