Development of AR-based scanning support system for 3D model reconstruction of work sites

Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction models are useful for many situations in maintenance and decommissioning work at nuclear power plants (NPPs). For construction of 3D reconstruction models, it is desirable that they be constructed from images obtained by scanning work sites with a camera. Nevertheless, it is difficult for users to scan with being conscious of the appropriate scanning techniques and unscanned areas. Users who have no knowledge about scanning with a camera therefore have difficulty scanning work sites and capturing enough images to construct accurate 3D reconstruction models of them. In this study, we aim to develop a scanning support system using augmented reality (AR). This system detects and visualizes the current scanning status to remind and encourage users to scan as few unscanned areas as possible. For this study, we evaluated the scanning support system effectiveness by comparing the performance of developed system and non-support system. Results demonstrated that the developed system could scan larger areas and that it could capture more useful images. We also conducted an evaluation experiment at an actual NPP work site to ascertain the effectiveness, even at an actual NPP work site. Results showed that the developed system can scan larger areas, even at an actual work site.