Augmented Reality (AR) in Work Management and Mobile Field Services

Augmented reality (AR) in field service management overlays digital information onto a technician’s view of the physical world. It can provide access to work instructions, asset information, remote expert support and inspection guidance directly at the point of work. When connected with work management systems, AR can help bridge the gap between physical assets and the digital processes used to maintain them.

---

Augmented Reality (AR) is changing how complex assets can be maintained, repaired and managed in the field. By overlaying digital information onto the physical world, AR can provide field resources with greater access to information, guidance and expertise at the point of work, supporting greater efficiency, accuracy and safety across field service operations.

AR is an interactive experience that most people are already familiar with. Google Maps can provide navigational information alongside a view of the real world; interior design applications can show how furniture might look in a physical space; social media filters can alter a person's appearance; and, perhaps most famously, Pokémon Go places virtual creatures into real-world locations.

In its simplest form, AR superimposes digital information onto real-world objects or environments, allowing users to interact with elements of the physical and digital worlds simultaneously. Unlike virtual reality (VR), which replaces a user's surroundings with a virtual environment, augmented reality adds information to the world already around them.

For work management and field service, this has a much more practical application. A technician looking at a piece of equipment could potentially access maintenance instructions, asset information, visual guidance or real-time operational data without losing the context of the physical asset they are working on.

How Does Augmented Reality Work?

AR enhances what we see in the real world with computer-generated information, effectively turning a person's immediate surroundings into an interactive digital environment.

AR-enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets and smart glasses use cameras and sensors to understand the physical object or environment around the user. Software can then use technologies such as computer vision, object recognition, location data and spatial mapping to determine where digital information should appear within that environment.

Devices may also make use of GPS, accelerometers and orientation sensors, while connectivity can allow information from other systems to be retrieved and updated in real time. Touchscreens, voice recognition and increasingly AI-enabled assistants provide additional ways for a user to interact with the information being presented.

This becomes particularly valuable within field service industries, where resources are regularly required to interact with physical assets while simultaneously accessing work orders, technical information, maintenance histories and other operational data.

By incorporating technologies such as IoT and AR into the broader field service management environment, organisations can create increasingly intelligent and information-rich service processes. IoT can provide information about the condition or performance of an asset, AR can present relevant information within the technician's physical environment, and field service or work management software can manage the wider operational process.

A variety of AR glasses and headsets are available for both professional and consumer use. However, specialised wearable devices may not be practical for every organisation or workforce due to cost, working conditions, usability and device-management considerations.

Smartphones therefore remain one of the most practical devices through which AR can be delivered, particularly because field resources are already familiar with them and organisations do not necessarily need to invest in specialised hardware.

Smartphones are also firmly embedded in everyday digital behaviour. Ofcom's 2025 Online Nation research found that smartphones account for most of the time UK adults spend online, demonstrating just how established mobile devices have become as a means of accessing digital information.

The biggest drawback of using a smartphone for AR is that the device needs to be held up and the user's view is limited to the size of the phone screen. This is not always an intuitive way of interacting with the surrounding environment, particularly when a technician needs both hands to complete physical work. Smart glasses and other wearable devices can address some of these limitations by displaying information within the user's field of vision.

There are three broad types of AR:

• Marker-based AR relies on recognising a particular visual marker before displaying digital information. The digital content can then appear anchored to that marker.

• Markerless AR uses technologies such as object recognition and spatial mapping to position digital information within a physical environment without relying on a predefined marker.

• Location-based AR associates digital content with a particular real-world location, commonly using GPS and other location data.

  
  

AR in Work Management and Field Service

Within work management and field service, one of AR's most useful applications is providing technicians with information and guidance while they are completing work.

AR can act as an interactive visual aid, superimposing diagrams, instructions or other information over equipment in the field. Instead of continually moving between a physical asset and a separate manual or screen, a technician can potentially access the information in the context in which it is needed.

Current enterprise AR applications from providers such as PTC and TeamViewer continue to focus heavily on this type of guided work, including step-by-step visual instructions, maintenance procedures, inspections and remote assistance.

AR can also provide a highly visual remote-support environment. Field technicians can share their view of equipment with experts located elsewhere using a mobile device or smart glasses. The remote expert is then able to see what the technician sees and provide guidance without needing to travel to the site.

Rather than attempting to explain a complex technical problem over a phone call, the expert can use annotations, markers or other visual information to highlight a particular component or demonstrate what action needs to be taken. Current AR remote-assistance platforms allow these annotations to remain associated with physical objects as the technician moves around them, providing far more context than a conventional video call.

This real-time guidance can help technicians diagnose and resolve more complex problems while reducing the need for specialist resources to be physically present at every site. For organisations operating across large geographical areas, the ability to make scarce expertise available remotely can be particularly valuable.

AR can similarly support training and knowledge transfer. Technicians can learn using visual models and contextual guidance rather than relying entirely on traditional manuals or classroom-based training. Experienced resources can also capture their knowledge so that procedures can later be made available to less experienced employees while they perform the work.

Through AR, technicians can also potentially view operational and asset information alongside the machinery they are working on. Depending on the systems with which the AR application is integrated, this could include information such as temperature readings, operational status, maintenance history, service information or other data associated with the asset.

AR applications can provide step-by-step maintenance and repair instructions directly in the context of the equipment, which can help technicians navigate complex procedures and reduce the likelihood of steps being missed.

The technology can also support safety procedures by presenting contextual warnings or guidance. A technician could, for example, be reminded of hazards associated with a particular piece of equipment or prompted to complete a required safety check before continuing. AR should supplement rather than replace established safety procedures, but it can make relevant information easier to access at the point at which it is required.

For inspections, AR can help guide technicians through required checks and identify where particular inspections should take place. Advances in computer vision and AI are expanding these capabilities further, with modern AR platforms now incorporating AI-assisted visual inspection to help identify anomalies and support quality-control processes.

AR can also help technicians understand complex equipment by displaying 3D representations or digital twins of machinery and its components. This can make it possible to better understand the internal structure of an asset, prepare for repairs or identify components without relying exclusively on two-dimensional technical drawings.

These applications are relevant across a wide range of asset-intensive industries, including manufacturing, utilities, telecommunications, healthcare, infrastructure and facilities management.

Supporting Field Technicians and Retaining Expertise

The potential value of AR becomes particularly significant when considering one of the ongoing challenges facing field service organisations: access to experienced and appropriately skilled technicians.

Experienced technicians eventually retire or leave organisations, taking years of practical knowledge with them. At the same time, newer technicians need to become productive while working with increasingly complex equipment and meeting growing customer expectations.

This combination has contributed to an ongoing skills gap across many field service and industrial environments. Current industry research continues to identify technician hiring, retention and the loss of institutional knowledge as challenges facing service organisations.

AR cannot solve a skills shortage by itself, but it can help organisations make better use of the expertise they already have.

Less experienced technicians can access contextual work instructions or receive remote guidance from senior employees while completing work. Rather than requiring an experienced specialist to physically accompany every technician or travel to every site, their knowledge can be made available across multiple locations.

Traditional onboarding and training can also take considerable time. AR-enabled procedures can supplement this process by providing technicians with guidance while they are performing the task itself. Knowledge that might previously have existed only in an experienced employee's memory can increasingly be captured, documented and shared across the workforce.

This does not remove the importance of skilled technicians or human judgement. Instead, AR can provide field resources with another means of accessing the information and expertise needed to make informed decisions.

Connecting AR, IoT, AI and Work Management

The use of AR in work management and mobile field services is still evolving, with new applications emerging as the underlying hardware and software continue to develop.

Importantly, AR does not operate in isolation.

Its greatest potential within field service comes from its connection with other technologies and the wider systems responsible for managing work.

An AR interface may display information to a technician, but that information still needs to come from somewhere. Asset registers, work orders, maintenance histories, IoT devices, GIS information and other enterprise systems can provide the operational data that gives the AR experience practical value.

When these technologies are integrated with AI, the potential becomes broader still.

For example, an FSM solution integrated with IoT can receive information from connected assets and use that information to identify conditions requiring attention. AI can assist in analysing large volumes of operational data or recognising patterns, while work management software can initiate and coordinate the required response. AR can then provide contextual information to the field resource responsible for carrying out the work.

A road-maintenance environment provides one example. IoT or other data sources could identify changes in conditions, AI could assist in analysing information and identifying potential risks, and a work management system could initiate inspections or other required activities. Field resources could then access relevant asset, location or procedural information while completing that work.

Through the collaborative integration of these technologies, service delivery can become increasingly connected and data-driven, while field resources gain access to information closer to the point at which decisions need to be made.

The future of AR in field service is therefore not necessarily about every technician wearing a headset. Smartphones, tablets and wearable devices are likely to coexist depending on the work being performed.

What matters most is whether the technology helps connect the physical asset, the field resource and the digital work process.

As AR, IoT and AI continue to develop, their integration with work management systems creates opportunities to make operational information more accessible, extend specialist expertise across field teams and support better-informed decisions in the field.