Building-up AR Applications for field survey purposes

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) is a new way to interact with the world around us by means of the alteration of reality perceived through specific sensors. Virtual elements are indeed overlapped to our visual perception using a video camera or special glasses. In the light of this experience, the AR user will see real images mixed with virtual objects and movies, hear sounds, perceive tactile sensations and, in the next future, have olfactory experiences. We exploit AR features for dissemination purposes in the field of non-structural damage caused by earthquakes as part of our activities within the European project KnowRISK (Know your city, Reduce selSmic risK through non-structural elements). In this presentation, we propose an AR application that allows the user on the field to access information based on a geo database. Accordingly, the application can work in outdoor guided tours as well as field surveys in the form of a virtual assistant. The application requires a tablet and is developed using the WikitudeTM framework, provided by Wikitude GmbH (www.wikitude.com), under Android OS version 4+. From a technical point of view, it is based on the Wikitude Software Development Kit (SDK), which represents an all-in-one AR solution including image recognition and tracking, video overlay, and location based AR service. We developed our prototype application as field trip experience of the town of Noto (Italy), destroyed by an earthquake in 1693. In the middle Ages, the old town of Noto was an important and rich stronghold chosen by Arabs as chief town of one of the three districts (Val di Noto) in which Sicily was divided. Houses, churches, convents and monasteries in Noto were totally destroyed by earthquakes with intensity I=X-XI MCS between 1542 and 1693. The victims were 3,000 out of a total population of 12,000 inhabitants. Our AR application provides historical information on Noto along images and seismic data. Building-up similar tools can be useful not only for laypersons, but also for professionals in support to their field surveys.