In 2019, a fire occurred at the McMicken energy storage facility in Arizona, where solar-generated electricity is stored in large commercial batteries. One of the battery modules inside a storage container had overheated and caught fire, causing a build-up of gases. Unaware of conditions inside the container, first-responders opened the door, causing an explosion that sent four firefighters to the hospital and threw the captain 73 feet.
In response to the McMicken event, and other safety-related聽incidents at similar energy storage facilities, the Electric Power Research Institute () started looking for solutions to assist first-responders and site-operators to see what is happening inside battery containers without actually opening them up. They approached CU Boulder researchers in the 's ACME Lab, asking for help to design聽and prototype聽an augmented reality application that would display聽safety-critical information on containers, allowing operators to immediately see聽from a distance聽whether a unit is operating normally and safe to open.聽
The聽system they developed is called ARMAS鈥攁ugmented reality maintenance and safety鈥攁 marker-based AR system that lets the user see color-coded visualizations of battery cells inside containers. Providing a kind of "X-ray" vision, the visual display immediately pulls up temperature, voltage聽and current for any container viewed. If hazardous conditions are detected, alerts聽are sent and directions given, guiding users to a safe聽area. They are also provided with contact information for a subject matter expert. Along with safety applications, ARMAS聽can also help with day-to-day maintenance by visually linking to relevant component manuals聽and displaying 3D directions to guide聽technicians to areas that need聽attention.
