Development of a mobile borehole investigation software using augmented reality

Abstract:

Augmented reality (AR) is one of the most developing technologies in smartphone and IT areas. While various applications have been developed using the AR, there are a few geological applications which adopt its advantages. In this study, a smartphone application to manage boreholes using AR has been developed. The application is consisted of three major modules, an AR module, a map module and a data management module. The AR module calculates the orientation of the device and displays nearby boreholes distributed in three dimensions using the orientation. This module shows the boreholes in a transparent layer on a live camera screen so the user can find and understand the overall characteristics of the underground geology. The map module displays the boreholes on a 2D map to show their distribution and the location of the user. The database module uses SQLite library which has proper characteristics for mobile platforms, and Binary XML is adopted to enable containing additional customized data. The application is able to provide underground information in an intuitive and refined forms and to decrease time and general equipment required for geological field investigations.