HP To Provide Tech Support In Mixed Reality So Users Can Fix Printers At Home
Image via HP
Sticking your hand into the back of a printer to try and fix something you suspect is a paper jam, only to find out that it wasn’t the problem is not an experience approached with thrill by many.
The metaverse is stepping in to help. Now that it’s poised to be an easily accessible tool in many of our lives, the fact that HP has commissioned it to become a new troubleshooting solution doesn’t feel so strange.
The new tool, called xRServices, is a mixed-reality printer repair and support feature that is based around Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 headsets. Microsoft had previously stated that it had intentions on bringing tech-support related matters into the metaverse, so plans for this service may have already been in the process for a while.
Image via HP
This service will be targeted at companies that utilize HP’s industrial printers, which boast sizes and capabilities much more impressive than a home printer but also come with their own set of complications.
In the announcement, HP explained that companies with the headset and a purchase of xRServices would be able to connect with a HP engineer at any time to not only ask about printer issues, but also receive real-time guidance on repairs that can be done on the spot. Presumably, the HoloLens 2’s video camera would allow the technician to be able to see the printer in question in order to give advice.
Image via HP
Being able to do so would purportedly reduce the need for face-to-face contact, a concept appropriate for the pandemic times, but also eliminate things like travel time and waiting around for an engineer to have the time to come on site.
Currently, the service is in beta with “select” customers, one of them being Japanese Fujiplus Inc., which owns a HP Indigo 12K Digital Press. In a statement given by CEO Takeshi Ido, xRServices has been credited for fast and “effective” troubleshooting.
“We already see using xRServices for self-maintenance and replacing parts on our own, giving us great confidence about the predictability of our print operations,” he said.
However, it does beg the question: why? As pointed out by Ars Technica, HP didn’t mention any groundbreaking benefits to taking this process to mixed reality when a video call may have been able to yield similar results.
Troubleshooting as you work has never been easier. Introducing the new HP xRServices powered by @Microsoft Hololens 2 mixed reality technology that provides on-demand support at the touch of a virtual button. Discover more: https://t.co/uagUK8KvhS pic.twitter.com/1xd6CeUgaT
— HP Graphic Arts (@HPGraphicArts) November 9, 2021
[via Ars Technica, all images via HP]
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