Mobile Augmented Reality Support for Architects Based on Feature Tracking Techniques: Lecture Notes in Computer Science

This paper presents a mobile AR system called the SitePack supporting architects in annotating and visualizing models in real-time. We describe examples of how the SitePack visualization techniques help architects making decisions on site. One example is the effect of vegetation heights on the horizon view from an office building, while working on a courtyard garden proposal. The SitePack applies a novel combination of GPS tracking and vision based feature tracking in its support for architects. The SitePack requires no preparation of the site and combines and extends the strengths of previous techniques. Accurate initialization, which has not been addressed by previous papers on real-time feature tracking, is achieved by a combination of automatic and manual techniques.