SMART: scalable and modular augmented reality template for rapid development of engineering visualization applications

Background: The visualization of civil infrastructure systems and processes is critical for the validation and communication of computer generated models to decision-makers. Augmented Reality (AR) visualization blends real-world information with graphical 3D models to create informative composite views that are difficult to create or replicate on the computer alone. Methods: This paper presents a scalable and extensible mobile computing framework that allows users to readily create complex outdoor AR visual applications. The technical challenges of building this reusable framework from the software and hardware perspectives are described. Results: SMART is a generic and loosely-coupled software computing framework for creating AR visual applications with accurate registration algorithms and visually credible occlusion effects. While SMART is independent of any specific hardware realization, ARMOR is built as a hardware implementation of SMART to test its algorithm correctness and its adaption to engineering applications. In particular, ARMOR is a modular mobile hardware platform designed for user position and orientation tracking, as well as augmented view display. Conclusion: The framework has been validated in several case studies, including the visualization of underground utilities for excavator control and collision avoidance to demonstrate SMART’s rapid creation of complex AR visual applications.