When we take a car to the dealership to fix a problem, there's little thought given to what has gone on behind the scenes when the car is collected later and the issue has been dealt with.

Despite main dealers having mechanics trained by the manufacturer, it's not uncommon for dealership service departments to have to contact experts at the factory to help solve a problem. And Porsche is now trialling an augmented reality system in the US to help make this process quicker, more efficient and more effective than ever.

Porsche's Tech Live Look system, currently in a trial phase, sets up a video call between dealer service centre technicians and Porsche tech experts at their Atlanta facility through a set of glasses equipped with HD video and a small screen. The system is something along the lines of Google Glass meets a PowerPoint presentation.

The idea behind the system is that when the dealer technician at any of the 189 Porsche dealers in the US has a problem, the mechanic can contact the experts at Porsche HQ in Atlanta for help. When the person placing the call puts on his ODG R-7 smart glasses and connects with the AiR Enterprise software, the expert at Porsche HQ receives high-definition video of everything the technician is looking at.

The Porsche expert can then make notes on his screen, or take a screenshot and blow it up for a closer look. Then the notes and detail snapshots can be superimposed on one of the lenses of the tech's glasses. Other information such as project tech bulletins, schematics, and documents can also be displayed onto the R-7 lens so the mechanic at the dealership has all the relevant information required as the job is being worked through.

What this all boils down to is eliminating the tiresome phone calls, e-mails and site visits that can take an awful lot of time when trying to diagnose and fix difficult issues and lead to the customer being without their vehicle for an extended length of time. It's expected the system will cut maintenance times by as much as 40%, which is the kind of efficiency any Porsche owner is sure to appreciate. — AFP Relaxnews