[4B6] Review of extended reality for manual NDE inspections
D Conniffe¹, R Zhu¹, A Fletcher¹, A Peyton¹, J Skelton² and B Gafner²
¹University of Manchester, UK
²Amentum, UK
Extended reality (XR), encompassing virtual, augmented and mixed reality, is rapidly transforming industrial workflows in line with the principles of Industry 4.0. This paper presents a focused review of XR technologies in the context of manual non-destructive evaluation (NDE) inspections, highlighting key areas of research and industrial deployments. It surveys the current XR hardware landscape, emphasising the sector’s drive towards more compact and lightweight form factors. Traditional inspection procedures, such as ultrasonic and eddy current testing, can be augmented with real-time data visualisation and optical tracking methods to automatically digitise the workflow. Applications including ‘X-ray vision’ for structural maintenance, contextual information overlays and remote collaboration tools are examined, illustrating how XR can reduce operator workload and enhance inspection accuracy. Challenges related to precision tracking, ergonomics, visual clarity and data privacy are also discussed. Despite hardware and adoption barriers, XR offers significant potential to modernise manual NDE workflows by integrating digital twin concepts, improving human-machine interaction and supporting traceable, standardised reporting. This review concludes that, with continued technological and regulatory development, XR is poised to become a key enabler of future-ready, operator-centred inspection systems.
