AR Work-Instruction Platform for US Army Motor Pool

Taqtile has been awarded a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the U.S. Army and its Army Application Laboratory (AAL). The company will help to fulfill the Army’s Augmented Reality Maintainer-Operator Relay System (ARMORS) vision by expanding deployment of Taqtile’s Manifest platform to address the Army’s Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) needs across multiple vehicle platforms.

The Phase 1 program enabled the Army to validate Manifest’s unique capabilities to support digital transformation of motor pool MRO. Manifest empowered personnel to complete complex tasks more safely, more efficiently, and more accurately than was possible with outdated paper-based processes.

“Modernization isn’t only about helicopters and drones and the capital platforms,” said Thomas Mead, Army Application Laboratory Project Manager. “AAL is excited to continue work with Taqtile on a solution that will actually improve soldiers’ experiences in their routine work. Taqtile’s Manifest platform is a state-of-the-art upgrade to the way soldiers perform preventative maintenance on their vehicles that will save time and money while improving readiness.”

“The nature of service in the Army results in a high amount of turnover in its motor pools as soldiers rotate through their assignments,” said Mr. Kelly Malone, chief customer officer, Taqtile. “The expanded use of Manifest with Army personnel will clearly demonstrate that we are uniquely capable of delivering knowledge right to operators and the equipment they’re working on, helping them perform like experts.”

Phase 2 of the project will further integrate Manifest with existing Army IT systems, including automatic initiation of resolution processes. Manifest will also deliver enhanced permission-based management of workflows, building upon Manifest’s Augmented Reality (AR)-based guidance functionality.

During the vehicle maintenance process, Army mechanics can access and follow Manifest’s spatially anchored, step-by-step instructions with embedded multimedia content to efficiently complete complex maintenance tasks the first time. Device agnostic and highly scalable, Manifest also delivers additional support when needed, giving motor personnel real-time access to AR-enabled, step-by-step guidance from expert Army technicians, anywhere, anytime.

Manifest can also serve as a digital repository for maintenance and repair information, including video and audio ‘notes,’ and related documents such as Army Technical Manuals (TMs). This allows vehicle-specific repair information to be seamlessly transferred between personnel, reducing delays and risk of human error.