THE ‘CONNECTED WORKER’ CAN STOP THE UK’S SKILLS DRAIN Augmented reality and artificial intelligence can ensure knowledge is passed on to next-gen employees.
can protect the knowledge and expertise of retiring workers by training next-gen and existing employees. The chief executive of the company, which has its UK offices in Farnborough, pointed to an increased uptake in the number of companies investing in AR as a way of protecting traditional skills and securing IP. In its simplest sense, PTC’s Vuforia Expert Capture lets experts record a task as they carry it out using a wearable device, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens. The content is then turned into a step-by-step video guide with instructions for other workers to follow through the wearable tech locking valuable skills in place forever. “The terms Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality automatically conjure up images of robots taking human jobs - well the ‘connected worker’ paints a completely different picture,” explained Heppelmann, who has spoken across the globe about the importance of embracing digital technology in manufacturing. “One of the biggest threats to UK industry is an ageing workforce, with recent data from the European Labour Force Survey revealing that 16 per cent of the total EU workforce is aged 55 or older. There is a real danger that these experts will retire before the next generation has had the chance to learn from them.” The rise of the ‘connected worker’ could help end the skills drain being accelerated by an ageing workforce, according to the boss of one of the world’s leading providers of industrial innovation technology. PTC’s President and CEO Jim Heppelmann believes the use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Heppelmann continued: “This no longer needs to be the case. Adoption is growing thanks to the ability to combine AR and AI to offer cost-effective solutions to manufacturers, not to mention a change in mindset from industry, who have now realised the importance of investing in businessready software and hardware.
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