Applications of augmented reality in machinery design, maintenance and diagnostics W. Moczulski, W. Panfil, M. Januszka, G. Mikulski Silesian University of Technology, Department of Fundamentals of Ma- chinery Design, 18A Konarskiego Str., 44-100 Gliwice, Poland Abstract The paper deals with technical applications of Augmented Reality (AR) technology. The discussion starts with the conception of AR Further on, three applications connected with different stages of existence of a tech- nical means (machinery or equipment) are presented. They address design process, maintenance and diagnostics of different objects. Finally, further research is outlined. 1. Introduction This paper presents possible applications of oncoming technology called augmented reality (AR). It rises from the well-known Virtual Reality (VR). It can be said that the first AR systems were those applying Head- Up Displays (HUD) in the fighter planes. The main idea of AR is to facili- tate performing some task by the user in the real world. This goal is achieved by providing additional, hands-on pieces of information carried through several information channels by different forms of messages. Se- lection of the specific information channel and, additionally, the form of message delivered to the user, can be an additional task of optimization. The research on applications of AR in mechanical engineering has been carried out in the Department since 2004. Before that, AR applications were implemented for training the personnel, and for supporting human installers by assembling mechanical systems. In the paper the most popular applications of AR are briefly mentioned. Then the authors report concise- ly their own research works. The first application of AR system concerns the possibilities of aiding the user in the design process. The second one is the implementation of the portable AR system in maintenance/diagnostics In book: Recent Advances in Mechatronics, 2006; Publisher: Springer, Editors: Ryszard Jabłoński, Mateusz Turkowski, Roman Szewczyk, pp.52-56,