New Horizons in Repair

Looking down the road into the near future, the SmartDART system has the potential to change the way technicians conduct repairs. The system comprises a wearable, voice-activated computer that uses an innovative diagnostic process to troubleshoot and guide repairs. The system is as much at home prompting the novice with diagnostic and systems tutorials as it is in aiding the master technician, while allowing each to conduct inspections and repairs at their own rate. The system, which has a variety of display options — similar systems have used a headset-mounted monocular video display (as shown), although the SmartDART demonstration used a flat-panel display–allow the technician to conduct inspections and repairs and use voice commands to access diagnostic and systems information including text, schematics, animation and video. The user wears the computer pack which holds the information and computer. The system is currently being developed for the automotive aftermarket, though no firm availability date has been set. Contact: Raytheon Training LLC, 1650 Research Dr. Suite 100, Troy MI 48083-2100.