Assessment of commercialisation opportunities relating to augmented reality capability within mobile apps developed by the British Geological Survey

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BGS have developed an Augmented Reality system to display and interact with information using mobile devices.At present the BGS AR system is used to run our iGeology 3D augmented reality geological landscape app. iGeology 3D shows geological map layers over a live camera view of the scene, giving the visual effect of painting the map information onto the ground. Touching the scene brings up geological information for that point. iGeology 3D and its companion app iGeology have been downloaded more than 300,000 times. iGeology 3D builds a 3D model of the landscape around you and drapes the BGS geological map over the surface. It creates a view of the 3D model matching the view through your camera and displays both on the screen with the geological landscape translucent over the camera view. There is potential to re-use the BGS AR system for other purposes. We believe we have developed unique capability that has value far beyond the domain of the geological sciences. The ability to visualise live spatial data, on the move, in a mobile environment has potential uses in a wide range of industries e.g. utilities, environmental, heritage management, education. Some suggested ideas include:-Archaeology / historical sites: View a site through your phone to see how it looked long ago. Add 3D reconstructed buildings. Add a "time machine" control to see changes through the ages. Add animations of people using the site. Add historical photos superimposed on current structures.-Visual impact analysis for planning: Add 3D models of proposed structures. Look through your phone to see what the proposed wind turbines will look like from here.-Virtual information boards: Add information and interpretation boards to a site without spoiling its appearance. Information boards only appear in the view through your phone. Proximity alerts and site maps guide you to them. We believe there are commercial opportunities to be grasped from this technology across a wide range of industries from anywhere across the globe