Integrating Geographic Information Systems and Augmented Reality for Mapping Underground Utilities

Abstract

Underground infrastructure is a critical component of the basic utility services provided to society. The single largest threat to the safety of underground utility lines is being struck by construction earthwork projects. One of the causes of this problem is miscommunication between utility owners and contractors. Therefore, it is vitally important to coordinate resources, share information, and ensure efficient communication between construction personnel and utility owners. Geographic information systems (GIS) provide a solution for interoperability in the construction industry. Applying such technologies in the field of underground construction requires accurate and up-to-date information. Augmented reality (AR) has been identified as a technique that could enhance information extraction from the virtual world to the real world and improve the access and utilization of information. However, there is currently limited research that has integrated AR and GIS and evaluated the effectiveness and usability of the combination in this domain. The main objective of this research was to develop an integrated AR-GIS for mapping and capturing underground utilities using a mobile device. The data are shared instantaneously with other stakeholders through a cloud-based system. In order to achieve these objectives, a design research approach was utilized to develop and evaluate a mobile extended-reality (XR-GIS) application. Validation of the XR-GIS was conducted through a focus group discussion and a questionnaire. The results revealed that 86% of the participants validated the system’s adaptivity to the underground construction. We can conclusively say that this research has produced an efficient solution for data collection and sharing among stakeholders in the underground construction industry.

Augmented Reality for Subsurface Utility Engineering, Revisited

“…In the 2010s, AR applications have caught the interest of the civil engineering community, while the AR community seemed to loose interest in SUE. This new wave of implementations focused on general system design and data management [13,21,33,[36][37][38]43]. Some more recent works in this continuity also investigated perceptual issues using contemporary AR technology.…”

Mobile augmented reality based indoor map for improving geo-visualization

“… Grasset et al (2013) proposed an image-based label placed method that combined a visual saliency algorithm with edge analysis to find the image regions and geometric constraints. Fenais et al (2019) developed an AR-GIS system for mapping and capturing underground utilities. However, these AR-GIS applications are used for short periods of time and for specific purposes.…”

Combining Reality Capture and Augmented Reality to Visualise Subsurface Utilities in the Field

“…Especially if the contractor is able to visualise these virtual utility excavations in the field as demonstrated in the AR prototype presented in this paper. Such sharing of utility data through an AR platform has been proven as an attractive solution for utility owners to engage in as demonstrated by Fenais et al (2019), although the AR platform was only using regular 2D GIS utility data [23].…”