Augmented Reality Ground Surface Visualization for Subsurface Utility Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing augmented reality (AR) systems fail to provide a convincing and safe visualization of underground infrastructure, as they often result in odd visual fidelity and incorrect depth perception, leading to potential accidents for field workers due to occlusion of real-world objects by digital assets.
Innovation Solution
A method that generates a real-time augmented view by deriving a six-degree of freedom spatial reference using image processing and sensor fusion, combined with geospatial data, to create a semi-transparent virtual rendering of underground infrastructure, allowing the ground surface to be visualized as if viewed through a glass-like layer, preserving real-world textures and objects while providing clear depth perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional AR systems overlay digital assets on top of real-world video feed, then additional information is provided to the user, but visual fidelity is lost and depth perception becomes incorrect
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual ground surface as an intermediary layer between the real-world video feed and the underground infrastructure visualization. This virtual ground surface, rendered with semi-transparent textures, acts as a mediator that properly positions underground structures below the ground level, restoring correct depth perception and spatial relationships while maintaining information completeness about subsurface utilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the transparency parameter of the virtual ground surface rendering to achieve optimal visual fidelity. By adjusting the semi-transparency level, the system allows users to simultaneously perceive the real-world environment and the underground infrastructure with correct depth cues, resolving the contradiction between information completeness and visual reliability.
2Loss of information
If digital assets are overlaid to visualize underground infrastructure, then subsurface information becomes visible, but real-world objects may be occluded leading to safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the safety contradiction by transitioning from a 2D overlay approach to a 3D spatial representation. The virtual ground surface and underground infrastructure are positioned at different depth layers, creating a multi-dimensional visualization where subsurface objects are clearly distinguished from surface-level real-world objects. This dimensional separation eliminates occlusion conflicts while maintaining both subsurface visibility and real-world awareness.
3Loss of information
If plan data is used to visualize underground structures, then subsurface information is available, but the data is difficult to read and requires surveying equipment for spatial reference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the ground surface with embedded spatial reference information that automatically aligns with the real-world environment through augmented reality positioning. This virtual copy eliminates the need for separate surveying equipment, as the spatial relationships are directly integrated into the visualized underground infrastructure, making the data immediately readable and actionable in the field.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for providing an augmented view of an underground infrastructure in a real world scenery. It comprises a deriving of real time real world images of the real world scenery, deriving a location information for the field of view of those images, deriving a six degree of freedom spatial reference of the real world images and their image content by image processing and an inertial measurement unit. With a deriving of a geospatial information of underground infrastructure in vicinity of the location information from an underground infrastructure database, a calculating of a virtual rendering of the underground infrastructure is done with a same virtual field of view and perspective as the field of view of the real world images. With an augmenting of the virtual rendering in the real world images, a providing of resulting augmented images by a two or three dimensional vision unit is established. According to the invention, the virtual rendering and the augmenting is done with a determining of a ground surface in the real world images and a transforming of the ground surface by a semi-transparent virtual representation of the ground surface, wherein the rendering of the virtual underground infrastructure is visualized below the virtual ground surface in the augmented image.