Maintenance of conveyance equipment and other regular fixed and mobile asset inspection is made easier with remote assistance through RealWear products, technology service provider Dwyka Mining Services tells Mining Weekly.

“Mission-critical breakdowns, remote technical support and mentoring are just some of the cornerstone applications of the RealWear products. With virtual support across all these areas, the company has seen an almost immediate return on investment with African mobilisation costs, delays and associated travel risks,” says Dwyka CEO Jamie van Schoor.

RealWear offers a rugged range of video-based, wearable, hands-free and heads-up display operating devices for corporate and industrial work applications.

The product has an ingress protection rating of IP66, making it water and dust resistant and, consequently, ideal for underground use as a hands-free, hard-hat-mounted solution.

“The most popular application of the RealWear products currently is guided maintenance site visits with virtual consultants or original-equipment manufacturers to inspect and troubleshoot site issues,” van Schoor asserts.

While the opportunities with this platform are limitless, the company is also seeing an increased demand for augmented reality applications that can be used for RealWear units, which would be deployed for specific requirements such as automated inventory scanning, fragmentation analysis and data-logging applications.

Moreover, Van Schoor notes that Dwyka trains people in the use of the RealWear technology, with all solutions being prototyped by the company’s deployment team.

He mentions that the requirement for remote visualisation has been highlighted amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This has led to an accelerated demand for “sight-off-site” opportunities.

“With a focus on augmented human effort with machines at mine sites, we are seeing digital mentoring, optimal workflow navigation and compliance documentation management as areas that stand to deliver the most in the long term.”

RealWear products are imported; thus, attaining sufficient stock in time to meet the demand is currently the greatest challenge during Covid-19.

However, with the pandemic expected to be a long-term consideration, demand for RealWear is likely to increase, Van Schoor concludes.