Qlayers is a Dutch high-tech company founded in 2017 by Josefien Groot and Ruben Geutjens with the goal of printing nature-inspired sharkskin microstructure on industrial surfaces to make them multifunctional.
Since then, Qlayers has been developing innovative robotic solutions to automate industrial coating processes, increasing not only the safety of operations but also the efficiency and precision of coating applications. Today, Qlayers has expanded into the global market and provides automated coating solutions for major industries such as storage tanks, maritime, and wind turbine blades, allowing coating contractors worldwide to apply anti-corrosion coatings without overspray and in an environmentally friendly manner.
Qlayers’ functional coating technology is inspired by tooth-like denticles on shark skin which have evolved over 450 million years to reduce drag with water and let sharks swim faster. Applying these microstructures on large-scale industrial infrastructures such as wind turbine blades could potentially increase the energy output of these wind turbines by up to 5%.
The challenge
Because of Qlayers’ rapid and international growth, they sought ways to maximize efficiency as their limited capacity needed ways to meet the demand for expert maintenance and repair around the globe.
Qlayers discovered that assisted reality (aR) enabled remote expertise and found it to be the perfect solution. However, it required a smart glass that held an ATEX zone 2 certification, compatibility with Microsoft 365, and featured hands-free operations from reliable voice control.
The solution
After seeking expert advice from VR-Expert on assisted reality smart glass options, Qlayers found RealWear HMT-1Z1 was the perfect solution. The reasons were numerous. RealWear HMT-1Z1 features excellent voice control, robust design with IP66 water, dust, and fall resistance, industrial-grade noise cancelation, platform agnosticism, and ATEX zone 1 and 2 certifications.
In detail, one RealWear HMT-1Z1 was deployed for each coating machine, enabling a direct line of high-fidelity video communication through Microsoft Teams between Qlayers’ technical support team and field service technicians. This saved Qlayers’ expenses on flights and lodging, while the quality and efficiency of machine repair were much faster and more reliable as multiple Qlayers’ team members could join repair calls.
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