A Framework for Outdoor Mobile Augmented Reality and Its Application to Mountain Peak Detection

Abstract

Abstract. Outdoor augmented reality applications project information of interest onto views of the world in real-time. Their core challenge is recognizing the meaningful objects present in the current view and retrieving and overlaying pertinent information onto such objects. In this paper we report on the development of a framework for mobile outdoor augmented reality application, applied to the overlay of peak information onto views of mountain landscapes. The resulting app operates by estimating the virtual panorama visible from the viewpoint of the user, using an online Digital Terrain Model (DEM), and by matching such panorama to the actual image framed by the camera. When a good match is found, meta-data from the DEM (e.g, peak name, altitude, distance) are projected in real time onto the view. The application, besides providing a nice experience to the user, can be employed to crowdsource the collection of annotated mountain images for environmental applications.

Reliability-Centric Analysis of Offloaded Computation in Cooperative Wearable Applications

“…A particularly challenging use case in the above context, enabled by the decisive advancements in wearable and computing technologies, is augmented reality (AR), which opens the door to genuinely interactive user experience [35]. Different from virtual reality (VR), AR aims to supplement the real world instead of creating an entirely artificial environment.…”

A Framework for Regression Testing of Outdoor Mobile Applications

“…Our original contribution is the design of a capture and replay framework for outdoor multi-sensor applications. We also show how it has been used to define quality metrics and automate regression testing, for a mobile application [6].…”

Images for Deconstructing the Complexity and Images for Constructing the Collective Imagination in the Case of the Alpine Landscape. A Selected Overview

“…In general terms these solutions are finding a promising application in the tourism sector, where they replace traditional map-based interfaces with a more sophisticated user experience whereby the user automatically receives information based on what he is looking at, without the need of manual search. In the particular case of mountain environment, some applications that are now popular (e.g., PeakFinder App) [19] or under development (e.g., SnowWatch) [13] are outdoor mobile AR application for the automatic annotation of in-view mountain peaks with geographical meta-data (peak name, altitude, distance from viewer, etc. ).…”

“… the circular panoramas of mountain peaks, based on vertical projections-starting from the very first drawn by Hans Konrad Escher von der Linth in 1792 [11,12]-with the toponymic detection of the peaks, now resumed by applications of Augmented Reality for Mountain Peak Detection in images from mobile devices [13];  the images of romantic taste, that, according to the aesthetic category of sublime, are characterized by the artificial accentuation of dizzying features such as height, slopes, depths, born in the romantic period but still frequently used in cinematography and video games with the creation of fantastic digital settings;  the picturesque images of alpine buildings and villages, based on the complementary contrast procedure between natural and artificial characters [2], procedure that is commonly used also nowadays in the creation of advertising pictures for the promotion of mountain resorts.  These modes were extensively used even in the XX century, even in hybrid forms, such the production of deformed panoramic views for the promotion of ski resorts [14].…”