A Review of Extended Reality (XR) Technologies for

Manufacturing Training

Sanika Doolani * , Callen Wessels, Varun Kanal, Christos Sevastopoulos, Ashish Jaiswal and

Harish Nambiappan and Fillia Makedon *

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington,

Arlington, TX 76019, USA; [email protected] (C.W.); [email protected] (V.K.);

[email protected] (C.S.); [email protected] (A.J.);

[email protected] (H.N.)

* Correspondence: [email protected] (S.D.); [email protected] (F.M.)

Received: 30 October 2020; Accepted: 5 December 2020; Published: 10 December 2020

Abstract: Recently, the use of extended reality (XR) systems has been on the rise, to tackle various

domains such as training, education, safety, etc. With the recent advances in augmented reality

(AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies and ease of availability of high-end,

commercially available hardware, the manufacturing industry has seen a rise in the use of advanced

XR technologies to train its workforce. While several research publications exist on applications of

XR in manufacturing training, a comprehensive review of recent works and applications is lacking to

present a clear progress in using such advance technologies. To this end, we present a review of the

current state-of-the-art of use of XR technologies in training personnel in the field of manufacturing.

First, we put forth the need of XR in manufacturing. We then present several key application
domains

where XR is being currently applied, notably in maintenance training and in performing assembly

task. We also reviewed the applications of XR in other vocational domains and how they can be

leveraged in the manufacturing industry. We finally present some current barriers to XR adoption in

manufacturing training and highlight the current limitations that should be considered when looking

to develop and apply practical applications of XR.

Keywords: extended reality (XR); virtual reality (VR); augmented reality (AR); mixed reality (MR);
manufacturing; training; survey

1. Introduction

Vocational training consists of instructional programs and courses to train a workforce. It focuses

on training people with the skills required for a particular job function or trade. Manufacturing
training

is a subset of vocational training, where the worker is given on-the-job training to acquire or
improve

the skills required to do the job. Gennrich et al. [1] states that technical and vocational education
and

training (TVET) uses formal, non-formal and informal learning methods to provide knowledge and

skills required for the trade.

Manufacturing industries have drastically changed over the past few years. Traditionally,

the manufacturing of goods has evolved from craftsmanship to highly organized mass producing

factories to highly customized Industry 4.0. Subsequently, the skills required by the workforce to

adapt these rapid changes have increased. Global competition drives manufactured goods nowadays

and there is a need for fast adaptation of skills, process and production to meet the transformative

markets’ requests.

Technologies 2020, 8, 77; doi:10.3390/technologies8040077

The productivity has increased due to rapid advancements in manufacturing technologies.

Hence, there is a need to ensure worker engagement, performance and wellness. The skills are

needed for both cognitive and physical areas. There has been a very significant increase in skill

demands because of the evolving manufacturing sector. For example, due to Industry 4.0, that
includes

Internet of Things, (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Cloud-based manufacturing and smart

manufacturing, which makes the manufacturing process digitized and intelligent, as described by

Ero et al. [2], the demand for cognitive skills has increased. With close integration of technology,
robots,

automated factory lines and intelligent manufacturing, the worker is required to use cognitive skills
to

work efficiently. Along with this, the cognitive load of workers is higher than ever and there is a need

to assess, monitor and improve cognitive performance.

Newly required skills include, and are not limited to, understanding the complete manufacturing
process which starts from order to delivery of the product, working with smart devices at the
factory,

learning to use technically advanced machinery and tools, communicating with and handling robots,

understanding how to read, understanding and conveying data in real time, learning to program

firm software, and working with data mining and cloud infrastructure. Due to the rise of robotic

technologies, the integration of smart connected robotics and smart maintenance is common in
Industry

4.0 [3].

The TVET systems need to prepare for the skills of the future for global connectivity and smart

technologies in the manufacturing sector. Future and Jobs Reports of the World Economic Forum
from

2015 list the top ten skills that are relevant for Industry 4.0. These are cross functional skills also
known

as soft/interpersonal skills. Even though these skills are not-job specific and remain highly common
in

every vocation, the importance of training the workers with these skills that improve their cognitive

performance highly affects the overall outcome of the job.

In manufacturing, the skills are applied to produce marketable goods and products. The worker

acquires the skills necessary to help in the production of these goods and products and the

process by which the worker develops the needed abilities is considered as training. Currently,

many manufacturing companies train their workers in different ways. One popular method is by

assigning a senior member of the workforce to the new worker. This member acts as a mentor and

teaches every skill needed to finish the job. Another common method is by enrolling the workers in a

time-based curriculum, where they are taught the theory and practical versions of the skills. Both
these

methods are part of on-the-job training. The other version of manufacturing training is the one that

is taught in trade schools or vocational training programs outside the companies. It is very rare to

see any kind of standardization or consistency amongst these methods of training. This causes the

workers to learn one type of skills specific to that manufacturing company, which means that they

have few transferable cognitive skills. After the training, the worker may or may not give a test to

assess how much they have learned over the training period. Moreover, these methods of training
do

not evolve as quickly as technological advancements in the manufacturing sector.

re-trained to meet the evolving market needs. These training should reflect the demands on their
skills.

The workers’ skills are directly related to their performance. The purpose of this review paper is to

focus on the need of worker training with advanced new immersive technologies that provide better

global training, which in turn leads to the improvement of workers’ cognitive performance in the

manufacturing industry. We performed a comprehensive study by reviewing published articles in

academic databases and present the state of the technologies and their current applications towards

manufacturing training