Associating 2D Sketch Information with 3D CAD Models for VR/AR Viewing During Bridge Maintenance Process

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality technologies are utilized at various stages of product lifecycle. For products with long lifecycles such as bridges and dams, the maintenance and inspection stages are very important to keep the product safe and well-functioning. One of the advantages of VR/AR is the ability to add important information such as past inspection data. Past inspection information is summarized in a document consisting of the 2D sketches of bridge degradation drawings. However, this degradation sketch is in 2D, and it has no correspondence with the 3D world. In this study, we propose a method to associate important information of 2D sketches with a 3D industry foundation classes (IFC) model, which is a standardized computer aided design model. To display a VR image of a bridge during the inspection process, the proposed method is applied to the 3D IFC model of the bridge and 2D degradation sketch of the inspection report.