Overview
Vuforia Chalk, PTC’s augmented reality (AR) remote assistance platform, enables experts to visually guide technicians through complex procedures with intuitive, spatially aware annotations. The product enhances real-world collaboration, enabling organizations to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver AR to service and operations technicians using the mobile devices they already have. My design interfaces improved usability metrics across all platforms. They expanded Vuforia Chalk’s adoption into manufacturing, service, and training environments where hands-free operation and intuitive interfaces are essential for complex equipment maintenance, assembly, inspection, and repair.
Research & Design
Enterprise Product Design /UX · AR / spatial interaction · Cross-platform UI/UX design · AR spatial awareness systems · Design research
- Duration: January–August 2021
- Partners: RealWear, Microsoft HoloLens
- Team: Fas Lebbie, Denni Smith, Dev Yamakawa, James Lema
Confidentiality: The designs and insights shown are from my work on PTC's Vuforia Chalk, with certain details adjusted to protect proprietary information.
My Role
Led design research and user experience audits, translating complex AR capabilities into strategic frameworks that improved platform adoption.
Designed enterprise UX and AR spatial interaction systems across desktop, mobile, and RealWear, creating cohesive and intuitive user experiences.
Developed hands-free AR solutions and collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, user-centered enterprise product designs.
Problem Context
Industrial teams often relied on on-site experts to resolve equipment issues, resulting in costly travel, downtime, and delayed problem resolution. Frontline technicians lacked real-time visual support, leading to inconsistent service quality and repeated visits. Vuforia Chalk addressed this challenge by enabling remote experts to see what technicians see and provide step-by-step guidance through live video and anchored AR annotations. The solution needed to work seamlessly across mobile, desktop, and wearable devices while performing reliably under poor network conditions. Early interface iterations were too complex, discouraging adoption and preventing technicians from quickly accessing expert knowledge when it mattered most.
Chalk Mobile & Desktop Support
Empowered technicians with live AR remote guidance via Vuforia Chalk on mobile and desktop platforms seamlessly.
Featured Designs
The sections below show some design artifacts for Chalk desktop and mobile. I enhanced Vuforia Chalk’s iOS, Android, and desktop experiences by refining visual language, interaction patterns, and spatial awareness systems. I also improved annotation precision with intelligent object recognition, ensuring seamless cross-platform AR collaboration and clear visual feedback for users.
Hands‑Free AR Support
Remote experts guide technicians through RealWear headsets, enabling live AR overlays and annotations for faster, safer issue resolution.
Featured Designs
For RealWear, I developed hands-free AR interfaces with optimized spatial awareness and intuitive visual cues. I improved annotation stability and usability for technicians, enabling effective remote guidance in complex industrial environments.
Cross-platform AR interfaces empower over 1M technicians with seamless mobile and desktop guidance, improving first-time fix rates and reducing service calls.
Improvement in First‑Time Fix Rate
by streamlining Chalk’s cross‑platform AR guidance, anchored annotations, and session-start flows so experts resolve issues on the first attempt.
Fewer Service Calls
hands‑free RealWear plus simplified mobile/desktop UX reduced repeat truck rolls and escalations, cutting service costs for enterprise teams.
Reflections & Impact
Designing for cross-platform experiences across web, mobile, and RealWear AR interfaces helped expand adoption to over 1 million enterprise users who incorporated Chalk into their daily workflows. Industrial technicians across manufacturing, service, and training environments adopted Chalk for daily workflow integration. PTC’s Vuforia Chalk, while powerful in its core AR capabilities, faced adoption challenges across different user environments. Building a cohesive experience across its supported devices (iOS 11+ devices, Android 6.0+ devices, and desktop browsers) was at the core of my day-to-day activities, helping the team realize its mission of increasing workforce effectiveness and efficiency anytime, anywhere.
