Handheld Augmented Reality for underground infrastructure visualization

• DOI: 10.1007/s00779-008-0204-5
• Publication Date: 2008-06-26T08:20:15Z
• Authors: Gerhard Schall; Erick Mendez; Ernst Kruijff; Eduardo Veas; Sebastian Junghanns; Bernhard Reitinger; Dieter Schmalstieg
• Keywords: 0211 other engineering and technologies; 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering; 02 engineering and technology

In this paper, we present an Augmented Reality (AR) system for aiding field workers of utility companies in outdoor tasks such as maintenance, planning or surveying of underground infrastructure. Our work addresses these issues using spatial interaction and visualization techniques for mobile AR applications and as well as for a new mobile device design. We also present results from evaluations of the prototype application for underground infrastructure spanning various user groups. Our application has been driven by feedback from industrial collaborators in the utility sector, and includes a translation tool for automatically importing data from utility company databases of underground assets.