Work-in-Progress: Augmented reality system for vehicle health diagnostics and maintenance

Abstract

This paper discusses undergraduate research to develop an augmented reality (AR) system for diagnostics and maintenance of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) employed by U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. The JLTV's diagnostic information will be accessed by attaching a Bluetooth adaptor (Ford Reference Vehicle Interface) to JLTV's On-board diagnostics (OBD) system. The proposed AR system will be developed for mobile devices (Android and iOS tablets and phones) and it communicates with the JLTV's OBD via Bluetooth. The AR application will contain a simplistic user interface that reads diagnostic data from the JLTV, shows vehicle sensors, and allows users to create virtual dashboards to display various information. It will also contain interactive presentation and visualization of JLTV external and internal parts and 3D animations for diagnostic and maintenance. The AR application will consist of two modes: Standalone Mode and AR Mode. Standalone Mode does not require a real vehicle and it contains interactive 3D visualizations and animations for diagnostic and maintenance. The AR Mode requires the presence of a vehicle and projects instructions and animations to the vehicle components and parts under diagnosis and maintenance. This project contains several major tasks: 1) 3D modeling of the vehicle, including all internal and external parts to be displayed in the AR application, 2) 3D printing of the vehicles that only requires the external parts that requires conversion from the file format used in Task 1 and further optimization of the model for 3D printing, 3) software development in Unity that utilizes mobile devices and Vuforia to generate the AR application for vehicle maintenance and operation, and 4) preliminary research on software and information architecture to support efficient development of AR applications. This project is most relevant to the following ABET outcomes: 1) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and 2) an ability to communicate effectively, and 3) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice. This paper discusses the challenges and effective approaches in designing and executing undergraduate research projects that utilizing the latest computing and information technology for military applications, such as proper project scope, open source hardware and software, emulators for large scale equipment, 3D printing to reduce development complexity and facilitate rapid application development.