Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation

The operation and maintenance phase is the longest and most expensive life-cycle period of buildings and facilities. Operators need to carry out activities to maintain equipment to prevent functionality failures. Although some software tools have already been introduced, research studies have conclu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Neges, Matthias, Koch, Christian, König, Markus, Abramovici, Michael
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31987/
_version_ 1848794311826604032
author Neges, Matthias
Koch, Christian
König, Markus
Abramovici, Michael
author_facet Neges, Matthias
Koch, Christian
König, Markus
Abramovici, Michael
author_sort Neges, Matthias
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The operation and maintenance phase is the longest and most expensive life-cycle period of buildings and facilities. Operators need to carry out activities to maintain equipment to prevent functionality failures. Although some software tools have already been introduced, research studies have concluded that (1) facility handover data is still predominantly dispersed, unformatted and paper-based and (2) hence operators still spend 50% of their on-site work on target localization and navigation. To improve these procedures, the authors previously presented a natural marker-based Augmented Reality (AR) framework that digitally supports facility maintenance operators when navigating indoors. Although previous results showed the practical potential, this framework fails if no visual marker is available, if identical markers are at multiple locations, and if markers are light emitting signs. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper presents an improved method that combines an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) based step counter and visual live video feed for AR based indoor navigation support. In addition, the AR based marker detection procedure is improved by learning camera exposure times in case of light emitting markers. A case study and experimental results in a controlled environment reveal the improvements and advantages of the enhanced framework.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T19:14:11Z
format Article
id nottingham-31987
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T19:14:11Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Elsevier
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-319872020-05-04T17:23:49Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31987/ Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation Neges, Matthias Koch, Christian König, Markus Abramovici, Michael The operation and maintenance phase is the longest and most expensive life-cycle period of buildings and facilities. Operators need to carry out activities to maintain equipment to prevent functionality failures. Although some software tools have already been introduced, research studies have concluded that (1) facility handover data is still predominantly dispersed, unformatted and paper-based and (2) hence operators still spend 50% of their on-site work on target localization and navigation. To improve these procedures, the authors previously presented a natural marker-based Augmented Reality (AR) framework that digitally supports facility maintenance operators when navigating indoors. Although previous results showed the practical potential, this framework fails if no visual marker is available, if identical markers are at multiple locations, and if markers are light emitting signs. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper presents an improved method that combines an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) based step counter and visual live video feed for AR based indoor navigation support. In addition, the AR based marker detection procedure is improved by learning camera exposure times in case of light emitting markers. A case study and experimental results in a controlled environment reveal the improvements and advantages of the enhanced framework. Elsevier 2015-11-11 Article PeerReviewed Neges, Matthias, Koch, Christian, König, Markus and Abramovici, Michael (2015) Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation. Advanced Engineering Informatics . ISSN 1474-0346 (In Press) Indoor Navigation Augmented Reality Facility Maintenance Natural Markers Inertial Measurement Unit http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474034615001081 doi:10.1016/j.aei.2015.10.005 doi:10.1016/j.aei.2015.10.005
spellingShingle Indoor Navigation
Augmented Reality
Facility Maintenance
Natural Markers
Inertial Measurement Unit
Neges, Matthias
Koch, Christian
König, Markus
Abramovici, Michael
Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation
title Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation
title_full Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation
title_fullStr Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation
title_full_unstemmed Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation
title_short Combining visual natural markers and IMU for improved AR based indoor navigation
title_sort combining visual natural markers and imu for improved ar based indoor navigation
topic Indoor Navigation
Augmented Reality
Facility Maintenance
Natural Markers
Inertial Measurement Unit
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31987/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31987/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31987/