Augmented Reality Visualization of 3-D GPR Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 3-D ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data visualization methods present images in a purely virtual context, disconnected from the physical world, making it time-consuming and error-prone for users to understand the size and location of subsurface features, potentially leading to misleading interpretations.
Innovation Solution
An augmented reality application that displays 3-D GPR data on boundary surfaces of a virtual excavation, anchored to the physical environment, allowing users to visualize subsurface features in relation to the physical world by projecting 2-D images onto virtual excavation boundaries, enabling manipulation and rendering of elements within the virtual space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If 3-D GPR data is presented in a purely virtual context (e.g., on a computer screen), then the data can be visualized and analyzed, but the user experience becomes disconnected from the physical world, requiring time-consuming measurements and scaling to understand feature size and location
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces augmented reality technology as an intermediary that overlays virtual 3-D GPR data onto the physical environment. This mediator bridges the gap between the virtual data space and the physical world, allowing users to see subsurface features directly superimposed on their actual locations without manual measurement and correlation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical environment into which 3-D GPR data is integrated. By rendering the physical space as a digital twin and overlaying the radar data within this virtual representation, users can interact with the data in its proper spatial context without leaving the physical location.
2Measurement precision
If users manually measure and scale images to understand subsurface feature dimensions, then they can obtain size information, but the process becomes error-prone and may lead to misleading interpretations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from 2-D image representations to 3-D immersive visualizations. By presenting the GPR data in three dimensions within the context of the physical environment, users can directly perceive the true size and location of subsurface features without requiring manual scaling or measurement calculations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs visual encoding through color and transparency variations to represent different subsurface features and their properties. This visual differentiation allows users to quickly identify and understand feature characteristics without complex measurement processes, reducing interpretation errors.
3Device complexity
If 3-D GPR data is displayed without physical world correlation, then the visualization system remains simple, but users cannot easily understand the real-world location and scale of subsurface features
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a unified augmented reality system that simultaneously performs multiple functions: visualizing 3-D GPR data, rendering the physical environment, providing spatial correlation, and enabling interactive exploration. This multi-functional approach integrates previously separate tasks into a single coherent system that enhances usability without proportionally increasing complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user understanding of subsurface features by providing a visually correlated representation with the physical environment, reducing errors and improving the interpretation of 3-D GPR data by overlaying virtual data onto real-world contexts.
Implementation Method 1
GPR is a technology that uses radar pulses to collect data descriptive of features below the surface of a material (subsurface features). High-frequency radio waves (e.g., in the ultra high frequency (UHF) or very high frequency (VHF) bands) are generated and transmitted into the material. The waves travel through the material, and when they reach a boundary between two regions with different dielectric constants, a portion of the waves is reflected back.
Implementation Method 2
When the waves reach a boundary between two regions with different dielectric constants, a portion of the waves is reflected back. The reflected waves are typically detected by an antenna of the GPR system, arranged on the surface.
Implementation Method 3
The boundaries between dielectric constants typically coincide with boundaries of objects disposed in the material, voids in the material, changes in composition of the material, or other features.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, an augmented reality application generates an augmented reality view that displays three-dimensional (3-D) ground penetrating radar (GPR) data on boundary surfaces of a virtual excavation. The augmented reality application calculates an intersection of the one or more boundary surfaces of the virtual excavation and the 3-D GPR data, and extracts data items of the 3-D GPR data that intersect the one or more boundary surfaces of the virtual excavation. The augmented reality application then projects two-dimensional (2-D) images based on the extracted data items onto the one or more boundary surfaces of the virtual excavation to show subsurface features in the augmented reality view that can be manipulated (e.g., moved, rotated, scaled, have its depth changed, etc) by a user.