Advances in Augmented and Mixed Reality to the Industry 4.0

Since the origins of Augmented Reality (AR), industry has always been one of its prominent application domains. Recent advances in both portable and wearable AR devices and the new challenges introduced by the fourth industrial revolution (renowned as industry 4.0) have further enlarged the applicability of AR to improve productiveness and to enhance user experience.

The emergence of new technologies, including Industry 4.0, has spawned a new generation of connected, robotic, and smart factories. With the digital revolution, the boundaries between the physical and digital world are shrinking, giving life to an interconnected 4.0 factory where employees, machines, and products closely interact. The last twenty years have witnessed great advances in research and innovation in virtual reality (VR) and AR environments.

Industrial applications of Augmented Reality are transforming the way new products are designed, bringing new possibilities. Overall, the application of AR to the industry domain is relevant since it greatly improves communication in product design and production development. The direct benefits are an optimization of handling and operation times, a proper use of materials, and an execution of the right task at the right time. It helps to identify and avoid design errors in early stages of the development process, and it reduces the number of physical prototypes and saves time and cost for enterprises. AR is considered as a valuable tool for improving and accelerating product and process development in many industrial applications.

In summary, this Special Issue is an opportunity for the scientific community to present recent research regarding Augmented Reality for the Industry 4.0.

Dr. Diego Borro
Guest Editor

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