System and method for retrieval of two-dimensional drawing

Abstract

To provide a system and a method for retrieval of remotely located two-dimensional drawings.SOLUTION: A system 100 for accessing a remotely located two-dimensional (2D) drawing via a mobile device 110 at a work site 120 includes a reference device 115 at the work site to provide a geographical reference to the mobile device. A document retrieval system 150 accesses a plurality of 2D drawings in a document repository. The mobile device provides an annotated document to the document retrieval system. The document retrieval system accesses the 2D drawing in the document repository based on the annotated document, and provides a rasterized version of the 2D drawing to the mobile device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001] [Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to document retrieval systems, and more particularly to remote access to geographically tagged 2D CAD drawings. [Background of the invention] In the Business to Business (B2B) sector, workers may need two-dimensional (2D) drawings to facilitate or even perform work-related tasks. The main B2B sectors are: -Architecture, engineering, and construction (typically involving documentation for assets such as buildings, structures, and infrastructure); -City, regional and public services (2D drawings can relate to regions, departments, states, counties and municipalities, for example); -Large assets (2D drawings may relate to assets such as marine / offshore, chemical, nuclear, utility, etc.), - Manufacturing (2D drawings may relate, for example, to individual, batch, and / or continuous manufacturing) Includes.

[0002] 2D drawings are also used in human work and in other B2B areas of activity covering the general public, Business to Consumer (B2C) or Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C), specifically interior design, for example HomeByMe.

[0003] The 2D drawings for these areas (and others) can cover the life of the worksite with its creation, demise, and reconstruction. The uses of these 2D drawings are typically collaborative, but can also be individual.

[0004] Tasks for the above mentioned areas may typically require team members working in an office away from the site and team members working on-site. Typically, only a few team members have a big-picture view of the task, based on 3D CAD models, 2D drawings, and 2D rasterized drawings. Current software tools generally address the needs of team members, and their view of the project is focused on collaboration.

[0005] In contrast, most of the work of workers in the field covers only a specific task or process at a time, and is mostly only supported by 2D vector drawings (2D drawings in vector graphic form that do not inherently contain geographic coordinates) and 2D rasterized drawings. Multiple workers may work on the same process at the same time, each performing their own task until the task is completed. When multiple workers are performing the same task, the tasks are performed in parallel but not necessarily synchronously.

[0006] Workers often need access to 2D rasterized drawings related to their tasks. For example, workers may: ● Sometimes you want to refer to 2D rasterized drawings related to your task. You may face problems that arise from many different causes and task completion situations. You may want to associate each issue and / or completion status and communicate it to the appropriate team. ●May suggest solutions to fix problems, and / or • When possible, we may attempt to resolve issues on-site.

[0007] Both the effective management and optimization of individual business processes (each process is a sequence of tasks defined in a diagram of a graphical representation, e.g. BPMN), as well as the monitoring of their execution and their interdependencies, can impact the success of a project.

[0008] What is needed is a better tool to increase productivity with 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings provided to workers in a timely manner and associated documentation managed in the field and in remote offices.Currently, a holistic view can overly obscure the importance of the individual tasks that make up a business process and their management.

[0009] Most of the work done in the B2B areas mentioned above involves 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings. Most assets have hundreds, thousands, or even more 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings that are used in the field. Many architects still use 3D modeling with the primary goal of producing 2D drawings.

[0010] With productivity lagging far behind other industries, especially manufacturing, the tools currently available to field workers may be hindering overall productivity in these areas. For example, the U.S. construction industry generated the same amount of value added per full-time equivalent worker in 2019 as it did in 1950 (Becker Friedman Institute). There have been few notable advances in the field-based 2D drawing tools provided to construction workers in recent decades.

[0011] Although the use of repositories has improved document search, created a single source of truth, and supported collaboration through structured processes such as check-in and check-out, users still need to access that single repository, apply filters, and search for keywords in the repository (or write queries as SQL) to retrieve data related to documents that contain 2D drawings or 2D rasterized drawings.

[0012] Although consumer devices are capable of locating other objects and determining their own location, their low accuracy makes them unreliable for pinpointing true on-site locations for professional tasks.

[0013] 2D drawings use vector graphic formats that do not inherently include geographic coordinates. For example, in DWG format drawings, the coordinate system used is a right-handed Cartesian system with no built-in structure for storing geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude, and elevation), with the X axis representing the horizontal, the Y axis representing the vertical, and the Z axis representing depth or elevation. Other systems, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), rely on separate representations of 2D drawings with different formats.

[0014] Current software for including geographic coordinates in 2D drawing formats has significant limitations. For example, there are solutions that allow geographic coordinates to be added to some selected reference points of a particular 2D drawing. However, such 2D drawings typically represent the general site plan or layout of the intended construction, but not other 2D drawings. The selected reference points correspond to specific geographic locations, geodesic points, for example, corners or boundaries of a uniform lot, some points on the perimeter of the asset, etc. The permitting process for assets on the site requires the reference of these geodesic points. Their exact location is typically measured on site by professional surveyors using a surveying system such as UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator).

[0015] Office workers spend a significant amount of time searching for relevant 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings that have been converted to digital format. For example, office workers in a French municipality typically spend an average of 90 minutes per day searching for relevant 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings.

[0016] Although field workers may have access to the relevant 2D rasterized drawings at the start of a planned task, solutions that assign 2D rasterized drawings to tasks by workers typically do not take into account issues that may arise during the execution of field work, such as, for example, worker reallocation, delays due to supply chain issues, quality of materials or equipment, or removal of previous work. If a worker does not have the relevant 2D rasterized drawings, in order for the worker to obtain them, the worker must have access to a mobile device and sufficient information and vocabulary knowledge to access a repository of 2D drawings on the mobile device, select filters relevant to the worker's current work, and search the repository by keywords to retrieve the relevant 2D drawings. Alternatively, the worker must seek assistance from an office-based colleague on-site or over the phone or via a helpline to identify the relevant 2D drawings, which are typically in rasterized form.

[0017] Most reference devices used in indoor positioning systems (IPS) are very accurate at short distances to locate smartphones and in direct line of sight, but are not as accurate under normal indoor asset usage conditions. The coverage area of ​​the reference device is limited to the area where location information can be obtained from the mobile device. The greater the coverage area, the less accurate it becomes. Some expensive systems, requiring antennas, readers, tags, more power, and configuration and installation, may be more accurate for certain use cases.

[0018] When using 3D models to design assets, the 3D design model does not always reflect the current state of the asset as-built or in-service, and available as-built or in-service 2D drawings may not have been updated. Getting information from a design 3D model does not guarantee accuracy unless it is a perfect digital twin maintained throughout its lifecycle.

[0019] Some applications reference BIM models, for example the Dalux Field software. Here, searching for documents requires accessing the repository, defining filters and defining keywords for the query. Unfortunately, their scope of use is limited to new assets. Many assets are not built using BIM models and even today many new assets do not use BIM as a design methodology. When no BIM model is available, only 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings are available and such applications do not cover these cases.

[0020] Thus, there is a need in the industry to address one or more of the above-mentioned deficiencies. [Summary of the Invention] An embodiment of the present invention provides a system and method for retrieval of two-dimensional drawings. Briefly, the present invention relates to a system and method for accessing remotely located two-dimensional (2D) drawings via a mobile device at a work site. A reference device at the work site is configured to provide a geographic reference to the mobile device. A document retrieval system is configured to access a plurality of 2D drawings in a document repository. The mobile device provides annotated documents to the document retrieval system. The document retrieval system accesses the 2D drawings in the document repository based on the annotated documents and provides a rasterized version of the 2D drawings to the mobile device.

[0021] Other systems, methods, and features of the invention will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description, and it is intended that all such additional systems, methods, and features be included herein, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system block diagram of a first embodiment of a document search system. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method embodiment for using a document retrieval system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram of a data structure for an example embodiment of a 2D drawing lookup table for a document retrieval system. [Figure 4] 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for adding geographic reference data to a document. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a system for performing the functions of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a chart comparing the maximum geographic area covered by a given paper size format at a given scale with the horizontal error of current measurements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] [Detailed Description] The following definitions are useful in interpreting the terms applied to the features of the embodiments disclosed herein and are intended solely to define the elements within this disclosure.

[0025] As used within this disclosure, an "asset" may refer to a geographically identifiable resource of economic value owned or controlled by an individual, company, or country, such as land area, parcels, parks, buildings, structural pieces of infrastructure, and / or plants (e.g., chemical, nuclear, oil and gas).

[0026] As used within this disclosure, "site" refers to the geographic location of an asset. As used within this disclosure, a "worker" is someone working on a site. Work can be planning, inspection, construction, renovation, manufacturing, interior design, or any other type of corporate or contract work. Many tasks involve using two-dimensional (2D) drawings of each of those work elements, such as planning, organizing, executing, monitoring, and controlling.

[0027] As used within this disclosure, a "mobile device" is a processor-based device that is easily portable by a worker, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop computer. ● Taking photographs and / or videos and / or LIDAR or other imagery from that location; Associating annotations, metadata including geographic location, and / or audio recordings and sounds; ● Share the above items via digital means with other selected people; and When connected, receive data from the repository system, including 2D drawings and rasterized 2D drawings. is possible.

[0028] As used within this disclosure, a "document retrieval system" refers to a computer-based device or a communications device or group of connected devices configured to receive data as input and use the input data to identify and access documents stored in a repository system. The input data received by a document retrieval system may include one or more of keywords, specifications, images, descriptive text, document identifiers, document indexes, coordinates, and / or optical codes (e.g., bar codes, QR codes, etc.), etc.

[0029] As used within this disclosure, "repository system" or "document repository system" refers to a device or group of devices used to store, organize, and access 2D drawings and rasterized 2D drawings. A repository system may include one document storage device or multiple document storage devices that may be co-located or geographically distributed, for example, accessible via a communications network.

[0030] As used within this disclosure, a "reference device" is a (typically small) device placed in the field at a reference point with known coordinates. The reference device communicates its location relative to the mobile device, and when a photo, video, or image is captured on the mobile device, the location of the photo, video, or image may be offset by its location relative to the reference device to calculate the geographic coordinates of the mobile device. The reference device may be based on one or more of several technologies, such as, for example, radio frequency, ultrasonic, infrared, etc. In most applications, the preferred technology is radio frequency. Within the radio frequency domain, there are many types of communication possible between the reference device and the mobile device, such as, but not limited to, ultra-wideband (UWB), chirp spread spectrum (CSS), LTE transmission, Bluetooth including low power radiation (BLE), Wi-Fi, cellular, time difference of arrival (TDoA), and two-way ranging (TWR).

[0031] As used within this disclosure, unless identified as a "2D rasterized drawing," a "2D drawing" uses a vector graphics format that stores CAD entities and their properties, such as dimensions, layers, annotations, etc., using geometric primitives, such as points, lines, curves, etc. This format is scalable and editable. Examples of 2D drawing formats include DXF, DWG, DWF, SVG, Adobe Illustrator, and are sometimes referred to as "vector" drawings.

[0032] As used within this disclosure, the "2D Rasterized Drawing" format refers to high resolution pixelation using resolution dependent rasterized images. 2D rasterized drawings are limited to some editing, such as cropping and contrast settings, but can be annotated. For the same view from the user, the file size of a 2D rasterized drawing is a more compact format than the vector graphic file size from which it originates.

[0033] The detailed description refers to several systems that are used for position determination, including: ○GPS / GNSS for surveying Survey GPS / GNSS receivers that utilize differential correction techniques, such as real-time kinematic (RTK) and post-processed kinematic (PPK), can achieve much higher accuracy than civilian receivers. These techniques involve using base stations with known positions and post-processed data to refine measurements and increase accuracy.

[0034] Typically, RTK measurements can achieve an accuracy within 1-2 centimeters horizontally and 2-3 centimeters vertically in favorable conditions. PPK measurements, which involve collecting data in the field and then processing the data using a base station or known reference point, can provide even greater accuracy, potentially reaching sub-centimeter accuracy.

[0035] ○Civil GPS In general, consumer mobile devices typically have GPS receivers that are significantly less accurate than dedicated surveying GPS / GNSS receivers. The accuracy of GPS measurements on consumer devices can range from a few meters to tens of meters.

[0036] Smartphones may also use alternative positioning technologies, such as Wi-Fi positioning or cellular network data, to supplement GPS information when the GPS signal is weak or unavailable.

[0037] Differential GPS (DGPS) and RTK services Differential GPS (DGPS) and RTK services improve the accuracy of GPS. These services can transmit correction data from the position and distance of known fixed terrestrial reference stations to one or more satellites in a constellation. The spacing of the reference stations and the number of satellites used depend on the required accuracy and redundancy of coverage. Such systems can be used in navigation, surveying, and agriculture. Starlink currently has 6,100 satellites.

[0038] ○Wi-Fi positioning Wi-Fi positioning, also known as Wi-Fi based location or Wi-Fi fingerprinting, makes use of Wi-Fi networks in the surrounding area. When Wi-Fi is enabled on a smartphone, the smartphone continuously scans for nearby Wi-Fi access points. The smartphone compares the identifiers (MAC addresses) of these Wi-Fi networks to a database that associates known Wi-Fi access points with their geographic locations.

[0039] By matching detected Wi-Fi access points with their known locations, the smartphone can estimate its location based on the proximity of those access points. This method is particularly useful indoors and in urban areas where GPS signals may be blocked or weak. However, this method does not have a high accuracy beyond a few meters to tens of meters.

[0040] Mobile phone network data Smartphones can also use cellular network data for location determination. When a smartphone is connected to a cellular network, it is constantly communicating with nearby base stations. Each base station covers a certain geographic area, and the smartphone can estimate its location based on the signal strength and timing of signals received from different base stations. This method is known as base station triangulation or network-based localization, and relies on knowledge of the base station's location and signal propagation characteristics. The smartphone compares the signal strength and timing from multiple base stations to estimate its approximate location. Like Wi-Fi localization, cellular network data is often used when GPS signals are weak or unavailable, but it provides less accurate location when compared to GPS.

[0041] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0042] As mentioned in the background section, different domains rely on documentation for different reasons. For example, in a typical architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) project, less than 15% of the team members have vision for the entire project. These people include construction project managers, construction designers, and construction model coordinators who manage the project, implement the business processes that team members must follow, evolve the business processes during the project, and monitor the overall project progress and associated costs and budgets. Their tasks include, for example: • planning and construction of buildings or structures or parts of infrastructure; • Renovation of buildings or structures or parts of infrastructure; • audits of buildings or structures or parts of infrastructure; - Maintenance of a building or structure or part of infrastructure; and Demolition of a building, structure or part of infrastructure It covers:

[0043] Typically, 85% of team members are workers performing tasks in the field. In the city, regional and public service sector, territorial engineers are generally located in an office. Field workers need to communicate with their offices. Some of these workers may be engaged in contract tasks outsourced to their own organization. Their tasks may be, for example: - planning and construction of structural parts of buildings or infrastructure; - Management of parks and gardens; ● structural renovation of buildings or infrastructure; • audits, commissioning or condition of health of structural parts of buildings or infrastructure; ●Renovating the energy performance of structural parts of buildings or infrastructure; - maintaining the structural components of buildings or infrastructure; and Demolition and removal of structural parts of buildings or infrastructure may include.

[0044] In the field of large assets, workers in the field typically need to communicate with their offices. Their tasks include, for example: Detailed planning and construction of assets; ○ Asset consignment, ● Asset maintenance and management, -Detecting problems caused by daily work and work accidents, ○Identification of equipment and components, ○ Access to relevant 2D drawings, ■ Skill levels for maintenance work, and ■Safety instructions, ● Dismantling and removal procedures, ● Removal of and access to the installation manual; and ● Subcontracting procedure may include.

[0045] In the manufacturing sector, workers in the field may need to communicate with their offices. A manufacturing process may involve, for example: ●Individual manufacturing, Batch manufacturing, and Continuous manufacturing may include.

[0046] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a search system for 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings that is traceable and auditable, and that significantly improves worker productivity and the agility with which workers can complete tasks correctly, resulting in efficiencies in related business processes.

[0047] This embodiment prepares the repository to include a reference point with geographic coordinates on each 2D drawing of the asset, for example reusing the reference points in the 2D drawings submitted during the permit stage, such as site plans and site layouts. In addition, detailed satellite imagery is becoming more accurate. For example, IGN (Institut National de Geographique et de Forester) publishes detailed maps using LIDAR to obtain horizontal and vertical data. This data corresponds to 10 points per square meter in Metropolitan France.

[0048] Typically, each 2D drawing has its own scale, which generally varies over a wide range, for example typically 1 / 1000 for site plans, 1 / 500 for layout plans, 1 / 100 and 1 / 50 for more detailed plans. 2D drawings for installation details are usually not geographically specific, since the same installation may refer to multiple installations in adjacent drawings. The present embodiment addresses this as follows:

[0049] To facilitate the creation of reference points for each 2D drawing, it is advisable to start with the largest scale drawing and continue with progressively smaller scale 2D drawings. The present embodiment derives geographic coordinates (N,S,E,W) from the geographic point along with the scale. By enclosing the 2D drawing in a quadrilateral space oriented along the coordinates (N,S,E,W), the present embodiment can find the geographic coordinates of the four corners of each 2D drawing, including the planar surface. For multi-layered 2D drawings, such as general 2D drawings, the present embodiment separates the layers by business in their original format.

[0050] For 2D drawings that do not contain plans, but instead contain data that references 2D drawings, such as annotations, schedules, legends, details, etc., they are grouped together with the referenced 2D drawings into a packet. A rasterized format of each single or packet 2D drawing may also be generated from the 2D drawings. The identifier of each 2D drawing and 2D rasterized drawing and its business are entered into a line, followed by, for example, the geographic coordinates of the four corners of the 2D drawing and 2D rasterized drawing. The line of each 2D drawing is used to create a lookup table. The provided geographic coordinates may then be associated with the associated 2D drawing and 2D rasterized drawing using the lookup table.

[0051] For illustrative purposes shown in FIG. 1 , the present embodiment is disclosed in the context of an exemplary scenario 100 of a worker 112 located at a work site 120 using a document retrieval system 150 to access relevant 2D drawings stored in a repository 165 having one or more document stores 160. Here, the worker 112 seeks access to 2D drawings or 2D rasterized drawings related to the job being performed, such as, for example, architectural, electrical, mechanical, fire safety, etc. The worker 112 uses a mobile device 110, such as, for example, a computer-based smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop computer, to take a picture, such as, for example, a selfie, at the work site and transmit the picture, for example, over a network, such as, for example, the Internet or a cellular communication network, to the document retrieval system 150. If the mobile device 110 has unobstructed Global Positioning System (GPS) signal reception, the mobile device 110 obtains metadata of the geographic coordinates of the mobile device 110 and provides the geographic coordinates to the document retrieval system 150.

[0052] In the event that reception of a GPS signal is impeded, the geographic coordinates may be provided by a reference device 115 located at the scene 120. The reference device 115 may be, for example, an indoor positioning system (IPS) device using radio frequency, such as an Apple AirTag, or a device manufactured by other suppliers, such as Estimote, Kontakt.io, or Gimbal. The reference device 115 is placed at a selected reference point having known geographic coordinates, including an elevation. The selected position and elevation of the reference device are appended to an associated 2D drawing, in this example a photograph, and transmitted to the document retrieval system 150.

[0053] The document retrieval system 150 receives metadata from the mobile device 110 of the worker 112, including an identifier of the reference device 115 used and an offset from the reference device 115. The offset can be expressed in different ways, such as a delta in coordinates or the distance between the reference device 115 and the mobile device 110 and its direction. The document retrieval system 150 calculates the position of the mobile device 110 in UTM coordinates and locates the associated 2D drawing, for example using a lookup table in the repository.

[0054] The document retrieval system 150 locates the location provided by the UTM coordinates and compares the location to the task using a lookup table in the repository 165. The document retrieval system 150 verifies whether the worker 112 has sufficient permissions to access the document in the repository 165, for example, whether the worker 112 has permissions to access the 2D drawing task content and / or whether the worker 112 has permissions to access only 2D drawings or 2D rasterized drawings. If the worker 112 has the appropriate permissions, the document retrieval system 150 retrieves the relevant drawings and quickly transmits the document to the mobile device 110 of the worker 112.

[0055] A worker 112 may use the document retrieval system 150 to report an issue, such as when the worker 112 encounters one or more issues during the course of a job. The worker 112 captures and communicates each issue. The worker 112 can propose solutions to address the issue, with priority given to resolving the issue on-site. For example, the worker 112 takes a photo showing the issue, annotates the photo on the mobile device 110, and sends a package including metadata and an identification of the worker's 112's job to the document retrieval system 150.

[0056] The document retrieval system 150 uses the metadata received from the worker 112 and the lookup table in the repository 170 to determine which 2D drawings or 2D rasterized drawings are relevant to the issue. After system controlled authorized access by the worker 112, the document retrieval system 150 sends the relevant 2D rasterized drawings or drawings back to the mobile device 110. The worker 112 may then annotate the 2D rasterized drawings, if desired, by indicating the detailed location of the issue, adding videos, images, and / or audio recordings, and send them back to the document retrieval system 150.

[0057] If the mobile device cannot receive a GPS signal, errors in the metadata may make it difficult for the document retrieval system 150 to find the correct 2D drawing. As mentioned above, in this case, a pre-placed reference device 115 with a unique identifier for the site and located within range may be able to provide a known reference location. The mobile location is provided by the offset of the relative positions of the mobile device 110 and the reference device 115. Recently, the Apple UltraWide Band has improved the accuracy by a factor of three (from 9 meters to 27 meters) and is now available on wristwatches.

[0058] As another example, the illustrative embodiments may be used for worker problem triage and business process launch. Problems reported from the field and received by document retrieval system 150 may result from a number of causes, such as, for example, incorrect design, improper or defective materials or products, used products that need to be replaced or replaced, aging materials, improper installation, preemption of work by other operations that are required before the work can proceed, etc.

[0059] The embodiment may provide links from received citation problem reports to relevant business processes. For example, when a modification is approved as a design change, the document retrieval system 150 may initiate a business process to edit one or more 2D drawings. When approval is given for a material or product issue, the document retrieval system 150 may initiate a business process for supplier and / or receiving issues. When approval is given for an installation issue or out-of-sequence work, the document retrieval system 150 may initiate a business process for rework work with potential resupply.

[0060] This embodiment may be the location accuracy of a document within the document retrieval system 150 for a given site. In general, the location accuracy of a site document is defined by its originally assigned geodetic control point.

[0061] The site plan designer may access a received package with the annotated 2D rasterized drawing, including the location provided by the received metadata, either directly provided by the mobile device 110 or determined via an offset from the reference device 115 to the mobile device 110, and an identifier for the reference device 115. The document retrieval system 150 annotates the location on the 2D rasterized drawing.

[0062] The document retrieval system 150 analyzes the deviations between different metadata locations across received document packages to understand the causes of the deviations. In general, the resolution and fidelity of the mobile device 110 and / or reference device 115 play a role. The resolution of the mobile device 110 or reference device 115 determines the difference between two scales of the geolocation of the device. A fidelity is considered high when it is small. A mobile device 110 or a reference device 115 may be considered to have good fidelity if it produces the same results for the same measurements under similar conditions at different times. In contrast, a mobile device 110 or a reference device 115 may be considered to be "sensitive" when small changes in the received signal cause large differences in the measurements.

[0063] Given the cumulative results obtained in the field from each mobile device or reference device, the system 100 can selectively adjust either the geographic location of the 2D drawings in the repository or the metadata from any device. In this embodiment, the geographic location of the 2D drawings in the repository 165 can improve over time.

[0064] In this embodiment, all communications from the mobile device 110 to the 2D drawing repository 165 may be stored to ensure traceability and auditability. In an exemplary embodiment, document retrieval system 150 is a retrieval system for 2D drawings. The following detailed description describes its use, how errors are corrected, and how the implementation provides traceability and auditability to the system.

[0065] 2 is a flow diagram 200 of an exemplary method embodiment for using a document retrieval system. As would be understood by one skilled in the art of the present invention, any process description or block in the flowchart should be understood as representing a module, segment, portion of code, or step that includes one or more instructions for implementing a particular logical function in the process, and it should be noted that alternative implementations in which functions may be performed in a different order than that shown or described, including substantially simultaneously or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, are within the scope of the present invention.

[0066] As shown in block 210, a repository for 2D drawings is configured in the document retrieval system. For example, documents in the repository may be updated / revised to reference predefined document standards including geographic location coordinates and units of measurement. As shown in block 220, a mobile device is selected to access the repository. For example, the mobile device may be a mobile device of a worker used from a site geographically distant from the repository to submit one or more documents to the repository and / or access one or more documents from the repository. As shown in block 230, a reference device is selected and configured to provide a geographic reference to the mobile device. As shown in block 240, the 2D drawings from the repository are accessed by the mobile device. As shown in block 250, via the mobile device, the worker communicates an issue or a current completion status using the document retrieval system. For example, an issue may be a discrepancy between the accessed document and a feature of the corresponding site represented by the accessed document, such as a missing feature or a difference in position, size, and / or orientation relative to the accessed document. The worker may indicate the discrepancy by an annotation on the submitted and / or accessed document.

[0067] The document retrieval system 150 for 2D drawings and 2D rasterized drawings may operate in conjunction with a document check-in / check-out system so that the document retrieval system 150 enables collaboration and can provide current versions of 2D drawings in the repository 165.

[0068] The document retrieval system 150 may be used in conjunction with an existing document repository 165 after the existing document repository 165 has been prepared to work with the document retrieval system 150 .

[0069] The document retrieval system 150 may employ the measurement units of a legacy repository. For example, a 2D drawing may have been created using the metric or imperial system, and the system originally used is maintained by the document retrieval system 150.

[0070] The document search system 150 may operate based on specific aspects of design and business. Table 1 depicts an exemplary template for identifying design and business metadata for a document.

[0071] [Table 1]

[0072] In the business field, various 2D drawings communicate to a qualified user a specific aspect of a design in the nature of the business. The aspect or nature of the business may be identified, for example, by a one or two letter character symbol. Examples of specific aspects of a design that are commonly found in 2D drawings include: o Site Plan - SP: A site plan is an architectural drawing that shows the outline of a property or site. Site plans typically show the locations and orientations of buildings, roads, parking lots, landscaping features, and other elements on the site.

[0073] o Existing Conditions-EX: Existing conditions refers to the current state or characteristics of a site or building before any proposed alterations or construction are made. Existing condition drawings often depict the layout of existing structures, topography, utilities, vegetation, and other relevant features.

[0074] Layout-L: Layout refers to the arrangement or position of various assets in a design. A layout can contain many types of entities. o Demolition-D: Demolition refers to a diagram of an area, component of an asset, or the entire asset that is proposed for removal or demolition.

[0075] Sub-slab - SS: Sub-slab typically refers to the area below the concrete slab of an asset. The sub-slab includes materials and systems installed below the slab, such as insulation, vapor barriers, and utility plumbing.

[0076] o Architectural-A: Architectural drawings show the layout and design of an asset, including walls, floors, and other architectural elements. ○Life Safety - LS: Life Safety refers to the measures and features incorporated into a design to protect occupants from harm during emergency or hazardous situations. Life Safety includes elements such as emergency exits, emergency lighting, and other safety features.

[0077] o Structural-S: Structural drawings depict the framework and load-bearing components of a structure, such as columns, beams, foundations, and structural connections. -Structural Steel: Structural steel drawings focus specifically on the fabrication and construction of steel structures including steel beams, columns, connections, and other steel components.

[0078] o Electrical-E: Electrical drawings illustrate the electrical system in a building, including power distribution, lighting fixtures, outlets, switches, and wiring diagrams. o Mechanical-H: Mechanical drawings represent mechanical systems and equipment such as HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), piping, ducts, facility layouts, and plumbing systems.

[0079] o Piping-P: Piping drawings show the water supply, drainage, and waste disposal systems in a building, including pipes, fixtures, valves, and other plumbing components. Fire Safety-FS: Fire safety drawings show details of fire and life safety systems such as fire alarms, sprinklers, emergency exits, emergency lighting, and evacuation plans.

[0080] -Fire protection-FP: -Fire Alarm-FA: ○Kitchen / Food Service-K: o Landscaping-LA: Landscape architecture drawings depict the design and layout of outdoor spaces, including elements such as trees, plants, walkways, walls, and man-made landscape features such as fences.

[0081] o Civil-C or CE: Civil drawings relate to site development and infrastructure, including site plans, grading, roads, parking, utility services, and drainage systems. o Telecommunications-T: Telecommunications drawings represent the layout and configuration of communications systems, including data networks, telephone lines, fiber optic cables, and equipment locations.

[0082] The specific services required for an asset depend on the nature and requirements of the design of the represented asset. The letters representing services may vary from country to country and from company to company practice.

[0083] In addition to 2D drawings that include plans, the document retrieval system 150 can manage several other types of 2D drawings used in various fields that do not typically include plans. Some common examples are: Legend: A legend provides an explanation or key information about symbols, abbreviations, or other elements used in the referenced 2D drawing. Legends help users understand the meaning of various graphical representations or annotations.

[0084] ○Note: A note is a text annotation that provides additional information or instructions related to the referenced 2D drawing. Notes can clarify certain details, specify materials, provide dimensions, or otherwise communicate important information related to other 2D drawings.

[0085] o Schedule: A schedule is a tabular display that organizes and lists information related to various components or elements in a referenced 2D drawing. For example, in an architectural drawing, a schedule might contain a list of doors, windows, fixtures, or finishes with their respective quantities, sizes, and specifications.

[0086] ○ Detail: A detail is an enlargement of a particular section or component of a referenced 2D drawing. A detail represents a particular area in greater detail, highlighting a particular feature, connection, or construction method. Details are often used to communicate precise information about important aspects of a design.

[0087] Elevations: An elevation is a 2D representation of the vertical plane or facade of a building or structure. Elevations show the exterior of a building from different perspectives, highlighting features such as windows, doors, and architectural details.

[0088] Sectional Drawing: A sectional drawing is a 2D drawing that cuts through a building or object to reveal its internal structure and components. Sectional drawings provide a diagram that helps users visualize the relationships between different parts and understand how they fit together.

[0089] Diagram: A diagram is a simplified graphical representation used to explain a concept, relationship, or process. Diagrams are commonly used in fields such as engineering, electronics, and systems design to explain the workflow of complex systems and reference 2D drawings.

[0090] Isometric Drawing: An isometric drawing is a two-dimensional representation of an object or structure drawn from a three-dimensional perspective. Isometric drawings are a realistic representation of the spatial layout of a subject and are often used in engineering and technical illustrations.

[0091] Rendering: A rendering is a highly detailed and realistic 2D drawing or image that depicts how a design or space will look when it is completed. Renderings often incorporate lighting, shadows, and textures to provide a visual representation of the final product.

[0092] The above listed 2D drawing types, except for the first page and abstract, may be used in conjunction with one or more 2D drawings within a particular task. These types supplement the information required for the user to properly understand the task to be performed. The 2D drawings may be organized by task as a single 2D drawing or as a packet of multiple 2D drawings.

[0093] 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for adding geographic reference data to a document. An existing geographic reference point is placed on the current 2D drawing, as shown in block 410. The geographic reference point is converted to UTM coordinates, as shown in block 420.

[0094] A processing order is defined for adding new geographic reference points to the 2D drawings, as shown in block 430. For example, for each drawing, a new geographic reference point is added to the 2D drawing, the layout plan is used for the horizontal coordinates, the columns in the drawing are used as reference points within the asset, and the sections and elevations are used to determine the defined floors within the asset, starting with the elevation of the lowest floor within the asset.

[0095] Georeference points are added to the corners of the 2D drawings to define a true north coordinate system for the 2D drawings, as shown in block 440. Polylines of the boundary of the 2D drawings are extracted, as shown in block 450. A minimum north-south and east-west oriented quadrilateral is defined to enclose the four corners of the 2D drawings, as shown in block 460. In a DWG drawing, for example, the bottom left corner of the drawing is the origin (0,0,0) and the edges of the drawing constitute the selected polyline. The UTM coordinates of each of the four corners of each 2D drawing, as shown in block 470.

[0096] For documents that do not already have UTM coordinates, the document retrieval system 150 may add latitude and longitude to some reference points. Reference points with geographic coordinates (point stations) are typically already available on some 2D drawings. Different geographic systems can be used, but the most commonly used is Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), expressed as: ○ Within the reference midpoint for a 6 degree section of the Earth, Latitude and longitude (in meters).

[0097] Angles are expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, although some expressions may require radians. o Elevation is measured in metres from sea level. To submit an asset permit application, documentation should include: Several stations on defined points of a parcel or consolidated parcel, the segment length and orientation (DMS) of each segment along the perimeter of the boundary of the parcel or consolidated parcel, and o Circular arc length with centre and radius if the segment is not a straight line.

[0098] Elevation data may also be obtained from 2D elevation and cross-section drawings submitted as a required part of the asset's permit application. The document retrieval system 150 can manage multiple methods of measurement ("units of measurement"). Different regions use different systems of units. The document retrieval system 150 references the system most commonly used internationally by surveyors, namely the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) and DMS (degrees, minutes, seconds) system.

[0099] UTM divides the Earth into 60 zones, each spanning 6 degrees of longitude. Each zone has a unique central meridian and its own set of coordinates. A location uses a combination of a zone number, an easting value (E), and a northing value (N). For example: - N123456.7890 refers to the northing value, the distance north of the equator in metres, i.e. 123456.7890 metres with an apparent resolution of four decimal places.

[0100] - E8765.4321 refers to the easting value, the distance east of the central meridian of the UTM zone, i.e., 8765.4321 meters with an apparent resolution of four decimal places.

[0101] The DMS format (degrees, minutes, seconds) is also used for mapping. The document retrieval system 150 converts latitudes in DMS format from degrees to meters, and the latitude values ​​are multiplied by an approximate conversion factor of approximately 111,111 meters per degree. The document retrieval system 150 converts longitudes in DMS format from degrees to kilometers according to the following formula:

[0102] 1 degree longitude = (π / 180) × radius × cos(latitude) (Equation 1) where the radius is the radius of the Earth (approximately 6,371 kilometers). DMS is not strictly as accurate as the UTM system, and is used primarily for segment orientation along the boundaries of the Uniform District.

[0103] The permit application requires a professional surveyor to determine: ●Measure several reference points (stations) that approximate several corners of the integrated area with a high resolution of four decimal places (tenths of a millimeter).

[0104] The boundaries of the parcel or consolidation area where work for the asset will be carried out; and •From this, each segment of the boundary of the integrated area is represented as follows:

[0105] For straight lines, express the length and the angle of the segment line from the cardinal axes (N,S,E,W) in degrees, minutes, and seconds. In the case of a non-straight line, it is represented by a circular arc having its radius, center position, and arc length.

[0106] A schematic and / or top view layout of the completed asset foundation shall have reference points (stations) at some corners of the asset. Typical resolution is two decimal points of a meter (centimeters). The asset layout shall show that the asset complies with local codes regarding minimum distances from boundaries, distances of overhangs from boundaries to roofs, fixtures, etc.

[0107] Site plans may be submitted by reusing a previous survey of the parcel. Although there may be some variations in asset permitting between countries, states, and jurisdictions, such as counties, the principles are generally the same. Site plans, layout plans, sections, and elevations must be part of the 2D drawings required to submit a valid permit application for the asset.

[0108] The document retrieval system 150 adds elevation coordinates to existing drawings in the repository 165 and / or to newly received documents from the workers 112. It should be noted that elevations of reference points are not necessarily shown on the site plan or layout plan. Instead, sections and elevations are typically provided as measurements relative to ground level. Each significant horizontal plane is measured, for example, the foundation, basement, first floor, second floor, and each subsequent floor up to the top floor of the asset. These measurements use the same system (metric or imperial) as other 2D drawings. For example, in the imperial system, the lowest floor shown on the 2D drawing is feet and 0 inches relative to sea level. The next higher floor is feet and inches relative to sea level. If the ground is sloping, the elevation typically refers to the lowest horizontal plane of the asset, although it may indicate the portion of the asset that is visible from the viewpoint.

[0109] According to the first embodiment, the document retrieval system 150 determines the processing order for adding geographic reference points to the 2D drawings. Typically, each 2D drawing has its own scale. The scale may vary over a wide range, such as about 1 / 1000 for site plans, 1 / 500 for layout plans, 1 / 100 or 1 / 50 for more detailed plans. Typically, the 2D drawings for installation details provided to the worker are not geographically specific, since they will be used in many different locations.

[0110] 2D drawings use vector graphics. Sections of a 2D drawing can be enlarged while maintaining a very high level of precision. Zooming capabilities typically allow 2D drawings to be enlarged up to 40,960 times without being limited by pixel size. This allows new geographic reference points to be placed on features of the 2D drawing with high precision. In contrast, the precision of a 2D rasterized drawing is limited to the pixel size used for the raster. In a 2D rasterized drawing, points on a smaller scale drawing are generally more precise than points on a larger scale drawing. Preferably, the largest scale drawing is converted first, followed by smaller scale drawings, to facilitate the creation of reference points for each 2D drawing.

[0111] The system uses a large scale reference point, such as a reference point on a layout plan with two decimal points resolution, to select and reference additional points on the same layout plan, specifically additional points on the perimeter of the asset where the foundation piles are typically placed. Depending on the asset's layout, the piles are also planned to support specific loads within the asset's interior sub-slabs. These additional reference points are generally sufficient to step through the 2D drawing of the layout to the smaller scale 2D drawing and determine the respective UGM coordinates.

[0112] The document retrieval system 150 uses two different methods to reference the 2D drawings of the assets to determine the coordinates (true north, true south, true west, true east) for each of them. The first method uses a UGM representation of a point station with a point station and an angle, i.e., latitude and longitude. The second method uses the angle in degrees, minutes, and seconds indicated by the line segments of the boundary represented on the 2D drawings. Preferably, the line segments are selected from large segments. The first method uses the section and elevation of the asset to reference the elevation individually.

[0113] The second method uses two stations with latitude and longitude coordinates, here (x1,y1) and (x2,y2). The reference levels chosen for the respective elevations z1 and z2 are the same. If necessary, the second method may use isoclines in case the values ​​of z1 and z2 are different and not constant.

[0114] The north-south and east-west directions are determined by providing a third point that is the solution of the following equation: (x-x1) 2 +(y-y1) 2 =(x2-x1) 2 (Formula 2) (x-x2) 2 +(y-y2) 2 =(y2-y 1 ) 2 (Formula 3) Geometrically, the point is the intersection of two circles, one centered at (x1,y1) and the other at (x2,y2), where (x1,y1) and (x,y) define the horizontal direction parallel to the equator, and (x,y) and (x2,y2) define the vertical direction parallel to the North-South direction. Elevations are referenced separately using the asset's section and elevation.

[0115] The document retrieval system 150 geolocates the four corners of the 2D drawing by defining the smallest rectangular space that is appropriately oriented north-south, east-west and encloses the entire space of the 2D drawing, and selecting the intersection points between the corners of the 2D drawing and the rectangular space. With the new reference point in meters defined by the previous reference point, new reference points are added on the corners of the 2D drawing and also along the asset and within the asset as needed. An ordered list of the corners of the 2D drawing is created, for example, bottom left, top left, top right, bottom right.

[0116] The document retrieval system 150 separates layers of multi-layer drawings, including general 2D drawings, by creating one 2D drawing per layer, each of which maintains the scale and reference points, as well as the identification of the vendors involved in each layer (e.g., HVAC, plumbing, mechanical, security systems, communications, etc.) that are often used as national standards.

[0117] The document retrieval system 150 creates a lookup table for all 2D drawings for the site. An exemplary data structure for the lookup table 300 is shown in Figure 3. The top level attributes of the cover sheet 305 may include an overview list of the site, assets, and 2D drawings.

[0118] The asset lookup table 300 may have, for example, one row per 2D drawing or packet of 2D drawings. In this example, the rows indicate the document name shown in a title block, an identifier 324 for each 2D drawing, the floor plan 310 (starting from the lowest floor to the highest), the floor index 330, the elevation 340, the 2D drawing's service (e.g., Life Safety) 320, the letter designation (e.g., LS) 322, its number (e.g., 02 for Life Safety LS 02) 324, and the geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the four corners of the 2D drawing (lower left 351, upper left 352, upper right 353, lower right 354).

[0119] The document retrieval system 150 determines whether the provided geographic coordinates are within or outside the range of the 2D drawing coordinates of any of the assets contained in the repository 165. For example, for a horizontal line between the 2D top left corner (x1,y1) and the top right corner (x2,y2) expressed in UGM coordinates, the document retrieval system 150 calculates the slope (m) of the line passing through points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) using the following formula: m=(y2-y1) / (x2-x1) (Equation 4) The points provided by the mobile device (x n ,y nlies on one or the other half plane defined by the line passing through the points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2). The document search system 150 uses the slope (m) and one of the given points to calculate the equation of the line (point-slope type).

[0120] (x1, y1): y-y1=m(x-x1) (Equation 5) The document retrieval system 150 determines the x-coordinate of the third point (x n ) into the equation obtained to find the corresponding y coordinate on the line.

[0121] y' n =m(x n -x1)+y1(Formula 6) y' n >y n If , the point (x n ,y n ) is above the line, (x n ,y n ) is not placed in the 2D drawing. n <y n If , the point (x n ,y n ) is below the line, the next boundary (x3,y3) is evaluated in turn. Successive evaluations along the four boundaries defined by the corners of the 2D drawing may either abort the evaluation and fail, or succeed and find the supplied point (x n ,y n ) in a particular 2D drawing.

[0122] The document retrieval system 150 may be configured to create a rasterized version of each 2D drawing, either individually or in a packet, with the same name, letter symbol, and number. [Preparing mobile devices to submit appropriate metadata to the search system] The mobile device 110 may be prepared to transmit metadata formatted for processing by the document retrieval system 150. As mentioned above, various types of systems are used for positioning, including survey GPS / GNSS, civil GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, and cellular network data. Many smartphones employ a method of combining GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, and cellular network data to provide more accurate and reliable location information. These positioning systems intelligently switch between different location techniques based on signal strength, availability, and accuracy. Location accuracy is still quite low.

[0123] In unobstructed signal situations, the mobile device 110 may be configured to ensure that each time a photo, video, or image is taken, the mobile device will create metadata of the device's coordinates (longitude, latitude, elevation) at the location where the photo, video, or image was taken, and possibly the orientation of the camera or imaging system. The mobile device may ensure that the metadata is accessible and can be output via digital communication to the drawing repository.

[0124] The mobile device 110 may provide elevation data to the document retrieval system 150. Here, the mobile device 110 uses GPS to obtain elevation relative to sea level. For example, on an iPhone, a resolution in meters is provided with two decimal points (cm). Outdoor measurements may have good fidelity but may not be as accurate. With adequate signal reception, elevation may be obtained both outdoors and indoors. However, with poor signal reception, the elevation data may not be displayed on the mobile device 110.

[0125] In some cases, the mobile device 110 may be temporarily disconnected from the document retrieval system 150. In that case, the mobile device 110 may transmit the photos and packages upon reconnection to the document retrieval system 150. In situations where the signal is obstructed, the above solutions do not provide sufficient results. In such locations, such as a basement, or a series of walls, or a tunnel, alternative methods using reference devices may be used, such as those described below. [Preparing a reference device to send appropriate metadata to the search system] The reference device 115 may be prepared to transmit metadata formatted for processing by the document retrieval system 150. As mentioned above, in general, the reference device may be an indoor positioning system (IPS), typically using radio frequencies. BLE, UWB, and LTE are often used for indoor location. There are also various methods using signals exchanged between the mobile device and the reference device, such as angle of arrival, angle of departure, signal strength, and time of arrival. When using multiple reference devices 115 or mobile devices 110, additional methods may be used, such as triangulation. The devices may also use some of these methods in combination.

[0126] The reference device 115 may be set up as follows: A reference point is selected using a 2D drawing and the reference device 115 is placed at the reference point, for example at a defined height above the floor of the asset at the site. The mobile device tracks the (x,y) position of the reference device relative to the mobile. The position of the photo, video or image may be determined using the offset of the mobile device 110 relative to the reference device 115. This position measurement may generally be considered accurate for close range and a straight line of sight. Multiple reference devices, each with a unique identifier, may be used in close proximity to each other to provide a triangulation measurement to increase range and improve accuracy. The location of the metadata is collected through the mobile device and indirectly through the reference device. The metadata, along with other metadata, photos, videos, images and annotations, may be transmitted to the repository 165 via digital means, for example using Wi-Fi at the site. A simple test may be performed at the site using a particular mobile device and reference device to ensure sufficient accuracy.

[0127] The process for accessing the reference location metadata varies depending on the particular reference device. For example, with an AirTag and an iOS device, the Find My app (pre-installed on the iOS device) can be used. The same Apple ID must be used for the AirTag and the iOS device. On the AirTag details page, locate the "Location" section and tap to view the AirTag's most recent location. (Note that location resolution will continue to improve over time. For example, the new UWB chip, U2, will bring the detection range from approximately 30 feet to 90 feet (9 meters to 27 meters). It is expected that location devices, such as the AirTag, will continue to incorporate these improvements. Location is expressed using the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84). Coordinates can be extracted automatically, for example, using Python code with the "pyicloud" library installed, as shown by Table 2.

[0128] [Table 2]

[0129] The system for performing the functions of the document retrieval system 150 described in detail above may be a computer, an example of which is shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 5. The system may be implemented generally in the cloud and / or as a distributed system. The system 500 includes a processor 502, a storage device 504, a memory 506 in which software 508 defining the above-mentioned functions is stored, input and output (I / O) devices 510 (or peripherals), and a local bus or local interface 512 to enable communication within the system 500. The local interface 512 may be, for example, but is not limited to, one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections as known in the art. The local interface 512 may have additional elements, such as, for example, controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, omitted for simplicity, to enable communication. Additionally, the local interface 512 may include address, control, and / or data connections to enable appropriate communication between the above-mentioned components.

[0130] The processor 502 is specifically a hardware device for executing software stored in the memory 506. The processor 502 may be any custom or commercially available single-core or multi-core processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a coprocessor among multiple processors associated with the system 500, a semiconductor-based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chipset), a microprocessor, or any general device for executing software instructions.

[0131] The memory 506 may include any one or any combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (e.g., RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.) and non-volatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, tape, CD-ROM, etc.). Additionally, the memory 506 may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and / or other types of storage media. The memory 506 may be accessed by the processor 502, although the memory 506 may have a distributed architecture in which various components are located remotely from one another. Similarly, the processor 502 may be a single processor or a distributed system of multiple processors, e.g., two or more servers.

[0132] Software 508 defines the functions performed by system 500 in accordance with the present invention. As described below, software 508 in memory 506 may include one or more individual programs, each including an ordered list of executable instructions for implementing the logical functions of system 500. Memory 506 may include an operating system (O / S) 520. An operating system essentially controls the execution of programs in system 500 and provides scheduling, input / output control, file and data management, memory management, communication control and related services.

[0133] The I / O devices 510 may include input devices such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, etc. Additionally, the I / O devices 510 may also include output devices such as, but not limited to, a printer, display, etc. Finally, the I / O devices 510 may further include devices that communicate via both input and output such as, but not limited to, a modulator / demodulator (modem; for accessing other devices, systems, or networks), a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephone interface, a bridge, a router, or other devices. The system may also use a network interface 522 to access external resources such as, for example, a cloud-based server or a storage system.

[0134] When system 500 is operating, processor 502 is configured to execute software 508 stored in memory 506, communicate data to and from memory 506, and generally control the operation of system 500 in accordance with software 508, as described above.

[0135] During operation of the functions of the system 500, the processor 502 is configured to execute software 508 stored in the memory 506, to communicate data to and from the memory 506, and to generally control the operation of the system 500 in accordance with the software 508. An operating system 520 is read by the processor 502, possibly buffered within the processor 502, and then executed.

[0136] It should be noted that, if the system 500 is implemented in software 508, instructions for implementing the system 500 may be stored on any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with a computer-related device, system, or method. Such a computer-readable medium may correspond to one or both of the memory 506 or the storage device 504 in some embodiments. In the context of this specification, a computer-readable medium is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or means that can contain or store a computer program for use by or in connection with a computer-related device, system, or method. Instructions for implementing the system may be included in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with a processor or other such instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Although the processor 502 is given as an example, such an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device may in some embodiments be any computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can obtain instructions from, and execute instructions from, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. In the context of this specification, a "computer-readable medium" may be any means that can store, transmit, propagate, or carry a program for use by or in connection with a processor or other such instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0137] Such computer-readable media may be, for example, but not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, devices, or propagation media. More specific examples of computer-readable media (a non-exhaustive list) would include an electrical connection having one or more wires (electronic), a portable computer disk (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disk read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). It should be noted that the computer-readable medium may be a paper or other suitable medium on which the program is printed, since the program may be obtained electronically, for example, via optical scanning of the paper or other medium, and then compiled, interpreted, or processed in any other suitable manner, as appropriate, and stored in the computer memory.

[0138] In alternative embodiments, when system 500 is implemented in hardware, system 500 may be implemented with any or a combination of the following technologies, each of which is well known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logic functions on data signals, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having appropriate combinatorial logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0139] The following are use cases for the document retrieval system 150. In a first use case, a worker 112 wants to access 2D drawings related to the specialty of the current task, e.g. electrical, HVAC, or mechanical. The worker takes a photo of the location where the worker is, and even of the worker himself, and sends it to the document retrieval system 150. If the metadata was provided directly by the mobile device 110, the metadata is sent to the document retrieval system 150. If the metadata was provided through the use of a reference device 115, the reference device identifier is also sent in the package.

[0140] Upon receiving the package, the document retrieval system 150 determines the approximate location. The document retrieval system 150 verifies that the authorization of the worker 112 allows the worker 112 to access the 2D drawings and / or 2D rasterized drawings related to his / her professional work. The document retrieval system 150 compares the elevation measurement in meters received from the mobile with the elevation of the 2D drawing, converted to meters if necessary. The document retrieval system 150 converts the geographic coordinates provided by the metadata of the mobile device 110 from DMS and elevation coordinates to UTM and elevation coordinates. The document retrieval system 150 compares the converted UTM metadata with the lookup table 300 described above to verify whether the location of the metadata provided by the mobile device is within the four corners of a row of the lookup table 300.

[0141] The document retrieval system 150 retrieves related 2D drawings and corresponding 2D rasterized drawings if the following conditions are met: The correct assets are requested.

[0142] • Workers are qualified for the specialized tasks required. ●Worker access to 2D drawings is permitted for their specialized work on this asset.

[0143] ● You are granted access to only 2D drawings in rasterized format or also in their original format. ●The elevation metadata is within the horizontal plane of the 2D drawing.

[0144] ●The location of the provided metadata is inside a corner of the 2D drawing. If the criteria are met, the document retrieval system 150 sends the retrieved documents back to the mobile device 110.

[0145] In a second use case, a worker 112 encounters problems in the field that have various causes. The worker 112 attempts to understand and communicate each problem, and may also propose solutions to the problems, preferably resolving each in the field if possible. The worker 112 uses the mobile device 110 to take a photo of each problem and annotates the photo or image as needed, for example, with edits such as arrows, speech bubbles, magnifiers, text, and voice recordings. For example, on an Apple mobile device, the worker 112 takes a photo of the problem, moves the photo from the photo app to the mobile device desktop, opens the photo in the iOS app "Preview", clicks "Tools" on the toolbar, selects and uses the appropriate tools (e.g., arrows, speech bubbles, magnifiers, text, etc.) to annotate, indicating the expertise of the task in which the worker is working on the problem, saves the annotated photo, and transmits the annotated photo to the document retrieval system 150. Optionally, the worker may also transmit other data, for example, videos and images.

[0146] As described above in use case 1, to determine which 2D drawings are relevant to the professional work performed by the worker 112, the document search system 150 uses the lookup table 300 in the 2D drawing repository 165 with the location metadata received from the worker 1120. The document search system 150 searches for the relevant 2D drawings as follows:

[0147] The chart shown in FIG. 6 compares the maximum geographic area covered at a given scale by a given paper size format with the horizontal error of measurement. In these calculations, the paper size is larger than the drawing size, but gives a good estimate of the results using current mobile devices and reference devices. Studies have shown that outdoors in urban environments, Apple's mobile devices are accurate to within 7-13 meters, which is compared to Garmin's GPS Map 66, which has a root mean square error (RMSE) of less than 1 meter. Most Apple systems use non-military GPS signals. Pre-operational signals are already available on the iPhone 14 and other mobile phones, and are used as dual bands. As the constellations grow and become operational, the accuracy of mobile devices (including improved elevation accuracy) is expected to improve significantly. As of the filing date of this application, USA, Galileo, Beidou, and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System have a total of approximately 61 operational satellites. The launch of 67 additional satellites is planned, doubling the satellites that can be in line of sight of mobile devices. The accuracy of the reference device has generally been found to be significantly better than that of a mobile device. If the location accuracy is estimated to be within 94.94 square meters, the chart 600 determines the current magnification of the size of the paper size of the 2D drawing to the area of ​​the accuracy of the supplied metadata. If signal reception is impeded, the rate of error in identifying the correct 2D drawing may require multiple reference devices.

[0148] The mobile device 110 of the worker 112 sending the request receives the relevant 2D drawings or 2D rasterized drawings sent back to the worker 112. The document is typically sent as a 2D rasterized drawing by the document retrieval system 150 to facilitate simple annotation and speed up transfer. The worker 112 annotates the 2D drawing by indicating the detailed location of the problem. The annotated 2D drawing is added to a package of photos, videos, images, metadata and annotations and sent back to the system.

[0149] Problems received by the document retrieval system 150 may cover many causes, such as, for example, incorrect design, improper or defective materials or products, used products that require replacement or part replacement, worn out materials, improper installation, removal of prior work due to other specialized work required before the work can proceed, etc.

[0150] Once issues and suggestions are communicated and approved, links to relevant business processes are provided. For example, if the issue is approved as a design change by the design team, the link launches a business process to edit the 2D drawing. If the issue is approved as a material or production issue, the link launches a business process for supplier and / or receiving issues. If the issue is approved as an installation issue or out-of-procedure work, the link launches a business process for rework that may involve resupply.

[0151] The 2D drawing with the exact location of the geodetic points and the reference points added defines the initial positioning accuracy. The designer receives the annotated drawing with metadata from the worker and places it on the 2D drawing. The positions provided by the received metadata and the positions annotated on the 2D drawing are stored and the deviations are analyzed to understand their root causes, for example, whether the geographical position of the drawing in the repository of 2D drawings needs to be adjusted, whether the geographical position received from the metadata of the mobile device needs to be corrected in the future, or whether the geographical position received from the indirect metadata of the reference device to the mobile device needs to be corrected in the future. This is a cumulative process of improving the geolocation of different parts of the asset in the repository for multiple issues received from the field. Although the above example describes the actions of a designer, some or all of these steps can be automated by the document retrieval system 150.

[0152] The document management system may store all communications from the mobile device 110 to the 2D drawing repository 165 to enable traceability and auditability. Similarly, the state of all 2D drawings in the repository 165 may be traceable and auditable.

[0153] This embodiment provides many advantages over previous document retrieval systems: Field workers using 2D drawings represent the majority of team members in many sectors of activity, such as architecture, engineering, and construction (approximately 85%), city, regional and public services (approximately 50%), fixed assets (approximately 50%), and manufacturing (approximately 10% or more).

[0154] Individuals may use the present embodiment, for example, for building inspections for energy performance assessments, to assess whether an asset needs retrofitting, for the daily operation of a plant, and to check the safety and condition of equipment (leaks, noise equipment, heat, or smoke) of large assets. The present embodiment is similarly suitable for collaborative use with others on-site or at remote locations.

[0155] Even considering all of their underlying complex features, the present embodiments can be relatively simple to deploy since all that is required is a familiar mobile device (tablet, phone) and relatively few user clicks to communicate issues between workers and site supervisors / managers or off-site resources such as, for example, design offices, planning offices, procurement offices, etc. The present embodiments may leverage existing annotation software to create metadata that is typically pre-loaded on mobile devices.

[0156] This embodiment advantageously provides rapid accessibility to relevant 2D and 2D rasterized drawings, i.e., immediate control by the system of the access permissions granted to the worker and immediate communication to a data package containing all the practical resources to resolve the issue. It is no longer necessary for someone to process document requests in the office or available on a helpline, search through all the 2D and 2D rasterized drawings, and provide the required documents.

[0157] Each 2D drawing in the repository is unique due to the way it is checked in / out. The representation of all annotation data received by the worker on the 2D rasterized drawing is exactly the same, so the designer can attach all annotation data as layers to the appropriate 2D drawing. No special transformations are required for annotation layers.

[0158] The accuracy of the repository improves with use, i.e., the more problems received by the repository from the field, the more the accuracy of the repository will improve using analysis of deviations in the geographic locations of the 2D drawings for that field.

[0159] This embodiment may address multiple issues with different contributors on the same 2D drawing. If multiple contributors encounter different issues related to the same 2D drawing, the 2D rasterized drawing is copied from the same original 2D drawing. This allows each of these contributors to annotate their respective copies of the 2D rasterized drawing. Each set of annotations provided by the contributors to the designer may be represented in a layer and may be attached to the 2D drawing until a design change is made. This also ensures that the unity of the original 2D drawing and subsequent edits is maintained through a check-in and check-out methodology.

[0160] The present embodiment improves agility and efficiency in business processes. Once classification of each problem caught by a worker is done, the present embodiment can trigger the relevant business process. The recipient processing the next step of the business process has access to all the appropriate and relevant data to execute the solution. This agility speeds up problem resolution and increases productivity.

[0161] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. A method for accessing 2D drawings in a document retrieval system from a work site, comprising: configuring a reference device at the worksite to provide a geographic reference to a mobile device at the remote worksite; receiving the annotated document from the mobile device by a document retrieval system in communication with a document repository configured to store a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) drawings; accessing the 2D drawings in the document repository by the document retrieval system based on the annotated document; providing a rasterized version of the 2D drawing to the mobile device; Equipped with A method, wherein the work site is remote from the document retrieval system.

2. 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising: A method comprising a document retrieval system receiving a current task completion status from a mobile device.

3. 2. The method of claim 1 , A first group of planning, managing, renovating, auditing, building, maintaining, and demolition projects from said second group of architecture, engineering, and construction projects are at said work site.

4. 2. The method of claim 1 , The method, wherein the annotated document comprises annotation metadata that includes location data received from the reference device.

5. 2. The method of claim 1 , The annotated document includes a photograph.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising: annotating the 2D drawing according to the annotated documentation.

7. 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Storing the annotated 2D drawing and / or the annotated submitted drawing by the document retrieval system.

8. 2. The method of claim 1, The method, wherein the annotated documentation indicates differences between an accessed 2D drawing and corresponding features represented by the 2D drawing accessed at the work site.

9. 2. The method of claim 1, The 2D drawing includes identifying design and business metadata.

10. 10. The method of claim 9, The method, wherein the identifying design and the business metadata includes fields selected from the group of business fields, sheet number, sheet name, and computer-aided design (CAD) stage.

11. 2. The method of claim 1 , The method, wherein the 2D drawing is a vector drawing.

12. 2. The method of claim 1 , The method, wherein the reference device comprises an indoor positioning system (IPS) device.

13. 1. A method for adding georeference data to a two-dimensional (2D) drawing, comprising: Identifying existing geographic reference points within the 2D drawing; transforming the geographic reference points into Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates; adding new geographic reference points to the 2D drawing; The method comprises:

14. 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising: adding georeferenced points to corners of the 2D drawing.

15. 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising: defining a true north coordinate system for said 2D drawing; extracting a boundary polyline of said 2D drawing; defining a minimum rectangular volume of said 2D drawing oriented north-south and east-west; calculating the UTM coordinates of each corner of the 2D drawing; The method comprises:

16. 14. The method of claim 13, The method, wherein the 2D drawing is a vector drawing.

17. 1. A system for accessing remotely located two-dimensional (2D) drawings via a mobile device at a work site, comprising: a reference device configured to provide a geographic reference to the mobile device; a document repository configured to store a plurality of 2D drawings; a document retrieval system configured to access the plurality of 2D drawings in the document repository; Equipped with the mobile device is configured to provide the annotated document to the document retrieval system; the document retrieval system is configured to access the 2D drawings in the document repository based on the annotated document; The system, wherein the document retrieval system is configured to provide a rasterized version of the 2D drawing to the mobile device.

18. 20. The system of claim 17, The annotated document comprises annotation metadata including location data received from the reference device.

19. 20. The system of claim 17, The annotated document includes a photograph.

20. 20. The system of claim 17, The 2D drawing includes identifying design and business metadata.

21. 20. The system of claim 17, The identifying design and business metadata includes fields selected from the group of business fields, sheet number, sheet name, and computer-aided design (CAD) stage.

22. 20. The system of claim 17, The 2D drawing is a vector drawing.

23. 20. The system of claim 17, The system, wherein the reference device comprises an indoor positioning system (IPS) device.

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