Augmented Reality & Geographic :The Hidden World

AugmenteD Reality was’nt born Few Years Ago. Creating maps using geographic information systems (GIS) began in the 1960s.

Augmented reality , In fact, formed the backbone of geographic science, including spatial analysis and visualization.

In July 2017, geospatial data helped the Thai cave rescue team save the lives of 12 people.

Therefore, that technology, mapping and analytics software came from Esri, a geospatial data company founded in 1969.

Furthermore, that same year, Esri took a step into augmented reality (AR) through their internal research and development group, Esri Labs, and released an AR app called AuGeo.

As it is available in both Android and IoS, the AuGeo app has been used by the Illinois State Police to enable a line of sight analysis with a 3D model to create a standard security procedure to protect against snipers, showing areas where views are unobstructed from the tallest point.

Moreover, the Israeli Special Forces also used the AuGeo app to create an overlay of the terrain before the flood in the January 2019 dam break in Brazil to allow first responders quickly orient themselves and begin to search for survivors.

THE NEED OF AUGMENTED VIEW

And more, when streets and prior structures are covered (flooding), the augmented view allows you to reconstruct: what is where in the context of where the searcher is standing.

So with the augmented view, searchers can go directly to where buildings once stood to prioritize where to search for survivors.

Also, the user only needs some data point of features (points of interest, the location of assets, etc.) and a mobile device to use the AuGeo app.

“There is some simple data preparation needed to ‘create a view’ and tag it in the AuGeo app, but after tagging, the data can then be downloaded to the device,” said Lanclos. “The AuGeo application exposes settings that allow the user to tune to the best settings between the augmented view and the sensor parameters.”

Bryan Larkin, CTO, Red Cat then adds that when it comes to GIS, the ability to fly drones at low altitudes coupled with optical technologies enables a drone to capture large amounts of high-quality and high-resolution information over massive geographical areas.

“But, when you add AR into the mix, the potential applications increase exponentially,” said Larkin.

Then, you’ve basically taken the ability to view something with a drone that’s impossible for any human to access or view, and added in the ability to almost instantly overlay geospatial data that would normally require hours, if not days of manual data inputs, mapping, and so on.

Whether overlaying street names onto a bird’s-eye view of a flood zone to coordinate with rescuers on the ground, or even mapping and optimizing routes for the drone racing community, the combination of AR and drones holds almost endless opportunity.

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