As the demand for replacement of aging buried structures increases, accidents involving damage to buried structures, such as buried pipes for water, sewer, and power lines, are occurring all over Japan, disrupting the lives of residents.
Many of these accidents are caused by the inability to determine the exact location of buried pipes.
A group led by Prof. Akira Yoshikawa and Associate Prof. Yuji Ohashi together with Masaya Omote, (Cross-material Corporation, Tohoku University venture company) have successfully developed a highly accurate visualization technique for buried objects by utilizing a combination of 3D surveying technology and augmented reality.
In the past, the location of buried objects was estimated by the intensity of reflected electromagnetic waves, but this method was affected by the wet condition of the ground surface and the quality of the buried objects, making it inaccurate.
In addition, it was difficult to apply this technology to environments where electromagnetic waves do not respond.
On the other hand, visualization technology using augmented reality technology has been developed for workmanship control by comparing the spatial position at the design stage with that at the time of construction, but it has not been applied to buried structures after construction.
In contrast, this technology uses laser scanning to measure and grasp the location of buried objects at the time of burial as 3D point cloud information, converting the coordinates into augmented reality space and displaying the 3D point cloud data using wearable glasses, it is possible to obtain a realistic impression as if one were looking through the glasses at buried objects underground.
The ability to visually grasp the exact location of buried structures can greatly contribute to the efficiency of maintenance and management of buried structures and to the reduction of accidents.
It is also expected to contribute to the promotion of DX (Digital Transformation) in construction work and asset management of structures.
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Tohoku University press release page (Japanese) (click here)