Taqtile Dramatically Improves Usability Of Manifest Work Instruction Platform With QR Code Alternative

Taqtile, Inc., the leader in augmented reality (AR)-based work instruction solutions, has developed an alternate approach to using physical QR codes – an always available option that uses reference points on physical objects. The patent-pending, AR-based approach, called Touch Alignment, enables deskless workers to spatially anchor Manifest^® work instructions to physical equipment, quickly and easily enabling the software to accurately direct workers to specific areas for maintenance, repairs, inspections, or other procedures. 

Touch Alignment from Taqtile replaces the need for physical QR tags, a common anchoring solution used by many companies. QR tags can be difficult to deploy and hard to use, plus there can be security considerations for some customers. Taqtile invented Touch Alignment technology to address these issues, eliminating usability concerns caused by damaged, soiled, or difficult-to-find QR tags. 

With Touch Alignment, Manifest customers use physical locations on equipment as reference points to access virtual assets. A series of three customer-assigned alignment points specific to the particular piece of equipment, or an entire class of identical equipment such as a vehicle model, replaces physical QR codes. Deskless workers simply walk up to the equipment and “touch” the three virtual alignment points within Manifest. These access points allow Manifest to accurately anchor AR-enabled instructions within the augmented environment.

“We’ll continue to support QR codes for companies that prefer them, but we also want to provide a more elegant way to spatially anchor AR content, facilitating easier, more consistently available paths to access Manifest work instructions,” said John Tomizuka, CTO, Taqtile. “Offering an AR-based solution within Manifest was a natural evolution that will improve the usability of our platform for many of our defense and industrial customers.” 

New Text Capture Capability

Taqtile is also making it easier to access digitised assets for individual pieces or classes of equipment. Manifest can capture and digitise text from an existing asset ID, such as a serial number or other ruggedised identifying code, with the built-in camera of a head-mounted display. These unique IDs allow users to access equipment-specific work instructions on Manifest, such as enhanced video, video stills and other images, detailed diagrams, auto-transcribed text, dictated guidance, digitised manuals, and more.

These enhancements allow Manifest to better support deskless workers and military personnel in their efforts to complete complex procedures more consistently and accurately. Through the Manifest platform, deskless workers can access essential instructions in intuitive formats, such as step-by-step videos, animated 3D models, detailed holograms, and digitised manuals. For complex tasks, the advanced Manifest platform enables access to real-time remote assistance from knowledge experts who can view “see-what-I-see” video and guide deskless users with spatially anchored content within the AR environment.