Challenges and Applications of Urban Augmented Reality Summary

Extended-Reality Technologies: An Overview of Emerging Applications in Medical Education and Clinical Care.

Recupera algunos de los elementos menos estudiados y reconocidos en el ensayo latinoamericano: su profunda vocación de reflexión, diálogo y mediación intelectual; su plasticidad y apertura a la búsqueda del sentido; su vínculo con la sociabilidad, la conversación y la generación de un espacio simbólico de encuentro; su capa cidad de establecer una nueva retroalimentación entre lectura y escritura.

Abstract. In an era of rapid urbanization, three-dimensional (3D) city models have emerged as crucial tools for managing infrastructure, planning new developments, and maintaining accurate cadastral records. Recent advances in photogrammetry and geographic information systems (GIS) have allowed us to generate incredibly detailed representations of urban spaces. The General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre has played a pivotal role in creating 3D city models by capturing aerial imagery and converting it into CityGML-based solid and architectural models. Although CityGML offers a standardized framework for storing and sharing city data, its potential can be further magnified by integrating immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR). This paper presents a mobile AR application, developed with Google’s ARCore, that displays CityGML-based building data at street level, allowing for real-time visualization and interaction. Our pipeline simplifies raw CityGML data, ensuring optimal rendering while preserving essential details. Through effective georeferencing and advanced pose estimation, these digital models are accurately overlaid on real-world scenes, enabling government agencies, urban planners, and cadastral managers to analyze and make informed decisions in situated places. Beyond planning and cadastre, this AR system could benefit broader fields such as environmental monitoring and public infrastructure management. We conclude by discussing future steps, including expanded data layers (e.g., utility networks) and performance optimizations for large-scale city models, thus highlighting the transformative role of AR in shaping next-generation urban environments.

This paper contributes to a taxonomy of augmented reality and robotics based on a survey of 460 research papers. Augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR) have emerged as a new way to enhance human-robot interaction (HRI) and robotic interfaces (e.g., actuated and shape-changing interfaces). Recently, an increasing number of studies in HCI, HRI, and robotics have demonstrated how AR enables better interactions between people and robots. However, often research remains focused on individual explorations and key design strategies, and research questions are rarely analyzed systematically. In this paper, we synthesize and categorize this research field in the following dimensions: 1) approaches to augmenting reality; 2) characteristics of robots; 3) purposes and benefits; 4) classification of presented information; 5) design components and strategies for visual augmentation; 6) interaction techniques and modalities; 7) application domains; and 8) evaluation strategies. We formulate key challenges and opportunities to guide and inform future research in AR and robotics.

This research-to-practice full paper is elaborated from the next problem, 'Augmented Reality's technology can assist in understanding the contents of Chemistry in a more concise way? The Case Study was conducted in a small-town school. The absence of structures, such as teaching laboratories, limited Internet access, or an insufficient number of computers is common in many small cities such as the one chosen. There is also a lack of teachers trained in pedagogical methods that make the student take an interest in learning. On the other hand, most young people and teachers have cell phones and enjoy recreational activities. So, we combine these various aspects to promote learning in a playful, cooperative way and based on a relevant learning theory. This paper is aimed at analyzing learning supported by Augmented Reality (AR) for Chemistry teaching. It was a quantitative study using Augmented Reality with the intent to check the benefits that AR brings to education. We focused on Organic Reactions because many students have difficulties with this topic and we evaluate that this topic is appropriate for using Augmented Reality. First, a pedagogical approach had been discussed with teachers of the proposed discipline and from that, an app for the Android system was developed, to assist in teaching Organic Compound Reactions, uniting Vygotsky concepts on the Proximal Development Zone. The proposal is integrated to the movement based on learning by design in basic schools, STEM, the system promotes students' abilities to work with technology to understand the teaching of Chemistry. Evaluations were carried out with 54 high school students during the semester, and the results obtained on the technology used identified that 84% of students considered the contents of chemistry relevant. A significant part suggested that the approach using Augmented Reality could be used in teaching other subjects. It was possible to observe the learning with cooperative characteristics highlighting the importance of working with this perspective, uniting attractive technologies that can collaborate effectively for the construction of knowledge in school disciplines.

Architects conduct site visits prior to a design activity to understand existing conditions. If the architect’s position and orientation are known on site, and augmented reality system has access to a location based content database of the site, then augmented reality system can display the content in 3D directly upon the architect’s view. Generally, architects use augmented reality as a visualization tool for presentation. It is also possible to collect data of a site and represent it in situ for architectural design. This paper is a survey of location based data representation in augmented reality systems to use in early stages of architectural design related to site. Initially, it describes the field of augmented reality including the characteristics and requirements. Then it surveys the state of the art by reviewing featured applications of location based augmented reality technology. Developments to the recent conditions from the first implementations have been revealed with components. At the same time, this paper aims to find common links between these featured applications and architectural site survey. Thus, it discusses opportunities of augmented reality to provide the needs of an architect as a site visit. However, it suggests which augmented reality components are more suitable in recent conditions for use in architectural design related to site. As a survey paper, it focuses on how location based augmented reality can be used in architectural design instead of presenting a model or an application.

Currently, the route planning functions in 2D/3D campus navigation systems in the market are unable to process indoor and outdoor localization information simultaneously, and the UI experiences are not optimal because they are limited by the service platforms. An ARCore-based augmented reality campus navigation system is designed in this paper in order to solve the relevant problems. Firstly, the proposed campus navigation system uses ARCore to enhance reality by presenting 3D information in real scenes. Secondly, a visual inertial ranging algorithm is proposed for real-time locating and map generating in mobile devices. Finally, rich Unity3D scripts are designed in order to enhance users’ autonomy and enjoyment during navigation experience. In this paper, indoor navigation and outdoor navigation experiments are carried out at the Lingang campus of Shanghai University of Electric Power. Compared with the AR outdoor navigation system of Gaode, the proposed AR system can achieve increased precise outdoor localization by deploying the visual inertia odometer on the mobile phone and realizes the augmented reality function of 3D information and real scene, thus enriching the user’s interactive experience. Furthermore, four groups of students have been selected for system testing and evaluation. Compared with traditional systems, such as Gaode map or Internet media, experimental results show that our system could facilitate the effectiveness and usability of learning on campus.

Urban warfare has become one of the main forms of modern combat in the twenty-first century. The main reason why urban warfare results in hundreds of casualties is that the situational information of the combatant is insufficient. Accessing information via an Augmented Reality system can elevate combatants’ situational awareness to effectively improve the efficiency of decision-making and reduce the injuries. This paper begins with the concept of Urban Warfare Augmented Reality (UWAR) and illuminates the objectives of developing UWAR, i.e., transparent battlefield, intuitional perception and natural interaction. Real-time outdoor registration, information presentation and natural interaction are presented as key technologies of a practical UWAR system. Then, the history and current research state of these technologies are summarized and their future developments are highlighted from three perspectives, i.e., (1) Better integration with Geographic Information System and Virtual Geographic Environment; (2) More intelligent software; (3) More powerful hardware.

The digitization that is impacting the construction sector still encounters areas where it is hindered. Safety is one of them—in Italy, even health and safety plans have to be digitally modeled. In this article, a methodology is presented for the digitization of health and safety plans and their visualization on-site using augmented reality and a seamless system for indoor–outdoor localization. Safety requirements for equipment are modeled as customized property within BIM models. Then, the interoperable-format IFC is used to upload the model in a BIM platform. On-site outdoor localization is ensured by a GPS-RTK system, while for indoor spaces, an artificial intelligence algorithm that recognizes features is used. In this research, an application that supports a seamless outdoor–indoor transition is proposed, with the display of inspection information through augmented reality and a blockchain notarization of images taken on-site and aligned with BIM models. The results of indoor and outdoor alignment are presented below. The experiment regarding augmented reality information display and the photo notarization procedure are also reported. This methodology improves the site inspection process by supporting the traceability of operations.

INTRODUCTION: Augmented Reality (AR) offers the benefit of improved hand-eye coordination by accurately superimposing 3D stereoscopic displays for surgical instruments onto anatomic landmarks. METHODS: 120 pedicle screws were implanted using an AR system (OnPoint AR, OnPoint Surgical, Bedford, MA) (thoracic 50, lumbosacral 70; pre-op CT 40, O-arm 80). Heary grading was applied by an independent radiologist assessing the degree of pedicle breaches. 3D measurements of positional error (PE) and angular error (AE) were performed by comparing post-operative CT scans of implanted screws with planned trajectories. Statistical analyses compared PE and AE for OnPoint AR with the available values for other systems using an unequal variance t-test method. RESULTS: 113 screws placed demonstrated Heary grade 1 accuracy. 6 screws had a larger diameter than the pedicle and were planned with in-out-in technique with Heary grade 2 accuracy. One screw demonstrated a lateral breach (grade 2) caused by a loose connection to the screwdriver. PE and AE (mean ± 1SD) for OnPoint AR were the following: for intra-operative spin 1.1mm±0.5mm and 1.3°±0.5°; for pre-operative CT 1.9mm±1.2mm and 2.2°±1.3°. Percent increment in PE and AE for Medtronic Stealth Station, Brainlab navigation, Stryker nav3i, Medtronic Mazor X robot, Globus Excelsius robot, Augmedics Xvision, and Novarad VisAR compared to OnPoint AR ranged between 40–80%, with differences being highly significant for all comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: PE and AE for placing pedicle screws are statistically significantly smaller for the novel AR system compared to existing navigation, robotic, and AR systems. A positional error of 1.1mm and angular error of 1.3° makes this technology particularly suited for small pedicles, challenging anatomy, and MIS techniques.

The maintenance area makes permanent challenges to research and develop new methodologies and later to transfer that knowledge to optimize the maintenance interventions and the equipment performance. The introduction of new technologies in the maintenance field, like 3D models, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Augmented Reality, permitting simplify the interventions, help training, making remote interventions and more easily locating geographically the technical assets. The focus of the present paper is the wind generators field where the distance between the maintenance management department and each wind generators farm emphasizes the importance of precedent technologies. Additionally, the easy location of each wind generator is a major question that is easily answered through GIS (Geographic Information System). This paper deals with wind generators, through a methodology that aims to optimize the cycles of production and, consequently, reduce the production of energy based on fossil resources. The methodology presented is based on-condition techniques with prediction. The new developments will be later incorporated in the information system, because they are developed in a modular way, in order to add new capacities to an integrated maintenance management system called SMIT (Terology Integrated Modular System). This system was designed to be the base information system, and can incorporate new tools in order to be always up-to-date. Its implementation is through client-server, browser or cloud computing, but also having the capacity to receive new tools, as GIS, 3D models or Augmented Reality. With these new tools and, particularly the last one, it makes possible improving the quality of maintenance interventions, minimize their intervention times, and expanding knowledge to a larger number of maintenance technicians through the possibility of training in a virtual environment. This means that will help to use less hardware and energy resources, including the equipment themselves and, by consequence, it also helps to increase the environmental perspective.

Virtual Rehabilitation provides a range of technological and clinical developments in the field of virtual reality and augmented reality applied to rehabilitation. In this context, a system for upper-limb motor rehabilitation of stroke patients based on augmented reality was developed. This system aimed providing the motor imagery using a virtual three-dimensional arm that replaces the paralyzed arm in a real-time image of the patient. During the task execution in the augmented reality environment, the physiotherapist had guided the patients while they saw themselves and surroundings, as in a mirror. Although not achieving statistical significance, the Fugl-Meyer results of these case studies suggested that the participants were able to use the technology and they had larger shoulder range of motion of the affected hand post-training using the augmented reality system. However, many faults in the detection and recognition of physical markers were occurred whenever there was partial obfuscation or imperfect capture of the marker's image. For this reason, a new version of the system was developed to provide an augmented reality system without markers, and thus, aiming to improve the usability of next clinical trials.

The GPS-based navigation systems provide an accurate positioning of land-vehicles but this service is not always continuous in urban areas. These systems are usually enhanced with dead reckoning sensors, like odometers, and the use of a digital road map can improve the vehicle location when GPS fails. In this work, we focus on these GPS outages where the main problem is to combine another available measurements intelligently. We present here a global estimation method to solve the fusion problem of the GPS, odometer and digital road map measurements. It relies on an unscented Kalman filter whose main benefit is to deal with non-linear equations directly. In the case of an urban transport scenario, the comparison with an extended Kalman filter shows that the vehicle positioning is improved without requiring more computing time.

Augmented reality visualization of biomechanical wall stresses on abdominal aortic aneurysms using artificial intelligence

Concepts for user interfaces are developed in order to enable humans exchanging information and having a better understanding of different processes. With the rise of technology, concepts of enriching our environments with computer-generated graphics appeared in the 1960s. The expansion of visual perception of the surrounding is the core of Augmented Reality (AR). Many AR applications have been appearing in different areas, opening the door for revolutionizing and changing interactivity models and the way people perform tasks. Even though AR systems’ structures are well defined, applications are not yet widespread. One of the main reasons for this is that AR system developers face difficulties with developing their applications and adapting them to different hardware. Each hardware set (i.e. AR device) requires different software development kits and different technical requirements. That leaves AR concepts hard to be scaled and implemented in real life scenarios. One more additional challenge facing the implementing of AR is that AR mostly relies on complex vision-based algorithms. Based on that, this paper explores a lightweight, modular, and cross-platform solution. It presents a novel framework based on redesigning the AR pipeline, introducing a prototype of a solution where AR can operate within the cloud, converting all AR devices into thin clients with high performance capability. This also contributes directly to the Industry 4.0 aim of preparing the way for digitalized and optimized processes in a connected and integrated network.