LARA, “LBS Augmented Reality Assistive System for Utilities Infrastructure Management through Galileo and EGNOS is a project co- funded by European GNSS Agency under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The nine partner international consortium, led by the Cypriot SME GeoImaging Ltd, developed a mobile device to assist the utility management professionals on the field. The hand-held, low cost, mobile device integrates state-of-the-art technologies in the domain of positioning and sensors (GNSS), Augmented Reality (AR), 3D GIS geodatabases.
The LARA system promise is to provide field workers with the ability to ‘see beneath the ground’. LARA combines GNSS, 3D GIS and geospatial databases, and augmented reality in order to render complex 3D models of underground networks such as water, gas, sewerage and electricity. First, by locating the work zone on a GIS viewer, they will obtain a visual representation of the underground infrastructure and its attributes. Then, they can take advantage of the augmented reality engine to have an intuitive view of this infrastructure in 3D over a real image from the camera. Finally, after the work is done, they can use this same tool to generate reports and update existing infrastructure maps.
The potential impact of this technology is tremendous: according to a 2006 report (McMahon et all, 2006) It is estimated that in the UK alone the utility industry spends £1.5 billion a year to carry out street works and another £150 million to repair damage to neighboring grids. Moreover, it is estimated that the cost to society and the economy amounts to an additional £5.5 billion due to the socioeconomic impacts of lengthy street works – such as traffic congestion, material waste and delays.
LARA is equipped with a high precision, low power, long autonomy GNSS receiver module able to achieve accuracies at the level of a centimetre. The receiver —consists of a GNSS module and an IMU module— is able to work with multiple constellations including Galileo, EGNOS, and others, but Galileo is key to helping mprove accuracy, increase availability and integrity.
The LARA system will allow utility management companies to know exactly “where is what”, conducting far more accurate interventions regarding maintenance of their own underground infrastructure while keeping intact other neighboring underground grids. Precise intervention will reduce the overall maintenance cost, minimizing at the same time economic and social implications of lengthy surface works.
The overall objectives of LARA can be summarised below:
- Perform a holistic and in depth system analysis and design considering the user needs, evaluate hardware, design interfaces and draw the overall architecture
- Develop all the software and hardware development to deliver the system prototype
- Design and launch the pilots in 2 different sites
- Produce communication material and effectively disseminate project information to relevant stakeholders
- Draw an exploitation methodology and business plan
