HandsIn3D: Augmenting the shared 3D visual space with unmediated hand gestures

Nowadays technologies used in equipment and machinery are becoming increasingly complex and ubiquitous. The technical complexities of the equipment often require specialized knowledge and expertise to operate and maintain. However, experts who have the required knowledge and expertise are not always locally available. When a machine breaks down, there is a need to arrange and fly an expert in and out to have the machine fixed, which can be time-consuming and is not cost effective. It is often seen that the lack of adequate skill sets and the cost of bringing an expert onsite translate to the loss in productivity [Alem et al. 2011]. Therefore, there is a high demand in industries for technologies that support remote collaboration in which a remote helper guides a local worker performing tasks on physical objects. With such technologies, the expert would no longer need to be flown onsite and is able to, for example, fix a machine remotely with assistance from a local technician.