The first mixed reality automotive maintenance system hopes to serve luxury customers more quickly

 

How it works: we see what you see.
Iconic collaboration employs Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist to benefit consumers and dealerships.

Whether simply inspecting a vehicle to make decisions about body repair or to solve more complex situations that require a collaborative diagnostic plan, with Mercedes-Benz Virtual Remote Support, the onsite technician puts on the HoloLens 2 headset and has immediate, real time support from Mercedes-Benz technical specialists anywhere in the United States.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) announced a collaboration with Microsoft that redefines automotive maintenance and the way service  technicians work. As the first mixed reality automotive maintenance system, Mercedes-Benz Virtual Remote Support, powered by HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, allows onsite dealership technicians to work handsfree sharing real-time views and sounds of the vehicle while talking with Mercedes-Benz technical specialists. The remote MB specialists can provide valuable insight and technological guidance to help complete complex maintenance issues in record time, without ever leaving their office.

Mercedes-Benz Virtual Remote Support was recently rolled out to all 383 dealerships across the U.S. to great applause.

“This is a massive shift in the way we do business – helping us to serve our customers more quickly – and is especially timely with the new realities of COVID-19 and our desire to keep employees safe,” said Christian Treiber, Vice President of Customer Services at MBUSA. “Today’s vehicles feature more than 100 million lines of software code. Through our partnership with Microsoft, we have a new paradigm for technology support and communication that helps our dealers and technicians master the complexity of these vehicles while eliminating travel time and onsite visits. It’s like having an expert on your shoulder.”

The game-changing Mercedes-Benz Virtual Remote Support enhances car customers’ experience providing faster service turnaround. It decreases the time it takes to resolve maintenance questions increasing the productivity and efficiency of dealer technicians. In times of COVID-19, it creates a remote work environment without eliminating the important collaboration between remote and onsite technical experts. The new technology also reduces the environmental impact of service-related travel.

Leveraging Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, the remote specialist can see exactly what the technician is seeing at the dealership.

Working in a mixed reality environment, it is an immersive experience where they both can view intricate 3D images and holograms, see where changes need to be made, annotate the visual information, add documents, insert arrows, circles and more all to highlight areas on which to focus.

“We save so much time not having to go back and forth, uploading information, asking questions, waiting for a response.” says Matias Scolnik, shop foreman at Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables, one of the 12 dealerships that piloted the technology. “To get cars back to the owners— diagnosed, fixed, washed and ready to roll—in a fraction of the time, this has a huge impact on our ability to provide excellent customer service.”