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Many scenarios that might be improved by an augmented reality heads-up display shouldn\u2019t require an overly arduous selection process; most gizmos will do if you\u2019re checking a weather app while jogging. The same can\u2019t be said for picking out a device to help oil rig workers work safely and efficiently in the middle of the Permian Basin. Shell\u2019s VR incubator lead Michael Kaldenbach talks with Alan about the things his team had to consider when selecting the right device for the job.\n\n\n\nAlan:\nToday\u2019s guest \u2014 Michael\nKaldenbach \u2013 is an augmented, mixed, and virtual reality incubation\nlead at Shell, the global oil company. He is a driven, goal-oriented,\nresourceful, and creative person, who really understands the\nusefulness of this technology, and bringing how to bring it to the\nmarket. He\u2019s chosen the family motto of Arctic explorer Sir Ernest\nShackleton, as it accurately reflects how he approaches any challenge\nor goal: \u201cvictory through perseverance,\u201d or \u201cFortitudine\nVincimus.\u201d He strives\nto apply entrepreneurial mindsets and thinking up out-of-the-box\nsolutions and approaches when working in this technology. If you want\nto learn more about his work, you can visit Shell.com. \n\n\n\n\nI\nwant to welcome to the show, Michael Kaldenbach. Welcome to the show,\nMichael.\n\n\n\nMichael:\nHi, Alan. Thank you very\nmuch for having me on.\n\n\n\nAlan:\nIt\u2019s my absolute\npleasure. I\u2019m really excited. I want to dig right in here, because I\nknow you guys at Shell have been doing a ton of work in everything\nfrom kind of marketing and trade shows, right through to oil wells\nprevisualization. So let\u2019s talk about some of the ways that you and\nyour team are using virtual/augmented reality right now.\n\n\n\nMichael:\nSo I think One of the\nbetter case studies we have is around augmented reality remote\nassistance, and I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen examples in the wider industry\nfor that one. But for us at Shell, that means that we utilize a\nhead-mounted display \u2014 in this case specifically, the Realwear \u2014\nand it is used for our operators; for quick resolution, and to get\nremote expertise to be brought in. \n\n\n\n\nI\nthink it always helps if I provide a little story to set the scene;\nthink of an offshore oil platform out there in the ocean. Typically,\nthe most senior person is the control room operator, and there are\nmore junior operators that are assisting the running and maintaining\nof these kind of assets. If in the control room, they see a deviation\non one of the many dashboards they have, they send out a more junior\noperator to investigate \u2014 normally with a radio phone or walkie\ntalkie \u2014 and then they guide them through, they get back to \u201cwhat\nis the situation; what\u2019s the sound the machine is making?\u201d But\nwhere we really revolutionize that process is with a head-mounted\ndisplay. It is as if the experienced operator has immediate eyes on\nthe situation. So think about [it] \u2014 you see (or I see) what the\njunior operator is seeing, and thereby, I can use my years of\nexpertise to resolve the issue, and get back to safe operations. \n\n\n\n\nIn a\ncase where my expertise set is also not sufficient, we can quickly be\njoined by a remote expert who can be onshore \u2014 can be anywhere in\nthe world \u2014 to join that same virtual room, so that a three-way\nconversation happens. Not only that: instead of having those\nconversations like, \u201cI recognize the problem; you need to switch\noff the third button from the left, it\u2019s kind of greenish on the left\nside, bottom side of the machine,\u201d instead, we use something called\n\u201ctelestration,\u201d and that\u2019s the benefit of having a head-mounted\ndisplay, whereby I \u2014 as the remote expert \u2014 can draw on my screen\nand the same visual is replicated to the junior operator, so in his\nline of sight, he