Urban Terrain Modeling for Augmented Reality Applications

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) systems have arguably some of the most stringent requirements of any kind of three-dimensional synthetic graphic systems. AR systems register computer graphics (such as annotations, diagrams and models) directly with objects in the real-world. Most of the AR applications require the graphics to be precisely aligned with the environment. For example, if the AR system shows wire frame versions of actual buildings, we cannot afford to see them far apart from the position of the real buildings. To this end, an accurate tracking system and a detailed model of the environment are required. Constructing these models is an extremely challenging task as even a small error in the model (order of tens of centimeters or larger) can lead to significant errors, undermining the effectiveness of an AR system. Also, models of urban structures contain a very large number of different objects (buildings, doors and windows just to name a few). This chapter discusses the problem of developing a detailed synthetic model of an urban environment for a mobile augmented reality system. We review, describe and compare the effectiveness of a number of different modeling paradigms against traditional manual techniques. These techniques include photogrammetry methods (using automatic, semi-automatic and manual segmentation) and 3 dimensional scanning methods (such as aircraft-mounted LIDAR) and conventional manual techniques.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA506792

Entities

People

  • Dennis Brown
  • Lawrence Rosenblum
  • Marco Lanzagorta
  • Simon J Julier
  • Yohan Baillot

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Acquisition
  • Augmented Reality
  • Cameras
  • Computer Graphics
  • Computer Vision
  • Computers
  • Construction
  • Control Systems
  • Detectors
  • Graphics
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Laser Radar
  • Lidar
  • Photographs
  • Systems Science
  • Three Dimensional

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Computer Vision.
  • Strategic Security Studies