Conference Agenda

This study explores the implementation of point cloud visualization in virtual reality environments to evaluate immersion based on point cloud characteristics. Two visualization methods were utilized, including points and meshes, and the method was tested on point clouds from three popular datasets: Paris-Carla-3D, Toronto-3D, and Stanford 3D Indoor Scene. The point-based visualization better preserved the original point cloud's geometries and colors, but visualization through surfaces formed by points added greater realism to the experience. However, the illumination options of the points resulted in a loss of realism. Mesh visualization modified both the geometry and colors, producing models that were less realistic than those created by the point visualization. Occlusions affected the realism of all scenes, causing a loss of information and influencing the generation of erroneous illumination. Immersion was hindered by the large number of points displayed on the screen simultaneously, which significantly reduced Frames Per Second. Despite this, no problems related to Virtual Reality sickness were observed beyond a brief initial adaptation period.

The damage of subsurface infrastructure under the auspices of excavation is a long-standing global problem, which causes great financial losses as a consequence of project delays, disruptions of public supply, and the increased life-cycle costs of utility lines. The primary causes of excavation damage are attributed to the lack of reliable utility information and inadequate approaches to communicating the positional uncertainties to the end users. Accordingly, this study presents a deterministic uncertainty-aware approach for visualising subsurface infrastructure in 3D using augmented reality (AR). The prototype was presented and evaluated in a focus group interview with five respondents with experience from the utility sector. The participants agreed, that the insufficient availability of vertical coordinates for the cables at present constitutes the biggest challenge. However, they emphasised the future potential of the AR solution in the prospect of ongoing improvements in data quality prompted by the new Danish data model for exchanging utility information.

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) enables the possibility of viewing abstract concepts and entities in a three dimensional (3D) visuospatial environment. In this paper, we innovatively introduced IVR technology into the verification of the as-built state of electric line networks in buildings. On the one hand, using the reasoning-based estimation of electric line networks as a starting point, we demonstrated IVR technology's usability for verifying installed utilities in buildings. On the other hand, we established the communication between the Reasoner and the practitioner and also simulated the verification action of electric line networks in buildings in the real world. The principal findings of this work pave the way for a subsequent and systematic evaluation of the different reasoning strategies for estimating and generating the as-built state of building utilities.

This paper discusses two experimental Augmented Reality (AR) projects conducted by a partnership between a history museum and a university research center in the City of Charlotte, USA. These projects employ 2D mapping, 3D procedural modeling, and marker-based AR techniques for data visualization focused on social and economic issues in Charlotte on a neighborhood scale. AR offers an interactive method to expand visualization capabilities in GIS. These projects show that AR can support local community events that are aimed at expanding overall public participation with a goal of increasing awareness of neighborhood changes over time through 3D data visualization.

Open Geospatial Consortium Testbeds are an annual research and development initiative that explore geospatial technology. For Testbed-19 we generate a multipurpose 3D dataset in support of the development of Augmented Reality/Metaverse architectures and infrastructure prototypes: Road Hazard Monitoring, Mixed Euclidean and Minkowski GeoPose Graphs, and GeoPose Graphs in a Minkowski Bubble.

The data comprises: LiDAR, position and orientation, imagery from a survey vehicle, drone imagery, and imagery from static cameras and “GoPros”. This is extended by a simulated orbiting platform with high-resolution sensor. Our coverage is a bubble of radius 256m, centered near the Ordnance Survey headquarters in Southampton, UK.

The data will be published in an open-source repository, supporting OGC projects, and a prototype of parts of the Ride Hailing use case of the Metaverse Standards Forum Real/Virtual World Integration Domain Working Group. Open availability of a standard dataset will enable independent testing and benchmarking of architectures and algorithms for a variety of applications.