The Challenge

The bridge was assembled from large components constructed off-site. The project team had to conduct regular inspections of the delivered, assembled, and constructed elements to ensure compliance with construction plans.

During construction, a few design changes were introduced, which required further checks and reviews.

The job site and the surrounding area contained various standard assets of utility infrastructure, including overhead wires and subsurface cables, conduits, pipes, and manholes. The utility assets were located and documented during the pre-construction phases and marked with paint. As the construction progressed, the markings became covered with mud or were erased by foot and machinery traffic.

In these difficult conditions, the Atkins/SNC-Lavalin team needed a way to document the work in progress and preserve it for analysis.

Use Case 2

Situational Awareness

The Warsaw Bridge construction site and the surrounding area contain typical utility infrastructure, including overhead wires, subsurface pipes, and cables. The situation is further complicated by the abundance of mud created by construction activities that hides road assets like valves, access holes, and manholes.

The utility data was provided by local utility companies and was independently validated using traditional methods of data collection. The data was stored in Esri ArcGIS Online.

The Atkins/SNC-Lavalin team used vGIS real-time GIS visualization to display GIS data in augmented reality. The seamless integration of vGIS with the Esri ArcGIS back end facilitated the display of changing GIS data in AR without the need for time-consuming manual processing.

AR overlays of the surrounding infrastructure, presented with centimeter-level accuracy, helped the team to quickly identify assets and avoid line strikes.

Use Case 3

Reality Capture

Recording work in progress can be critical to a construction project.

The Atkins/SNC-Lavalin team performed frequent scans of the area using the iPad's LiDAR.The reality capture scans were stored in ArcGIS Online and, through vGIS, were displayed on site with centimeter-level accuracy, enabling the team to review how the area was changing over time.

The team also used the built-in reality capture capability of vGIS to capture, archive, and visualize work in progress.

Once complete, the 3D scans could be accessed and used for remote inspections. In the example below, the scan of a bridge section is inspected remotely with AR.

Technology Stack

The project team used the following technology:

• vGIS
• Esri ArcGIS Online
• Leica FLX100
• Microsoft HoloLens 2
• iPad Pro 2020 and various smartphones

vGIS

vGIS provided augmented and mixed-reality visualization. vGIS aggregates real-time data from many data sources and data formats to display to-scale augmented reality visuals placed with centimeter -level accuracy. The team members used this and other capabilities of vGIS to display data in augmented and mixed reality.

Esri ArcGIS

The team standardized the data repositories of the project using Esri ArcGIS Online. This platform provided hosting for the following data:

• BIM
• GIS
• Reality capture

The data was published as feature and scene services for vGIS AR to consume in real-time.

BIM data

GIS data

Reality capture data

Leica FLX100

High-accuracy positioning was achieved with the help of the Leica FLX100 GNSS antenna.

Leica FLX100 offers stable centimeter-level positioning accuracy in a small and budget-friendly package.

Visualization Devices

The platform-agnostic design of vGIS enabled the project team to use a variety of visualization devices:

• Microsoft HoloLens 2
• iPad Pro 2020 tablet
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ tablet
• Various smartphones

Conclusions

Deployment of extended reality solutions can substantially improve the productivity, accuracy, and safety of infrastructure projects. Combining data from multiple data sets—local utilities, reality capture and point-cloud solutions, and BIM designs—in augmented reality unlocks new opportunities.

Much of this kind of data currently resides in silo'ed environments that are accessible only through desktop software or narrow-purpose mobile apps. Applying a comprehensive AR solution enables project members to access all relevant information in the form of natural and interactive augmented reality overlays presented in a single unified view.

The AR system becomes a central hub of the information required for the project. During regular daily use, the data powering the AR is continuously validated and refined. Within a short time, the data is accurate enough to enable the system to provide simple, reliable, and comprehensive visuals that simplify and speed up a wide range of tasks, everything from validating the location of utilities and checking designs to remote assistance.

The AR system can be deployed in a cost-efficient manner. For the best results, maintain several visualization licenses on personal devices with at least one centimeter-level portable GNSS to validate critical information with high accuracy.

This study is ongoing. Although the calculations of return on investment are still in progress, preliminary results indicate the following benefits:

• Saving time on ordinary tasks that, at a typical site, must be done several times a day.
• Fewer utility locate and mark-out requests.
• Fewer delays as a result of design and infrastructure validation.
• Preservation of project stages through 3D reality capture.