Qlayers is a Dutch high-tech company founded in 2017 by Josefien Groot and Ruben Geutjens with the goal of printing nature-inspired sharkskin microstructures 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 the tooth-like denticles on shark skin, which have evolved over 450 million years to reduce drag in water and let sharks swim faster. Applying these microstructures to large-scale industrial infrastructure 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 international growth, the company sought ways to maximize efficiency, as its limited capacity needed 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 smart glasses that held ATEX Zone 2 certification, were compatible with Microsoft 365, and offered hands-free operation through reliable voice control.
The solution
After seeking expert advice from VR-Expert on assisted reality smart glasses options, Qlayers found that the RealWear HMT-1Z1 was the perfect solution. The reasons were numerous: the RealWear HMT-1Z1 features excellent voice control, a rugged design with IP66 water and dust resistance plus drop resistance, industrial-grade noise cancellation, platform agnosticism, and ATEX Zone 1 and 2 certifications.
Specifically, 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 machine repairs became much faster and more reliable in both quality and efficiency, as multiple Qlayers team members could join repair calls.
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