Mercedes-Benz Canada has announced the full deployment of groundbreaking new technology that will redefine automotive maintenance and service technician training, leading to faster and more precise vehicle servicing for customers and dealers across the country.

Mercedes-Benz Virtual Remote Support, powered by Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, is a powerful, mixed reality automotive maintenance system. Beginning in July 2021, Mercedes-Benz Canada became the first automotive company in the country to deploy the technology to every dealership in its national network. All Mercedes-Benz dealerships across the country now feature this technology, which offers fully bilingual applications.

The primary use of the technology allows dealership service technicians to wear the HoloLens 2 headset – an untethered, self-contained holographic device – to work hands-free. Whether simply inspecting a vehicle to make decisions about body repair or to solve more complex situations that require a collaborative diagnostic plan, the technician can share real-time views and sounds of the vehicle while talking with Mercedes-Benz technical specialists located across Canada and around the world. Sophisticated technical precision is critical given that Mercedes-Benz vehicles are now built with more than 100 million lines of software code – significantly more than the Space Shuttle, an F-35 fighter jet and a pacemaker combined.

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, the remote technical specialists work with the onsite technicians in an immersive mixed reality environment and can share intricate 3D images and holograms, see where changes need to be made, annotate the visual information, add documents, and insert instructions to highlight which areas to focus on. This invaluable insight and technological guidance help complete complex maintenance issues more quickly, and the remote specialists do not need to travel to lend their specialized expertise, let alone leave their office.

Nikhil Ondhia, Vice President, Customer Services, Mercedes-Benz Canada said, “This technology represents a paradigm shift in the automotive industry and how Mercedes-Benz Canada serves its drivers. Our collaboration with Microsoft Canada and the use of Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist is already benefiting drivers and dealers by reducing servicing time and costs, freeing up service bay space and most importantly, getting drivers back in their Mercedes-Benz vehicles and on the road again. What’s most exciting is that this is just the beginning – we are continuously testing new applications to further improve the training opportunities and further master the complexity of our amazing new models.”