‘Infinite’ Navigation by XYZ Reality

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The UK construction industry wastes £5bn every year correcting out-of-tolerance building errors. With current monitoring practices, these errors are usually not detected until weeks later, by which time any problems can become compounded and prove expensive to rectify.XYZ Reality is bringing high-precision augmented reality (AR) to construction sites, enabling all stakeholders to work from the same digital 3D model to 'build it right, first time'. We have previously developed 'Atom', a wearable AR headset integrated into a standard safety helmet. It allows real-time onsite monitoring and validation, meaning that building errors can either be prevented or quickly detected and corrected.Our unique 3D workflow is considered a 'holy grail of construction', enabling developers to build quicker and at lower cost. Real-time navigation and measurement create a truly digital construction site with streamlined monitoring and documentation of out-of-tolerance errors, reducing current wasteful inefficiencies with negative economic and environmental impacts.The current AR system relies on fixed laser tracking beacons for positioning, to allow navigation of large construction sites with the required millimetre-level accuracy. Initial installation and calibration of tracking lasers increases end-user costs and limits the number of compatible locations.This project will develop a vastly improved AR helmet that functions autonomously, integrating data from onboard sensors and digital building models to precisely navigate and document any construction site in real time. To achieve this, we aim to overcome significant challenges in real-time data fusion, computer vision and machine learning by developing new hardware configurations and advanced algorithms compatible with implementation in a wearable device.This will enable construction managers to accurately and automatically record and document as-built progress throughout any build. It effectively merges the site and office, saving valuable time for managers and facilitating insurance claims, reducing legal challenges, and enabling accurate quantification of return-on-investment for construction stakeholders.