Porsche AG & MHP Virtual Training Uses Apple Vision Pro

Leading automotive manufacturer Porsche has partnered with management and IT consultancy MHP to deliver innovative augmented reality training solutions. 

On 2 February, 2024, the Apple Vision Pro was released, with major commercial and industry applications. Like Epson’s smart glasses, the futuristic headset can be utilised to bring interactivity and realism to employee training exercises without real-world costs or risks. 

This was recognised by management and IT consultancy MHP, who are among the first companies in Europe to develop applications exclusively for the Apple Vision Pro. The company is doing this through collaboration with IT enterprise developer TRIFORK, which has helped them develop specialised employee training courses. Leading manufacturers like Porsche are seeing benefits through 3D training solutions, partnering to upskill their employees and enhance safety.

"Employees not only learn safety, such as maintaining a proper distance when working with certain robots but also receive visual instructions on safe walkways.” says Jörg Dietrich, Sales Director at MHP. 

Becoming part of a digitisation strategy, helping train employees to more effectively tackle machine maintenance, troubleshooting and complex production tasks. The Apple Vision Pro allows employees to save time and enhance their skills, interacting with an extremely authentic representation of the production facility.

Typically training requires the entire production plant to grind to a halt, which is expensive and causes knock-on delays to the overall system. Training with the Apple Vision Pro can happen anywhere at any time, according to the convenience of both employer and employee. 

“ In addition, the application can be enhanced with playful elements, or gamification, to appeal to younger employees," adds Jörg.

Gamification does appeal to younger employees, whom the manufacturing sector desperately needs to recruit. It also has unique benefits as an education strategy. A University of Colorado Denver Business School study discovered those using video games had a 14% higher skill-based knowledge level, 11% higher factual knowledge level and a 9%  higher retention rate than trainees in comparison groups. 

This is in addition to research from the American Psychological Association that reports video games as having benefits in the realm of cognitive function, reaction times and proactive decision-making.

Jörg cites MHP’s successful integration of the technology into training as the result of the sophistication of Apple’s product design and digital systems. “The integration of Apple Vision Pro into our existing infrastructure has gone smoothly, thanks to our seamless connection to Apple’s ecosystem,” he said. 

“ The intuitive user interface, razor-sharp displays and intuitive user experience make Apple Vision Pro the ideal platform for our training needs.” 

To demonstrate the effectiveness of the Apple Vision Pro, a showcase event was held in partnership with Porsche at its Zuffenhausen plant in Germany. Part of the plant's production process was completed using the headsets' realistic 3D training, and CAD data of a welding rotary table and manufacturing robot was realistically mapped in a “shop floor training” session.

The employee saw the entire task laid out, step by step, inside the headset alongside repair instructions superimposed on a 3D model. This process increased employee satisfaction and reduced errors, with options for assessment and certification.

“Apple Vision Pro enables us to develop solutions for our customers that can be displayed in an extremely realistic digital environment. This leads to a considerable increase in efficiency and cost savings," says Markus Wambach, COO and Member of the Management Board at MHP.

 "The detailed and realistic training courses and sessions that we can develop for our customers will increasingly cut out costly errors. This is because the up-to-date information that employees need for their work is displayed right in front of them as they carry out the task. This not only helps us to become much more efficient in our work but to create a better working environment, too."

The long-term goal of both companies is to formally implement the Apple Vision Pro as a means to train and educate employees for production. The solution has the potential to revolutionise other areas, including after-sales in the automotive industry.

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