Peterbilt Motors Company says it will have deployed 200 of its patented ARTech augmented reality tools to dealer locations by March 31, 2022.
A proprietary software designed to innovate dealer service and improve customer uptime, ARTech utilizes three-dimensional and augmented reality views of chassis-specific Peterbilt trucks, along with existing service systems like PACCAR Solutions Service Management to help dealer service technicians quickly visualize major truck systems and instantly access related technical documentation and diagrams via an Apple iPad.
“We analyzed technicians’ pain points and focused on key technologies required to put all of the correct and pertinent data from multiple databases in one single location at their fingertips,” said Peyton Harrell, director of dealer development for Peterbilt. “The result is our ARTech tool, which transforms 2D technical information into a 3D image by placing full-scale objects on top of the real environment. This technology provides technicians a type of x-ray vision to help improve diagnostic and repair times. Dealerships who are using ARTech in their service bays have reported a 15-20% improvement in service repair times.”
Augmented reality, and its related software, hardware, and architecture, is well-positioned to fill the void between the technical data from engineers and the service technicians that need the data to troubleshoot and perform repairs, Peterbilt said. It also allows the technician to explore and understand the objects in the most efficient way for them. “Instead of having to carry a laptop, an adapter, and other tools to be able to pull information up on a laptop, now you’re carrying an iPad with all of the information in one convenient location,” said Mike Lacey, Western regional product support manager at Ohio Peterbilt. “This has been a huge timesaver in pinpointing and troubleshooting codes and issues, speeding up the process and getting our customers’ trucks back on the road as quickly as possible.”
Peterbilt worked with a team of talented analysts, visionaries, designers, developers, and architects to create the technology, which was then tested at select Peterbilt dealerships.
“Our goal is to drive uptime for our customers using a wide variety of technologies, and we can do that with ARTech by empowering technicians who are working on our equipment,” said Jason Skoog, Peterbilt general manager and PACCAR vice president. “This technology spans the gap between 2D technical data trapped on paper or on screens and the real vehicle in the service bay. Our ARTech augmented reality tool is giving technician’s quick access to the information they need when they need it the most—right next to the truck in the service bay.”