A system for enhanced situation awareness with outdoor augmented reality

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) is an upcoming technology focusing on the enrichment of the user's natural view by integration of text and interactive objects in real time. While indoor AR may rely on stable environment conditions and sensitive tracking devices, high-precision outdoor AR faces more challenging requirements and is thus less spread. Furthermore, constantly changing environment outdoor conditions require a robust system capable to offer different views with appropriate information density, especially in stressful situations. In this case, the correct choice of colors, text size and mark-up style may be critical for the performance of the interactive system. A concept for a new, video-based and compact Augmented Reality vision system, based on Differential-GPS, is presented. Results of a preliminary study on two different approaches for position and object pinpointing give valuable cues for interface design with optimized situation awareness. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.