The CareAR platform enables service experience management through CareAR Assist and Instruct. CareAR Assist is a remote support solution using live video and AR technology to enable experts to remotely guide others to quickly resolve problems. CareAR Instruct is a self-guided solution that enables users to self-solve by following step-by-step instructions that include 2D and 3D content.

Overview of Release 22.03

Release 22.03 of CareAR Instruct delivers the following:

•  CareAR Assist and Instruct
•  Updated Admin Web UI and Navigation
•  Connector Center
•  Web API
•  Experience Builder
•  Intelligent Search
•  Instruct Session Activity

New Features

CAREAR ASSIST AND INSTRUCT

Both CareAR Assist and Instruct are now available to manage through the CareAR platform. CareAR accounts that have the appropriate plan type can use both CareAR Assist and CareAR Instruct from the same CareAR tenant.

Compatibility

These version of CareAR apps are required to be compatible with the CareAR platform.

UPDATED ADMIN WEB UI AND NAVIGATION

Upon logging into the CareAR portal web interface you will notice things look different. The web UI has been updated with a new look and redesigned to make it easier to use and find what you need. In addition to the new look, the side navigation has been reorganized the navigation to make it easier to find the information or capability you need to access.

Multiple Tab / Browser Support

When using the CareAR web interface you can now have more than one browser window or tab open at the same time. This makes it more convenient when working with the CareAR platform if you need to access different pages simultaneously.

NEW TENANT DEFAULTS

With the creation of a new tenant, we have changed the following default settings:

• Join by Browser: ON
• Encryption: ON

Also, there are two optional surveys automatically created for the new tenant for both host and guest in this order:

• “Did CareAR help resolve this issue?" (rating)
• "Additional feedback?" (multiline comment)

SUPPORT FOR PLATFORM PLAN AND INSTRUCT SESSION TRACKING

Release 22.03 now supports a new plan type, “platform”. This is selected for customers who want access to the CareAR platform, allowing them to use the Assist and Instruct applications and content creation. We also track Instruct session consumption, leveraging the model used for Assist session usage tracking.

CONNECTOR CENTER

With the connector center you can extend the capabilities of the CareAR platform by integrating third party services with CareAR. The connector center provides a place to setup and configure various integrations available to extend the CareAR platform. Administrators can select from the available connectors to configure and enable each connector for added capabilities when using CareAR. As needed, the administrator can disable a connector. If you need an integration with a third-party system that isn’t already available, you can use the CareAR Web API to create a custom integration through simple web-based REST API.

Web API Connector

The CareAR Web API enables developers to create an integration between CareAR Assist and an external system. Using this API, a developer can build an integration allowing users to launch a CareAR Assist session. Data that is captured during the CareAR Assist session is automatically sent to the invoking third party application using this API. The Web API Connector is managed in the Connector center in the same way as our other pre-built Connectors.

The CareAR Web API documentation is available upon request.

EXPERIENCE BUILDER

The Experience Builder is a new tool available with this release of CareAR. It is a no-code web application used to create experiences that are used within CareAR Instruct. With the experience builder a user can quickly create experiences that can be used for a variety of applications including digital work instructions, troubleshooting guides, setup and configuration procedures, and much more.

The experience builder provides an open canvas to allow content creators to simply drag and drop pages and connect them together in the desired sequence for users. Each page can be populated with elements that can be comprised of text, images, videos, 3D models, and a variety of buttons. Every page and element is completely customizable allowing the content creator to quickly build out the content to the specific needs for the use case.

A selection of page templates is available for the creator to use when building an experience. A page template is a page that has a collection of elements already in place that allows a user to simply drag to the canvas and use as-is or tweak for your specific needs. The page templates provide a faster way to build rather than always creating pages from scratch. However, a complete blank page template is also available should one of the provided templates not meet your needs.

Page Elements

• Text – Text is customizable with a WYSIWYG editor to stylize the text. This allows the creator to control font size, style, and extensive formatting.
• Images – Images can be added to pages to provide visual information in addition to text. Any .jpg, .png, .svg, or .gif can be uploaded to the page.
• Videos – Video can be added to a page as well. Videos can be uploaded (.mp4) to the page or an externally hosted video can be added by including the link to the video.
• 3D Models – The page can be configured with 3D models as well. Uploading a 3D model in .glb format will be rendered on the page allowing a user to rotate and zoom the model. The model can be further enhanced with hotspots and rich cards.       
• Hotspots – Hotspots are interaction points placed on the surface of a 3D model. A hotspot is created by simply clicking on the surface of the model. When a user taps on a hotspot, it displays a rich card.
• Rich Card – Rich cards are pop-up displays that provide additional information, typically regarding the object the hotspot was placed on. Rich cards can contain text, images, and buttons
•  Buttons – Buttons provide actions for users. Typically, buttons are a way to provide navigation for users to move from page to page, however they can also be used to link to external web pages or additional resources outside the experience. There are different types of buttons
• Standard Button – The standard button can be customized with text and style. It can also be configured as a single button or a side-by-side button.
• Card Button – Card buttons behave the same as a standard button but can provide additional information to the user. A card button can contain images and text that help to guide users. Card buttons are useful for building menus or presenting multiple selections to a user.

The experience builder also provides a live Preview capability. The preview can be used to simulate running the experience. It is a fully functional preview that allows the creator to test out the experience in simulated devices including phone, tablet, and computer. You can also open the experience from the preview in a mobile device by initiating a Live Preview and scanning the QR code. This will open the experience on the mobile device default web browser for testing.

Publishing an experience is done by clicking on the publish button. Once published, an experience is assigned a permanent link associated to the experience for the life of the experience. Also, a QR code is generated to make it easy to share the experience via mobile device.

INTELLIGENT SEARCH

CareAR Intelligent Search is used to surface organizational knowledge through search. Intelligent Search uses artificial intelligence powered semantic and keyword search to provide users with the ability to search through existing knowledgebase content and present to users within Instruct. This makes it possible to surface existing content to users within the context of the Instruct experience. The Intelligent Search interface in the CareAR platform provides a user interface for creating search indexes and configuring them for use within Instruct.