<figure><img src="https://media-aws03.caboodleai.net/ame/19a/199d93c9799c462ea5a9fec1d8db2c7d-contentimage.jpg?size=large" /></figure>Biotech and pharma companies are starting to implement augmented reality technologies at their manufacturing facilities, bringing forth a whole new world of possibilities.The Covid-19 pandemic has been a catalyst to embracing new ways of working. Travel restrictions and limited access to facilities have pushed the adoption of technologies that <a href="https://www.labiotech.eu/in-depth/remote-drug-development/">enhance remote work</a>. This is the case of augmented reality (AR), which is starting a silent revolution on the pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing floor.AR consists in overlaying digital content to your surroundings, adding diverse layers of information into your vision in the form of text, images, videos, or holograms. When it is well integrated, AR can become a really useful tool to visually enhance what you have in front of you. In pharma and biotech manufacturing, AR is transforming processes, quality monitoring, and training, letting employees virtually collaborate to maintain supply chains and connect with suppliers and partners.&ldquo;We actually saw a massive surge in usage during the Covid pandemic as many organizations had to carry out more remote functions than ever before,&rdquo; comments Angelo Stracquatanio. He&rsquo;s the CEO of Apprentice.io, a company that brings digital transformation to life sciences companies, including AR technology.&ldquo;Organizations that are larger and may already have innovation teams in place will continue to deploy this technology quickly, because they already understand the immediate enterprise value and have the resources to invest in it for the long term.&rdquo;Factories where engineers or scientists are using smart glasses to obtain virtual guidance, operators working with remote vendors to detect equipment failures in real-time, or interactive training sessions planned by directors located in another continent, are already here. &ldquo;The barriers to adoption are decreasing as the AR industry becomes more robust,&rdquo; notes Stracquatanio.Probably, the biggest advantage of AR is it enables seeing the production process virtually, without the need to be there. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a game-changer for the industry. Individuals can have eyes and ears on site at a moment&rsquo;s notice to address an emerging issue, or to host routine remote collaboration sessions,&rdquo; Stracquatanio highlights.AR can also increase control over the manufacturing process. Pharma and biotech companies cannot afford mistakes during the production phase. A little oversight might lead to serious consequences such as having to start from scratch, which can be very expensive and time-consuming.A recent example is that of Johnson &amp; Johnson&rsquo;s manufacturing partner Emergent BioSolutions, whose workers <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/apr/1/jj-emergent-stocks-slide-amid-covid-19-vaccine-mix/">erroneously mixed ingredients</a> from two different Covid-19 vaccines; this led to wasting around 15 million vaccine doses.In the worst-case scenario, faulty products could cause severe side effects or even the death of patients. In this context, AR can ease the analysis of the equipment in operation and get a more complete overview of the factory&rsquo;s performance.<h2>Walking with AR across the factory</h2>At their manufacturing facilities, workers can wear smart glasses and move their hands to manage virtual equipment commands, receiving instant notifications as the system generates data from a variety of sources. The smart glasses might inform the employee of a malfunction, an instrument showing signs of requiring maintenance, or an item that needs to be immediately replaced.During a working day, we could see an operator who loads 3D models of biotech instruments, looking at specific pieces and relevant information appearing in the smart glasses or tablet. Meanwhile, another engineer walks up to a machine with a QR code, and instructions pop up in the glasses, facilitating access to the adjustments. A few steps from there, another colleague is looking at batch records, saving values into the system just via voice.According to Frederik Thiele, Digital Product Owner at pharmaceutical packaging specialist K&ouml;rber Pharma, the technology could enhance &ldquo;any manual process step that needs to be controlled or documented and needs to be run very often, such as assembly processes. This allows to always get the same quality of execution and to avoid situations where an operator forgets steps.&rdquo;For example, the Swiss company Dividella, a subsidiary of K&ouml;rber Pharma, has developed a data management system that incorporates augmented reality to guide employees through the facilities and improve team collaboration. Another example is the pharma company GlaxoSmithKline, which made use of AR technology to <a href="https://www.epmmagazine.com/technology/king-of-the-castle/">validate the design</a> of a new aseptic manufacturing facility, ensuring that it complied with strict regulatory requirements.<figure><img src="https://media-aws03.caboodleai.net/ame/19a/f863d68faa974877820d853cfa5cc2fa-contentimage.jpg?size=large" /><figcaption>Worker demonstrating the use of Dividella&rsquo;s data management system</figcaption></figure><h2>New workers can perform expert protocols</h2>Generally, training for the setup and configuration of manufacturing tools is based on standard operating procedures, frequently in the form of dense manuals with instructions difficult for operators to read and learn from. This forces experts to spend a lot of time teaching new employees how to manipulate the devices, such as syringe pump cleaning, which is a rare event but can be hard for a newcomer.In this context, one of the biggest advantages of AR is that it provides three-dimensional guidance or virtual replicas of the equipment (also known as digital twins) for highly technical steps. This increases the learning speed and retention for trainees.Company leaders can also make audiovisual captures of difficult tasks through their wearables. This can help less-experienced workers to learn the procedures through contextual step-by-step instructions at any time.For instance, the computer software company PTC helped Watson Marlow, a British manufacturer of peristaltic pumps, to <a href="https://www.ptc.com/en/blogs/corporate/ptc-technology-accelerates-watson-marlow-digital-transformation">implement augmented reality</a>. The technology is intended to translate the knowledge of expert engineers to new employees into its new manufacturing plant without the experts physically being there. This was complemented with another AR application for connecting to potential customers, demonstrating product capabilities in real time.AR has also become one of the pillars of the laboratory service and support division of Thermo Fisher, which provides <a href="https://www.unitylabservices.com/en/training/digital-training-innovations.html">interactive training to employees</a>.<h2>Implementation barriers</h2>Although these examples are solid steps towards the general implementation of AR in manufacturing, these technologies are still primarily associated with gaming or entertainment applications. Frequently, AR experts are not familiar with the complexity of biotech and pharma manufacturing. Collaboration between both worlds will be decisive for its full implementation.&ldquo;Biotech and pharma are severely lagging behind as other industrial areas like automotive are more willing to take risks and take chances with new IT technology like AR,&rdquo; notes Mathias Schmidt, XR (cross-reality) developer at the pharma engineering company NNE. This is most evident in biotech companies, where misconceptions regarding the integration with their current systems or implementation costs can make smaller companies delay their adoption of AR technology.&ldquo;Small companies want to have bulletproof technology, so they usually do not want to invest in new technology. Only a few small companies would play the role of an early adopter,&rdquo; explains Thiele.In addition, the overloading of regulations and frameworks, mainly related to ensuring the safety of pharma products, is also slowing the adoption if we compare them with other areas. &ldquo;The main issue that biotech and pharma are facing in terms of AR is that everything has to be good practice-compliant. This slows down not only AR development, but all IT technology adoption, such as the cloud.&rdquo;<h2>A smart factory</h2>In spite of those barriers, virtual and physical objects seem destined to interact more and more <a href="https://www.pwc.com/seeingisbelieving">across all types of industries</a>. According to Grand View Research, specifically on the biotechnology and healthcare market, AR and VR are projected to reach &euro;4.3B ($5.1B) by 2025 &mdash; an estimation made before the pandemic hit.The manufacturing industry aims to continue refining the design of immersive experiences with high-quality and detailed virtual objects, higher transfer of data allowed by 5G connectivity, and lighter, more compact and efficient AR devices. Currently, limited device design options block the adoption for more AR uses, Stracquatanio notes. &ldquo;The biggest challenge will be the evolution of head-worn devices. There are so many AR applications to choose from, but the actual device market remains limited, which can sometimes hinder an organization&rsquo;s ability to deploy at scale.&rdquo;As the industry keeps growing, we will see the spread of AR solutions from R&amp;D laboratories to manufacturing, allowing real-time analysis by connecting with machines that share information about how they are running and which maintenance steps should be followed. Almost any activity related to the creation of a biotech product could be susceptible to be integrated with AR. &ldquo;I would say [AR can apply to] any industrial component that has invisible data. This applies both to digital and &lsquo;physical&rsquo; data, for example what product is currently running through the pipe you are looking at.&rdquo;AR is just part of a wider trend, the <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/future-factory-manufacturing-tech-trends/">industry 4.0</a>, which pursues the full integration of processes and digital tools with sensors and other devices. In the future, working at biotech and pharma manufacturing installations will be integrated with AR, internet of things technology, databases, and artificial intelligence, enabling full interactive user experiences, which will assist with the most complex tasks and provide insights across all operations.&ldquo;The idea of connecting your people, processes, and environment is hugely beneficial. AR is the thread that brings all three pillars together,&rdquo; concluded Stracquatanio.

COVID-19

manufacturing

augmented reality

biotechnology

Biotech and pharma companies are starting to implement augmented reality technologies at their manufacturing facilities, bringing forth a whole new world of possibilities. The Covid-19 pandemic has been a catalyst to embracing new ways of working. Travel restrictions and limited access to facilities 

How Augmented Reality Strengthens Biotech Manufacturing

#ICYMI the NAM and manufacturing leaders across the U.S. took to Capitol Hill to make their voices heard on a critical issue: getting the tax bill to the president’s desk.
The region’s plentiful natural gas is making it a crucial location as energy demand surges thanks to artificial intelligence. Read the full story by tapping the link in our bio.

National Association of Manufacturers

Manufacturers’ Monthly is a business-to-business magazine and a valuable reference tool for all members of the manufacturing industry. The magazine is highly targeted and is read by key decision-makers who purchase and specify manufacturing equipment and services. It is also widely read by suppliers to the manufacturing industry.

Soco T402 Packaging Equipment for sale

Stahl 10000 Cranes And Lifting for sale

FBA Fan Extraction Equipment for sale

APC Extraction Equipment for sale

Estimate if not using AI - Average customer service inbound call handling time in minutes
This measure was a respondent-provided estimate of measure 110986 had they not implemented AI: that measure calculates the average customer service inbound call handling time in minutes. This Cycle Time measure is intended to help companies analyze this durati

Estimate if not using AI - Average customer service inbound call handling time in minutes

The field of nursing continues to evolve, demanding new approaches in education to better prepare future professionals for the realities of clinical care. Gone are the days when passive lectures and multiple-choice exams were sufficient. Today, programs need tools that measure not just knowledge but also clinical reasoning, problem-solving, and lea

Evolving Nursing Education Through Performance-Based Assessment

Home
Predictive Maintenance
Infrared Thermography
Predictive Maintenance
Prescriptive Maintenance
Ultrasound
Vibration Analysis
Featured Article
Industrial Motors
Ask the Experts: Best practices for storing spare electric motors in industrial facilities
EASA electric motor experts highlight how improper storage can lead to expensive motor repairs a

Predictive Maintenance

Haddy 3D prints stylish, sustainable furniture using circular production processes to reduce waste. See how design meets purpose in the IMTS+ Original Series “Passion Project.”
Dive deeper into the latest and greatest updates across four overarching technology areas – additive manufacturing, automation and robotics, digital manufacturing, and metal

Furnishing the Future

An engineering apprentice at global hygiene and health company Essity’s Skelmersdale paper mill, has been named the 2023-2024 Apprentice of the Year by Waterside Training Limited.

The award serves as a major recognition of both Tom Wood’s dedication and the strength of Essity’s industry-leading apprenticeship programme.

Tom was selected from a gr

Essity engineering trainee named Apprentice of the Year

Image: Crusader Caravans

Crusader Caravans has been named Manufacturer of the Year at the 2025 Caravan Industry Victoria (CIV) Hall of Fame Awards – the fourth time in six years the company has taken out the industry’s highest honour.

The award, judged by an independent panel of industry experts, recognised Crusader’s excellence in manufacturing

Crusader Caravans takes home prestigious manufacturing award

LUSH partners with Google Cloud to improve retail operations and support sustainable manufacturing by cutting packaging waste and streamlining checkouts
Lush has built its reputation on packaging-free cosmetics, offering products that avoid the waste tied to traditional packaging and manufacturing processes.
The global cosmetics sector, by comparis

LUSH & Google Cloud: Streamlining Sustainable Cosmetics

OpenAI is close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet’s market-dominating Google Chrome, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The browser is slated to launch in the coming weeks, three of the people said, and aims to use artificial intelligence to fundamentally change how consumers browse the web. It wil

OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

5
0
7
All Open Access
Gold
Hybrid Gold
Bronze
Green
Learn more
Open Access types available in Scopus
Gold open
Documents that are in journals which only publish open access.
Hybrid Gold
Documents that are in journals which provide authors the choice of publishing open access.
Bronze
Published version of record or manuscript accepted for publication

REF ( 2-s2.0-85069234426 )

Estimate if not using AI - Estimated percentage of time customer service agents currently spend on repetitive/redundant tasks
This measure was a respondent-provided estimate of measure 110998 had they not implemented AI: that measure calculates the estimated percentage of time customer service agents currently spend on repetitive/redundant tasks. T

Estimate if not using AI - Estimated percentage of time customer service agents currently spend on repetitive/redundant tasks

Ireland-based manufacturer Combilift, a global leader in multi-directional and customised handling solutions, has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award for Product Design 2025 for its Combi-CB70E, high-capacity, electric-powered multidirectional forklift, developed to meet the needs of heavy-duty, long-load handling in more sustainable ways.

Combilift wins third Red Dot Award for innovative electric forklift design

Selling on behalf of customer - item located Pakenham, VIC.
2010 Mitsubishi Fuso 4x4 Truck.
$90,000 GST N/A.
176xxx kms, Set up to go off-road and off-grid.
Some of the features include:
Solar and battery setup including 120ah battery.
Upright fridge/freezer, Pull out kitchen with sink and cooker, 3 x water tanks (approx 200L water)
Additional manu