Porsche Cars North America is set to roll out special smartglasses for all 189 dealerships across the United States. Combined with augmented reality software, Tech Look Live aims to make life easier for technicians and improve customer service.
The Tech Look Live system works by allowing Porsche technicians to work in real-time with experts at Porsche’s central technical support team. The high-definition cameras mounted to the smartglasses allow the experts to see exactly what the technician is looking at – despite the dealership likely being hundreds of miles away from Porsche’s North American headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
From seeing the live feed, the technical centre experts can then suggest fixes in a number of ways. This can include projecting step-by-step guides onto the screen within the smartglasses, allowing the technician to follow instructions hands-free.
In addition, the smartglasses also allow for screenshots to be taken, allowing technical experts to investigate novel new problems in more detail if needed.
The Tech Look Live system is said to rapidly speed up the diagnostic process, eliminating the need for technicians and experts to exchange countless phone calls or emails to try and get to the root cause of a problem. In worst-case scenarios, dealerships would previously need visits from Porsche’s Field Technical Managers, taking even longer to get cars back on the road.
Porsche began piloting the augmented reality software in 2017. Trials found time savings of up to 40 percent in diagnosing complex repair problems.
A total of 75 North American dealers will be online with Tech Look Live by the end of the year, with the remaining set to be included in 2019.