Augmented Reality Overlay for Geolocated Field Collaboration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile communication and collaboration tools, such as text messaging and email, are cumbersome and inefficient for teams working in the field due to their inability to adapt information presentation to a user's geographic location, especially on small screen devices, limiting their usability and effectiveness in real-world scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A system that combines heads-up display technology with augmented reality, using a client device with a video camera, GPS, and view tracking to overlay geographically tagged data onto a live video feed, allowing users to interact with a collaborative environment by accessing and creating messages and data presented in real-time on a mobile device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional maps and geolocation tags are used on mobile devices, then geographic information can be displayed, but the small screen size and interface constraints limit usability and require significant user effort to interpret and reconcile with the real world
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the map display with the live camera view by overlaying geolocation tags and map elements directly onto the real-world video feed. This combination allows users to see both the real environment and geographic information simultaneously, eliminating the need to switch between separate map and camera views and making spatial relationships immediately apparent without requiring interpretation effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The live camera view acts as an intermediary between the user and the geographic information. Instead of presenting raw map data that requires interpretation, the system uses the camera feed as a mediator to contextualize geographic tags within the user's actual field of view, making the information intuitively understandable by showing exactly what the user is looking at with its associated geolocation data overlaid.
2Productivity
If text-based messaging systems are used for field teams, then communication can occur, but the systems are cumbersome and inefficient without geographic locality adaptation
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by making messaging and communication features adapt to the user's current geographic location. Messages, contacts, and collaborative tools are automatically organized and presented based on the user's geolocation, showing nearby team members and location-relevant information first, thereby making the communication system versatile and adaptive to different field scenarios without requiring manual reconfiguration.
3Ease of operation
If conventional mobile device interfaces are used, then basic communication functions are available, but the small screens and cumbersome interfaces limit effectiveness in field operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs self-service by automatically performing tasks that would otherwise require manual user input. The device automatically captures the user's location via GPS, determines the current camera view orientation, selects relevant geolocation tags from the database, and overlays them appropriately on the video feed. This automation eliminates cumbersome manual operations and makes the interface reliable and effective in fast-paced field conditions where users need immediate information without complex interactions.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless networked device incorporating a display, a video camera and a geo-location system receives geo-located data messages from a server system. Messages can be viewed by panning the device, revealing the message's real world location as icons and text overlaid on top of the camera input on the display. The user can reply to the message from her location, add data to an existing message at its original location, send new messages to other users of the system or place a message at a location for other users. World Wide Web geo-located data can be explored using the system's user interface as a browser. The server system uses the physical location of the receiving device to limit messages and data sent to each device according to range and filtering criteria, and can determine line of sight between the device and each actual message to simulate occlusion effects.