Ruthmann relies on camera-supported service with TeamViewer Pilot

In order to further improve the service related to the working platforms from Gescher, Germany, Ruthmann has been relying on the AR Software (Augmented-Reality) of Teamviewer Pilot since the beginning of November.

In order to further improve the service related to the working platforms from Gescher, Germany, Ruthmann has been relying on the AR Software (Augmented-Reality) of Teamviewer Pilot since the beginning of November. In contrast to VR (Virtual Reality), the customer is able to perceive his environment as usual with AR because his field of vision is not limited through VR glasses.

The software permits Ruthmann experts to solve problems via live images from the customer’s smartphone or tablet in real time and to mark essential machine components on the screen, for example by means of arrows. Parallel to this, the verbal and non-verbal communication between the Ruthmann service expert and the customer is also possible thanks to the TeamViewer Pilot app.The Ruthmann service expert has therefore an insight in real time into the fault situation at the customer’s premises, is able to collect important aspects via live images and to offer the customer solutions in a short time.

The Ruthmann service expert sees the live image of the TeamViewer Pilot app on his screen and can provide quick assistance. Essential components can be marked on the live image so that the customer knows which button he has to depress.

TeamViewer Pilot uses Augmented Reality (AR) and is available for Android and iOS mobile terminals. Thanks to the 3D object tracking, spatial markers sticking to real objects can be placed; things can be highlighted and text annotations can be added to the live video stream transmitted through the camera of the customer’s mobile terminal. It is no longer necessary to speculate which control lever has to be actuated or which button has to be depressed because the Ruthmann expert can exactly see what the customer sees on the machine and thus contributes to solve the problem through visual support.

In case of a fault on a Ruthmann working platform, fault clearance should be carried out in a very quick and easy way - this is exactly what TeamViewer Pilot does: After having called the national Ruthmann service number, the customer receives a text message with the link to the TeamViewer Pilot app in a short time. After the download, it can already start. The customer indicates his TeamViewer ID to the Ruthmann expert, then receives immediately a virtual call and the live image is transmitted to the Ruthmann expert. Augmented Reality enables to place virtual markers on the live camera image and gives the customer at the working platform the certainty how to act.

“TeamViewer Pilot took directly off and we are impressed”, says Jens Schäfer, service technician at Ruthmann  “The first service cases were solved very quickly and in a clear way for the customer; even language barriers were overcome by using clear symbols.”

The Ruthmann service department thinks very positively about the future and is confident to further reduce the time until fault clearance in order to restore quickly the operational readiness of the machines. AR is setting out the course for this and enables to rectify faults quickly by means of virtual “sticky” markings on the customer’s smartphone screen.