TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

SUMMARY

Augview is a mobile GIS app that incorporates both a map display and an Augmented Reality (AR) display. The AR display is generated automatically from the 2D and/or 3D GIS data published by standard GIS web servers. Augview’s target market includes telcos, utilities, municipalities, highways agencies, large site developments (e.g. manufacturing sites, shopping centres, universities, airports, etc.) and the contractors that plan, design, construct and maintain their underground assets.

Augview seeks to address a number of pain points across these industries including:  Field worker operational efficiency (contractors, with limited knowledge and training)  Field worker spatial comprehension of their own location and the location of hidden or planned assets  Data capture accuracy, data quality, data timeliness  Elimination of back-office processes  Reduction of collateral damage and time-wasting inaccurate excavation  Reduction in H&S risks and increased compliance  Minimising premiums by demonstrating best practice initiatives

ARCHITECTURE

Augview is a mobile app that is downloaded from the Apple and Google app stores. The app is primarily intended to be an online application, sourcing its data from one or more GIS web servers.

Augview supports a wide variety of GIS web servers, including the ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online native map, feature and image services, Smallworld GSS native services, plus the OGC, WMS, WMTS, WFS and WCS services as supported by open source GIS products, in addition to plus Google, bing, Here maps, Mapbox, OpenStreetMaps, etc.

The Augview registration server manages metadata about data sources (URLs, publication formats) and how the data is to be represented in AR mode. It also manages device and

Page 1 of 5 user ids. No customer data is stored in the registration server. Augview does not host the client’s data. Instead the application accesses the client’s data from their own web servers.

The overall architecture looks like this:

Augview is currently released on iOS and Android. Augview has also been tested on Windows with a launch date yet to be announced. Augview has also been ported to a number of AR glasses platforms, but at this stage the glasses that are currently commercially available are not deemed viable for general outdoor use for the target audience.

FUNCTIONALITY

Two modes of operation: 1. Mobile map mode (pretty standard mobile GIS) 2. Augmented reality mode (Virtual reality if camera and GPS are turned off)

Data access  Simultaneous access to, and presentation of, data from multiple heterogeneous servers that might be using different coordinate systems  Online and offline modes (some background map suppliers like Google do not allow offline tile caching)

Data capture and editing features:  read-only or full-capture, update, delete functions for the GIS/asset data (subject to user authentication constraints)  photo capture and association

Page 2 of 5

 dimension capture for as-built recording  redline capture (sketches-points, lines, polygons, annotations)

Security  Augview supports a variety of security/authentication protocols, (also optional full audit trail as requested by the Malaysian government, and optional geofence security as requested for some US customers)  device registration/authentication plus user registration & authentication are mandatory

Modelling

For utility networks, Augview generates the 3D model of the network automatically within the Augview application. No pre-processing is required in the GIS environment. Please note that for complex structures for which a visually appealing representation is required, (e.g. buildings, bridges, pumps, valves, poles, manholes etc.), each may be represented as a point within the GISs web server, but displayed as the full 3D model in the AR view in Augview. Supported 3D model formats include .fbx, .obj and .dae. The inclusion of a DEM, allows the projection of 2D GIS features to be projected into 3D relative to the terrain surface.

For cadastral applications, where property boundaries, legal boundaries, lease boundaries etc. are to be displayed, the inclusion of a DEM (Digital Elevation Model) allows the boundaries to be draped on the terrain surface. Legal boundaries are normally shown as coloured paths delineating the polygon boundaries. Labels showing address, legal description etc. may be displayed in AR mode at/near the centre of each polygon.

HARDWARE

At present we are continuing to supply Augview for use on tablets and smartphones and not yet recommending any AR glasses. Tablets and smartphones require the following sensors: GNSS, magnetometer, accelerometer and gyro.

For accurate positioning of utility networks, the use of an external GNSS receiver is recommended. With the enhancement of GNSS positioning from an external sensor such as a Trimble DA1 (pictured below), a consumer grade tablet can be made sufficient for many applications.

Use of consumer grade tablets without enhanced GNSS positioning works for some applications where;  the user is able to override the GPS and refine their position interactively (e.g. by using a high precision ortho-rectified background image), or  the models being viewed are some distance away,

Page 3 of 5

Trimble DA1 with Samsung Galaxy S7

Consumer grade tablets and phones may be linked via cable or Bluetooth to an external survey quality GNSS unit to achieve survey quality positioning. A range of options are available and it is believed that cm-dm accuracy is sufficient for most asset management applications.

Please note that the magnetometer within consumer grade devices can sometimes cause problems. Some protective covers contain magnetic catches. So please remove such covers. There is however a simple procedure to recalibrate the magnetometer. Also it is recommended to test the magnetometer by installing a simple compass app or a test app such as androsensor or the equivalent iOS app.

With the recent release of ARKit with iOS11 for apple devices, and ARCore with android 7/8 devices, Augview is seeing a dramatic improvement in image stability and tracking accuracy. This significantly improves the orientation stability and location tracking of the latest consumer grade devices. The current Augview release for iOS and Android now incorporates surface tracking capability for use when the GPS signal is unavailable or inaccurate, such as indoors or close to tall buildings. Testing has just started on the Samsung Note 9 and Tab S4 devices, the latter being the first tablet to support ARCore.

Page 4 of 5

GLASSES

The belief here at the Augview organisation is that glasses will be the go-to device in a year or two. The Augview application was ported to AR glasses more than two years ago to start exploring new user-interface requirements and capabilities. There are three sets of glasses currently planned for trial within the next twelve months which are believed to be suitable when officially released. All are binocular systems, integrate GNSS positioning, depth sensors, feature recognition, surface tracking, 4G LTE+wifi, sound, voice input and finger tracking, and are all designed for outdoor use.

Until this time, a range of iOS and Android tablets and smart phones continues to be recommended. The link below lists the devices, we are confident will support ARCore even though we have not been able to test them all. However, this list is continuously changing. https://developers.google.com/ar/discover/supported-devices

SET-UP AND CONFIGURATION

Configuring Augview is normally straight forward and new customers can be up and running within a few days.

Augview and its partners can provide consultancy services to get the metadata describing project, data sources, initial models etc. configured within the Augview registration server. Normally, following a successful trial, customers or partners do their own configuration of the registration server, once they have completed the Augview administration training.

After training, the client IT team would be able to do the configuration of the registration server themselves as it has a simple web menu interface.

There are four steps to getting Augview working for a new data source (GIS web server):

1. configuring the data source definition (essentially the URL and some other metadata) and project definition in the Augview Registration server – via a simple web interface;

2. defining the styles to use for the objects to be viewed in the augmented reality mode. A GUI interface is used that generates the required xml file definition;

3. creating/modifying/formatting and uploading any 3D models of pieces of equipment such as switchgear, transformers, pits/chambers, poles, insulators etc. to be viewed in the augmented reality mode;

4. configuring user credentials and registering the devices (tablets/smartphones).

Page 5 of 5