Marketing

Product (mathematics)

Engineering

Pure mathematics

Maintainability

Field (mathematics)

Systems engineering

Computer science

New product development

Manufacturing engineering

Virtual reality

Business

Product lifecycle

Process management

Task (project management)

Mathematics

Geometry

Software engineering

Engineering management

System lifecycle

Human–computer interaction

Journal of Manufacturing Systems

As a state-of-the-art computer technology, virtual reality (VR) is considered to play an important role in helping manufacturing companies stay competitive in the international market. However, despite the achievements made in the field of VR, it is still an emerging technology that lacks deeper exploration and development in industrial application scenarios, especially in the coming fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). This paper aims to systematically investigate the applications of VR in industrial maintenance to discover evidence of its values, limitations, and future directions so that VR can be guided to better serve manufacturing enterprises in remaining competitive in the coming Industry 4.0. A systematic literature review (SLR) methodology is adopted to review primary studies on this topic, by which 86 studies are ultimately included. The results show that VR has proved its value in benefiting maintenance issues through the product lifecycle. However, VR is still not an indispensable element for the lifecycle management of products regarding maintenance-related issues. Several key findings are concluded based on the analysis of the 86 studies. This review is valuable for researchers who are interested in the application of VR technology in maintainability design, maintenance training or maintenance task assistance.

Applications of virtual reality in maintenance during the industrial product lifecycle: A systematic review