AR Damage Assessment Using Virtual Object Scaling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Accurately assessing damage to buildings or vehicles is challenging due to difficulties in obtaining measurements, especially in unsafe conditions, and existing methods often require physical access to the damaged area.
Innovation Solution
An augmented reality system using a mobile device to capture visual data, generate a virtual space, and allow users to place and adjust virtual objects to determine the size of physical objects, enabling remote and safe damage assessment by converting virtual object sizes to physical dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If physical measurement methods are used to assess damage extent, then measurement accuracy can be improved, but safety risks increase when accessing damaged areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical damaged object using photogrammetry and point cloud technology. This digital twin allows users to measure and assess damage remotely without physically accessing hazardous areas, thereby maintaining measurement accuracy while eliminating safety risks associated with entering damaged zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary virtual environment (augmented reality space) between the user and the physical damaged object. Users interact with virtual representations of damaged areas through AR headsets, allowing indirect measurement and assessment that preserves both accuracy and safety by avoiding direct contact with hazardous conditions.
2Measurement precision
If physical access to damaged areas is required for measurement, then measurement accuracy improves, but accessibility deteriorates in dangerous or hard-to-reach locations
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a detailed virtual replica of the damaged structure using multiple photographs and point cloud data. This copy can be viewed and measured from any location without requiring physical access to the actual damaged area, thereby maintaining measurement precision while dramatically improving accessibility for users who cannot safely approach the damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions the measurement problem from physical three-dimensional space to virtual digital space. By converting physical coordinates into virtual coordinates within an AR environment, the system allows users to access and measure damaged areas from remote locations, effectively adding a virtual dimension that eliminates physical accessibility constraints.
3Measurement precision
If skilled personnel perform manual damage assessment, then assessment accuracy improves, but time consumption and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated damage assessment through the virtual model, where the AR application automatically calculates damage extent, affected areas, and repair costs based on the virtual representation. This self-service capability eliminates the need for skilled personnel to manually measure and assess, thereby maintaining accuracy while significantly reducing time consumption and operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement methods with automated digital processing. The system uses computer vision algorithms, point cloud processing, and automated calculations to determine damage metrics, substituting human physical measurement activities with computational processes that are both accurate and time-efficient.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for improving damage assessment by automatic measurement of virtual objects within an augmented reality (AR) representation of a physical environment are disclosed. A user interacts with a mobile computing device to position and resize virtual objects within a virtual space corresponding to a physical environment, which is presented to the user as an AR environment generated by the mobile computing device. The virtual objects are positioned and sized to match damaged physical objects within the physical environment. The sizes of the physical objects are automatically determined using the virtual sizes of the virtual objects, which physical sizes are further used to determine the extent of damage.