An integrated environment based on CAD assembly software and on an Augmented Reality wearable system is used to improve the overall integration between engineering design and real prototypes manufacturing. The environment following called – Personal Active Assistant (PAA) – exploits a CAD tool connection to remarkably improve object recognition, best assembly sequence optimization, and operator instructions generation. PAA is real-time and wirelessly linked to a remote server or designer workstation where project geometric database is stored. The PAA head-mounted camera is also able to acquire the human-driven assembly sequence and check the efficiency and correctness via object recognition: an incremental sub-assembly detection algorithm has been developed in order to achieve complex dataset monitoring. On the other hand, the Augmented Reality-based assembly evaluation tool allows engineers to interact directly with the assembly operator while manipulating the real and virtual prototype components. Information from the assembly planner can be displayed, directly superimposed, on the real scene by using a see-through head-mounted display. Thus the new combined software and hardware equipment may be considered a step ahead in the support of true concurrent engineering and remote collaboration, strongly improving this latter through a better heterogeneous task integration. Several tests have been performed also to achieve personnel training and warehouse part seeking.

Today’s market drives companies to change, adapt, and compete. Many consumers are increasingly looking at price, without sacrificing quality. In order to be attractive to the customer, companies must be able to offer the required quality at the lowest possible price. The life cycle of many products has been shortened compared to the past because now technologies are evolving faster. For these reasons, it is important that companies reevaluate all the operations that are carried out within them, to optimize them and eventually adopt new technologies if they offer interesting opportunities. In this discussion, we first study the design for disassembly, a technique that can bring several advantages during the life cycle of a component, offering the possibility of reducing time and cost of disassembling a product, and better reuse of the different materials of which it is composed. Subsequently, augmented reality is discussed, and how this technology is exploited in the world, especially in the industrial sector. During the work, we discuss a case study, with the gearbox being the object of analysis. This allows us to apply the theoretical concepts illustrated in a concrete way, allowing for a better understanding of the topics.