Fenais, A (2020) Developing an augmented reality solution for mapping underground infrastructure. PhD thesis, Arizona State University, USA.
Abstract
Underground infrastructure is a critical part of the essential utility services provided to society and the backbone of modern civilization. However, now more than ever before, the disastrous events of a striking underground utilities cost billions of dollars each year in societal damages. Advanced technology and sophisticated visualization techniques such as augmented reality (AR) now play a significant role in mitigating such devastating consequences. Therefore, it is vitally important to coordinate resources, share information, and ensure efficient communication between construction personnel and utility owners. Besides, geographic information systems (GIS) provide a solution for interoperability in the construction industry. Applying such technologies in the field of underground construction requires accurate and up-to-date information. However, there is currently limited research that has integrated AR and GIS and evaluated the effectiveness and usability of the combination in this domain. The main objective of this research was to develop an integrated AR-GIS for mapping and capturing underground utilities using a mobile device. To achieve these objectives, a design research approach utilized to develop and evaluate a mobile extended-reality (XR-GIS) application. This research has produced an efficient solution for data collection and sharing among stakeholders in the underground construction industry. The main challenge in creating a reliable and adaptive outdoor AR system is the accurate registration of virtual objects in the real world. Due to the limited accuracy of smartphones, this study used an external Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to reduce positional error. The primary motivation behind this research is to make the construction industry more aware of the benefits of leveraging AR to prevent utility strikes and enhance public safety. This dissertation fills the gap in the knowledge regarding applying Augmented Reality (AR) in the underground infrastructure mapping. This study’s three research objectives are: (1) Identify the challenges and barriers facing the underground construction industry when applying AR. (2) Develop an integrated AR-GIS for mapping and capturing underground utilities using a mobile device. (3) Evaluate the horizontal accuracy of the captured data used by the AR phone application XR-GIS that has been developed by the author.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Ariaratnam, S T |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | accuracy; communication; interoperability; motivation; personnel; safety; underground infrastructure; utilities; visualization |
| Index terms: | visualization, mapping, augmented reality, usability, construction personnel, damages, accuracy, motivation, personnel, public safety, society, construction industry, underground construction, geographic information system, dissertation, interoperability, effectiveness, owner, underground infrastructure, utilities |
| Subjects: | dispute resolution, workforce, user-centered design, professional development, design practice, management, performance management, infrastructure and transport systems, industry analysis, systems and processes, emergency and crisis management, geotechnical engineering, sociology, research dissemination and communication, construction type, psychology, visualization, spatial and geospatial analysis, communities and social development, geographical techniques and analysis |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Information Management, Stakeholder Management, Construction Technology, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Human Resources, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Legal Issues, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here