Experimental location based augmented reality system for utilities infrastructure management tested.

LARA project which is coordinated by the cypriot SME GeoImaging Ltd, will integrate different innovative components of existing technologies in order to design and develop an integrated navigation/positioning and information system. This system will coordinate GNSS, Augmented Reality, 3D GIS and geodatabases on a mobile platform for monitoring, documenting and managing utility infrastructures on-site. The LARA system will guide utility field workers to locate the working area by helping them see beneath the ground, rendering the complexity of the 3D models of the underground grid such as water, gas and electricity.

During the first day of the meeting on the 3^rd of March the consortium reviewed progress and updated plans to launch the first operational system prototype. Moreover the current version of system (named LARA 0,5) integrating mostly hardware components was also put successfully into test proving a glimpse of the great potential the final system can have.

The second day of the meeting a holistic review of the project’s progress for the first 12 LARA months was made. Mr. Joaquín Reyes Gonzalez, market development technology officer of the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA), had the opportunity to assess the progress of the project and provide useful recommendations on technical and commercial aspects of the LARA system. An outdoor demonstration of LARA 0, 5 was held which allowed for a full evaluation of the current functionality of the system and confirmed the successful translation of system requirements, user expectations and architecture into a tangible and operational system.

Follow LARA project and get real time updates on the development of this challenging system. http://www.lara-project.eu/