AssessAR: An augmented reality based environmental impact assessment framework

Abstract

Human activities can have a lasting impact on the environment and society. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) which focusses on evaluating the impact of proposed developmental projects on the environment, helps in transparent decision-making and involves multiple stakeholders. However, EIA is data and effort-intensive and often becomes complex and long-drawn. Moreover, EIA is currently performed using primarily two-dimensional traditional mediums which could be vastly restrictive and difficult to navigate and comprehend. Here, we present an immersive approach which can create 3D interactive elements, modelling the real-world using augmented/mixed reality. Because of the inherent benefits of using three-dimensional representations and associated real-world interactions, we posit that our approach will facilitate better and faster, collaboration-enabled analysis of a developmental project proposal, thereon reducing processing time and promoting high fidelity.