Work enablement software company Taqtile has recently announced a 2.2 update to their Manifest AR platform for remote assistance, training, workflow management, and more. To get to know the company and better understand this update, ARPost spoke with Taqtile Chief Revenue Officer, Kelly Malone.
The last time that ARPost spoke with Taqtile was in August and they had just graduated from the 5G Open Innovation Lab. However, that was hardly the beginning of the Taqtile story. Their flagship project, Manifest, launched in 2017.
Three Years of Manifest
“Manifest originally started as a 3D checklist,” said Malone. The solution allowed step-by-step instructions to be authored over the physical world. “That quickly evolved into augmented work instructions.”
The basis of the platform was – and is – to give subject matter experts the ability to author their own training, instructions, and remote assistance content. The approach was user friendly, as well as scalable, device-agnostic, and secure.
“With our containerized backend, we are able to deploy our platform on private drives or, for our clients that need it, (on the premises),” said Malone.
Over the next few years, continuing updates allowed the ability to display instructions on static or automated 3D models, interact with IoT- connected devices, and allowed operators to take a photo or video of a completed task or step.
The next major system update came earlier this year with the 2.0 release. This release included the ability to split a compound task between a number of workers who could then work on the task together in real time or asynchronously. It also launched “Manifest Connect” – a real-time remote assistance solution that allows a remote expert to see what an operator is looking at.
The current 2.2 update largely builds on the Manifest Connect aspect by incorporating wayfinding tools and eye-tracking through operator opt-in on compatible devices. It also incorporates branching augmented work instructions, and a redesigned authoring UI and help wizard.
Using the Platform
The greatest benefits of Taqtile’s remote assistance software comes when used on AR or MR glasses simply because of the hands-free capabilities. However, the solution will soon be coming on ARKit and ARCore-enabled mobile devices.
Technically, non-ARKit and ARCore-enabled mobile devices – and even laptops and desktops – can access Manifest through a browser mode. Of course, many of the platform’s functionalities are somewhat limited on these devices.
Many of the platform’s tools are also operable in completely offline environments. This is a must for people working in under-connected areas as well as for high-security areas and operations. In these instances, a 6-digit PIN is used instead of network-connected authentication.
Functions like recording audio or video and taking photos can also be limited by location to protect secure information.
“There are still challenges depending on our client or customer needs,” said Malone. “We’ve worked with clients in ways that they can essentially audit the data on the device.”
2020’s Remote Assistance Ecosystem
Taqtile has come a long way in the last few years and we anticipate the continuing rollout of their updates and device support. We also wait to see increased adoption of this and other workforce enablement and remote assistance solutions with the continued development of other exponential technologies including IoT and 5G.
