Fieldwork in Geosciences assisted by ARGeo: A mobile Augmented Reality system

Abstract

Gathering data on the field is a crucial task in many disciplines. Moreover, in the Geosciences the GPS positioning is relevant to the data acquisition as well as to the planning of the fieldwork. Nowadays, mobile devices are widespread, constituting an accessible platform consisting of single devices coupled with different sensors for data acquisition, such as GPS, compass, magnetometer, etc. Emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) enable the use of these devices as a software platform to complement the perception of our surrounding environment. Despite the fact that there are several AR applications focused on different aspects of Geosciences, a comprehensive fieldwork oriented system, which can be easily adapted to the community needs, is still missing. Based on a multidisciplinary work between professionals from Geosciences and Computer Sciences, we designed and developed a framework based AR system named ARGeo. The proposed system constitutes a complementing tool for the geologist's fieldwork carefully designed to be used in remote sites, using only the mobile device hardware and without the need of an internet connection for data acquisition. ARGeo complements the fieldwork observation and the precise recording of geological data needed, e.g., for the interpretation of folded structures. It allows the user to register geo-tagged information such as points of interests (i.e. references on the field or the fold itself) using natural interactions. In addition, it provides two novel features: an interactive dipping plane measurement from distant points of view and a back-in-time visualization of previous recorded positions, in order to help understanding the spatial relations among the recorded samples. Pilot studies were conducted with domain experts of geology and they agree on the potential of the system. Results point out that ARGeo naturally integrates mobile devices and AR to the geologists’ fieldwork. Its possible extension with new features to the Geosciences as well as to other application fields is detailed.