Augmented Reality-Aided Indoor Localization and Navigation for Next-Gen Rescue Services

Augmented reality (AR) technologies experienced a massive upswing in the last decade, with the advent of mobile games like Ingress or Pokémon GO. However, AR's full potential was unlocked only with the introduction of the first holographic devices, projecting images directly in front of the users' eyes. This paper introduces the scenario where the second generation of Microsoft HoloLens, an untethered self-contained holographic device, is used for indoor navigation during fire intervention. The fact that satellite navigation systems are not possible to use indoors highlights the indoor localization capabilities of augmented reality. In our case, we utilized point clouds for navigation. The implemented scenario successfully demonstrates the ability to navigate the person through the building to the final destination. Furthermore, as the technology matures, there is a possibility to see not only the primary point of interest but to give the complete picture of the situation and show, e.g., hydrant positions, main power circuit breakers, and other critical points.