The ANWB is the Dutch national roadside assistance organization in the Netherlands, servicing over 4.5 million members in the European region performing over 1.2 million assistances per year.

As a follow up of this inspiration session, the ANWB decided to start a pilot using AR as a tool to show instructions on equipment in the ANWB service car. Together we outlined the scope of the new app which the service employee had to be able to run at any time at any specific location, targeting on the most challenging equipment to operate in the service car: the foldable towing axe.

When the towing axe is needed, the service employee needs to perform over 30 critical steps to make sure the towing axe is installed properly and safety is secured. If one of these steps was overlooked or installed in an incorrect manner, damage to the vehicles could occur and safety could not be guaranteed.

ANWB Augmented Reality eManual
The app that Playmax has developed became the ANWB Augmented Reality eManual. This app has the look and feel of a PowerPoint presentation. But instead of displaying only 2d text and illustrations, it actually projects the instruction on the device or tool that needs to be operated in the selected step of the manual, leaving no room for misinterpretation or the chance to overlook a specific action or operation. Guided text can be displayed to support the AR instruction and the service employee can navigate forward and backward thru the instructions to make sure all operations are executed properly.

No more expensive training
During the test phase the app proved to be of amazing value, showing that the operation time of the towing axe reduced by half and far less mistakes were made compared to installations without the ANWB Augmented Reality eManual. It eliminated the need for expensive repetitive training with at specific locations for their service personnel.

The configuration mode of the app makes expanding the use of the app for other devices or equipment in the service vehicle possible without the need of expensive customization. Adding instructions and placing them in real world space on the equipment together with the matching instruction is enough to make the operation clear to the service employee.

The ANWB is preparing for the launch and hopefully all 500 of the service vehicles with the towing axe will be equipped with the ANWB Augmented Reality eManual.

Playmax organized an inspiration session at the ANWB main office to give ANWB employees the opportunity to experience AR and VR and to help them to create awareness about how VR and AR can help optimize business processes and reduce costs.