Section: Application Domains

Application Domains

We think it is out of the scope of this report to establish an exhaustive list of application domains that could benefit from mobile 3D interactive technologies. Consequently, we only present some key applications here.

Assisted navigation.

Mobile and connected devices equipped with GPS are currently used as digital assistants for navigation. Such systems can help car drivers for route planning. They also can assist pedestrians or bike users when exploring cities, or when hiking in countryside. Existing solutions are mainly based on 2D or 2.5D visualization of data. Our project aims to provide 3D navigation tools where the data can be accessed from an up-to-date database stored on distant servers. Hence, for example, a hiker visualizes on its mobile device a 3D representation of the surrounding landscape that embeds information such as the way to follow, or the direction to the next mountain refuge.

Augmented reality.

Today's mobile devices are equipped with embedded cameras. Consequently, the use of these setups for augmented reality allows to imagine a wide variety of useful applications in our everyday life. For example, in the domain of cultural heritage, some extra information coming from distant servers can enhance the images coming from the cameras of the mobile devices. More precisely, for example the interest of merging synthetic reconstructions of partially destroyed buildings with the images of the real buildings can easily be understood. The same approach can be useful for many domains such as tourism, maintenance, and so on.

Crisis management and distant assistance.

Mobile and immersive technologies can be mixed. In particular, we want to enhance interaction between mobile users that are surrounded by the real environment and distant ”control centers” where high quality visualizations are provided. On the one hand, information such as GPS positions and video streams can be received by control centers from all the mobile units. On the other hand, control centers that have a global knowledge of the situation can send helpful information to the mobile users, such as 3D models of pertinent objects. The interest of such an approach can easily be understood for many applications in the scope of crisis management or distant assistance.

Entertainment.

Entertainment and especially video games are key applications directly related with our project as well. Some mobile devices have been designed for entertainment, and video games have been specifically developed for such setups. The results of our research in the scope of rendering or interaction directly contribute to the development of the entertainment industry. Moreover, we are investigating new approaches for entertainment, in particular concerning the continuum between different platforms. For example, we can imagine a user to start a game at home with a PC/console, and to continue later the same game with MCD in public transportation.