Mercedes-Benz Canada deployed a new technology that it said will “redefine automotive maintenance and service technician training,” resulting in faster and more precise vehicle servicing for both consumers and dealers in Canada.
The new tech is called Mercedes-Benz Virtual Remote Support, and it is powered by Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist. The OEM described it as “a powerful, mixed reality automotive maintenance system.”
“This technology represents a paradigm shift in the automotive industry and how Mercedes-Benz Canada serves its drivers,” said Nikhil Ondhia, Vice President, Customer Services, Mercedes-Benz Canada.
He said the OEM’s collaboration with Microsoft Canada benefits drivers and dealers by cutting down on servicing time and costs, freeing up service bay space, and “getting drivers back in their Mercedes-Benz vehicles and on the road again.”
The company already deployed the technology in every dealership in its national network, and it offers fully bilingual applications. The main purpose of the tech is to allow dealership service technicians to wear the HoloLens 2 headset—described by the OEM as “an untethered, self-contained holographic device”—to work hands-free.
The technician can wear it when inspecting a vehicle to make decisions about body repair, for example, or to solve more complicated situations. And they can share what they are seeing and hearing in real-time.
“What’s most exciting is that this is just the beginning—we are continuously testing new applications to further improve the training opportunities and further master the complexity of our amazing new models,” said Ondhia.
As for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, Mercedes-Benz Canada said the remote technical specialists work with onsite technicians in “an immersive mixed reality environment” and can share 3D images and holograms, pinpoint where the changes need to be made, annotate the visual information, add documents, and include notes to highlight which areas to focus on.
Mercedes-Benz Canada is piloting other use cases to support the potential of the technology.
