FUTURE APPLICATION OF MULTISENSORY MIXED REALITY IN THE HUMAN CYBER—PHYSICAL SYSTEM

Mixed reality as an emerging technology can improve users’ experience. Using this technology, people can interact between virtual objects and the real world. Mixed reality has enormous potential for enhancing the human cyber—physical system for different manufacturing functions: planning, designing, production, monitoring, quality control, training, and maintenance. This study aims to understand the existing development of mixed reality technology in manufacturing by analysing patent publications from the InnovationQ-Plus database. Evaluations of trends in this developing technology have focused on qualitative literature reviews and insufficiently on patent technology analytics. Patents connected to mixed reality will be mapped to give technology experts a better grasp of present progress and insights for future technological development in the industry. Thus 709 patent publications are systematically identified and analysed to discover the technological trends. In addition, we map existing patent publications with manufacturing functions, and illustrate this with a technology function matrix. Finally, we identify future research in human cyber—physical system development by enhancing different human senses to give users more sensations while interacting with virtual objects. We provide insight into this human cyber—physical system development in three industries: automotive, food and beverage, and textiles. © 2021, South African Institute of Industrial Engineering. All rights reserved.