Transformable Production in Garment Manufacturing: Providing Intuitive Assistance for Production Management with Multi-modal VR/AR Systems

A transformable production system that utilizes mobile robots to transport clothing components can provide a flexible and mutable arrangement suitable for customized products in Garment Manufacturing. However, the new way of transporting parts using many robots and flexible scheduling according to orders may make it difficult for workers in the factory to predict the situation.
In this presentation, we will introduce a VR/AR-based managing system for the transformable production system, which can provide intuitive assistance for a manager to comprehend the scheduling and behavior of mobile robots and workers. We developed a digital twin system with a simulator synchronized with the real environment. The VR mode that displays the overall environment and necessary additional information provides an interface for grasping the overall situation and predictions. The AR system allows the scheduler to intervene in the special procedures and robots, and to change the task allocation accordingly while checking the status of the mobile robots, workers, and parts being transported through a see-through monitor at the factory site.
This presentation also introduces a VR system that can visualize haptic information related to the skillful movement of workers based on a vibration measurement propagated from the machines and tools at the factory. By adding a special signal conversion based on tactile perception, it is also possible to reproduce realistic haptic sensations related to skills on a VR controller.