Dynamic management of water supply systems: A tool to build scenarios by merging GPR surveys and augmented reality

Abstract

[EN] Water Supply Systems (WSS) are extremely complex assets. Suitable knowledge of their components and the changes they undergo are necessary to control and productively manage these systems. Currently, non-destructive methods for exploration of WSS components, in contrast to other destructive testing methods, are intensely promoted. However, with the complexity of WSS spatial layouts, along with the steady growth of the cities, and the huge volume of information generated by non-destructive methods, data analysis become more complex, and this result in inefficient WSS management. The aim of this work is to propose a first step towards the development of a framework where data from the components of WSS obtained by non-destructive methods may suitably be interpreted and combined with the real environment. To this purpose, we make use of augmented reality (AR) techniques to combine the real (urban) environment with visualizations of WSS components obtained from ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys. As a result, a first proposal to recreate WSS on an AR platform, based on the non-destructive characteristics of the used sensors, is devised where the physical elements of WSS may be easily explored and updated. This will definitely help promote the concept of dynamic management of WSS.