Applications of Augmented Reality in Assisting Structure Surface Data Collection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

This paper investigates the feasibility and effectiveness of applying AR (Augmented Reality) technology to assist UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) pilots in collecting data for structure inspections. The challenge of using UAVs to collect inspection data is that pilots could not precisely determine where to collect qualified data. Using AR technology to provide visual assistance to pilots is expected to tackle this challenge. However, previous research has focused on enhancing pilots’ perception of UAVs’ current situations and goal waypoints. How to indicate ideal data collection poses (positions and orientations) with AR and the practical improvement that AR can bring remain unknown. Therefore, we proposed a system that visualizes ideal poses as AR models, allowing pilots to easily collect qualified data by aligning UAVs with these models and taking images. Experiments in virtual and real confirmed that the system significantly improves the proportion of the valid inspection area (achieving up to 99.3%).