Interactive tools for virtual x-ray vision in mobile augmented reality

This paper presents a set of interactive tools designed to give users virtual x-ray vision. These tools address a common problem in depicting occluded infrastructure: either too much information is displayed, confusing users, or too little information is displayed, depriving users of important depth cues. Four tools are presented: the tunnel tool and room selector tool directly augment the user's view of the environment, allowing them to explore the scene in direct, first person view. The room in miniature tool allows the user to select and interact with a room from a third person perspective, allowing users to view the contents of the room from points of view that would normally be difficult or impossible to achieve. The room slicer tool aids users in exploring volumetric data displayed within the room in miniature tool. Used together, the tools presented in this paper can be used to achieve the virtual x-ray vision effect. We test our prototype system in a far-field mobile augmented reality setup, visualizing the interiors of a small set of buildings on the UCSB campus.