Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Heads Up!: Towards In Situ Photogrammetry Annotations and Augmented Reality Visualizations for Guided Backcountry Skiing

Christoph Albert Johns, László Kopácsi, Michael Barz, Daniel Sonntag

TL;DR

This work presents a prototype consisting of a web application and a virtual reality display that mirror the guide's and skier's perspectives, enabling participatory interaction design studies in a safe environment.

Abstract

Backcountry skiing is an activity where a group of skiers navigate challenging environmental conditions to ski outside of managed areas. This activity requires careful monitoring and effective communication around the current weather and terrain conditions to ensure skier safety. We aim to support and facilitate this communication by providing backcountry guides with a set of in situ spatial annotation tools to communicate hazards and appropriate speeds to the ski recreationalists. A guide can use a tablet application to annotate a photogrammetry-based map of a mountainside, for example, one collected using a commercial camera drone, with hazard points, slow-down zones, and safe zones. These annotations are communicated to the skiers via visual overlays in augmented reality heads-up displays. We present a prototype consisting of a web application and a virtual reality display that mirror the guide's and skier's perspectives, enabling participatory interaction design studies in a safe environment.

Heads Up!: Towards In Situ Photogrammetry Annotations and Augmented Reality Visualizations for Guided Backcountry Skiing

TL;DR

This work presents a prototype consisting of a web application and a virtual reality display that mirror the guide's and skier's perspectives, enabling participatory interaction design studies in a safe environment.

Abstract

Backcountry skiing is an activity where a group of skiers navigate challenging environmental conditions to ski outside of managed areas. This activity requires careful monitoring and effective communication around the current weather and terrain conditions to ensure skier safety. We aim to support and facilitate this communication by providing backcountry guides with a set of in situ spatial annotation tools to communicate hazards and appropriate speeds to the ski recreationalists. A guide can use a tablet application to annotate a photogrammetry-based map of a mountainside, for example, one collected using a commercial camera drone, with hazard points, slow-down zones, and safe zones. These annotations are communicated to the skiers via visual overlays in augmented reality heads-up displays. We present a prototype consisting of a web application and a virtual reality display that mirror the guide's and skier's perspectives, enabling participatory interaction design studies in a safe environment.
Paper Structure (8 sections, 4 figures)

This paper contains 8 sections, 4 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Skiing in Human-Computer Interaction
  4. Heads-Up Displays in Outdoor and Safety Contexts
  5. In Situ Mountainside Terrain Mapping and Annotation
  6. System
  7. Discussion
  8. Conclusion

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Backcountry skiing presents inherent dangers due to the uncertain terrain, risk of avalanches, and risk of low visibility. It thus requires effective communication among the group members to prevent harm to people and the environment. Image Source: Michael Barz
  • Figure 2: Before dropping in, the guide communicates with the group of skiers about the potential hazards and offers recommendations about how to approach the next section, commonly via a walkie-talkie. Image Source: Edouard de Becker Remy
  • Figure 3: A commercial camera drone flies up to map the terrain and conditions in situ. Using the generated 3D map, the guide can annotate hazards, appropriate speeds, and safe stopping zones to communicate to the skiers.
  • Figure 4: We demonstrate the envisioned multi-device application using a multi-view 3D web application and a commercial head-mounted display (HMD). The user playing the guide can add hazards and draw zones onto a 3D model of a mountainside slope and preview the skier's perspective using the web application or using the HMD.