What is remote visual assistance?
Remote visual assistance is software that lets an expert see what a customer or field worker sees through their phone camera, in real time, and guide them — by drawing on the live video, capturing stills, taking measurements and reading serial numbers or meters — without anyone travelling to the site. OnSight RVX is Hostcomm’s remote visual assistance platform: the customer receives a text message, taps the link, and the session opens in their browser with no app to download, no account to create and nothing to learn.
How a session works
The expert sends a text message containing a link. The customer taps it, their browser asks for camera permission, and the expert sees the live camera view on their own screen. The expert draws on the video to point at things, freezes frames, captures stills, takes measurements and reads serial numbers or meter displays with OCR. At the end, the platform produces a report — timestamped images, annotations, measurements, notes and location — which both parties can sign. Nothing is installed on either side.
Live sessions and self-surveys
There are two modes. In a live session an expert guides the customer in real time. In a self-survey the customer follows a guided sequence alone — take a photo of this, measure that, read this label — at any hour, and submits the result. Installers use self-surveys to qualify a job before quoting; support desks use live sessions to diagnose a fault on the first call.
How it differs from a video call
FaceTime, WhatsApp and Zoom show a picture. Remote visual assistance adds the tools — annotation on the live feed, freeze-frame, AR measurement, OCR, geolocation — and the record: a stored, signed report per session that can be written to a job in a field-service system or a case in a contact-centre platform. That record is usually the reason a business pays for it.
Who uses it
Field-service companies avoiding wasted visits; HVAC, solar and heat-pump installers surveying before they quote; social-housing and property teams triaging tenant repairs; insurers assessing property and vehicle damage remotely; utilities verifying meters; manufacturers supporting equipment in the field; and any service desk where “can you show me?” resolves the call faster than “can you describe it?”.
What it costs
Pricing models vary: some vendors charge per agent per month, some per session, and the enterprise platforms quote on request with annual contracts. OnSight RVX publishes three monthly plans — $29, $59 and $90 — sold month-to-month. Expect enterprise platforms to start higher and to require a sales process.
What to check before buying
Whether the customer needs an app (they shouldn't); whether it works on both iPhone and Android; whether there is a self-survey mode; what the report contains and whether it is signed; where recordings are stored and for how long; which field-service or CRM systems it writes to; and whether prices are published.
Common questions
What is remote visual assistance?
Remote visual assistance is software that lets an expert see what a customer or field worker sees through their phone camera, in real time, and guide them — by drawing on the live video, capturing stills, taking measurements and reading serial numbers or meters — without anyone travelling to the site. OnSight RVX is Hostcomm’s remote visual assistance platform: the customer receives a text message, taps the link, and the session opens in their browser with no app to download, no account to create and nothing to learn.
Is remote visual assistance the same as remote visual support or remote video support?
The terms are used interchangeably. 'Remote visual assistance' and 'remote visual support' usually describe the same category; 'remote video inspection' emphasises the survey and reporting use, and 'visual assistance' is sometimes used for AI-guided self-service. All rely on the customer's phone camera and a browser link.
Does the customer need to download anything?
With current platforms, no. The customer taps a text link and the session runs in the phone's browser. Older tools required an app; treat that as disqualifying.
What does remote visual assistance cost?
From around $29 per month for a published monthly plan (OnSight RVX) to custom annual enterprise contracts. Per-agent and per-session models both exist; ask for the total cost at your expected session volume.
Can it measure things?
Yes. AR measurement of openings, runs and clearances is standard; precision is highest on LiDAR-equipped iPhones and iPads and camera-estimated on other devices.
OnSight RVX
OnSight RVX puts an expert on a customer’s phone camera from a text link — no app — with annotation, AR measurement, OCR, recording, a signed PDF report and a self-survey mode the customer completes alone, at any hour. In production since 2014. From $29 per month, month-to-month.
See OnSight RVX, pricing and the comparison with TechSee, SightCall, Blitzz and Streem →