SAMUEL CHIN
Background Information on Project:
Project Title: Indoor 3D Mapping
Project Description/Job scope: 3D national mapping in Singapore currently focuses on aerial and ground-based rapid mapping. Over the years, there are new technologies to perform and visualise indoor in 3D. Accurate 3D indoor mapping is critical when it comes to security and safety.
This project exposes us to Geomatics Engineering and different techniques/technology that can be used to map an indoor environment. We were also tasked to create 3D models of an indoor area and look into how to innovatively present the completed 3D model. This project also required us to look at international case studies and practices in indoor mapping and navigation.
During our time with the agency, we were each provided with a cubicle to work in, a laptop with a mouse to work with. We were also provided with information to help us with our project that we are not able to share here.
As this project was created just for us for the WOW! program, this project had not been worked on before when we started. The tasks we engaged in was to produce a research report and a 3D model of an indoor area, presented in an innovative manner.
For our research report, we did independent research as well as used information from sharings by our mentors and their colleagues. We were also provided with resources from the agency itself to help with our report. For our 3D modelling project, for the entire second week, we were given the opportunity to use different equipment (ranging from measuring tapes to high-end laser scanners) with varying levels of technological advancements to help us collect geospatial data on the area we were tasked to map. With the data we collected we used softwares such as SketchUp and Unity to form our models to be presented through Augmented Reality.
Record of Activities and Results:
Research report: For the first week, we were introduced to SLA and their Survey and Geomatics Division and what they do as well as to 3D mapping through sharings and resources provided by our mentors. With a newfound understanding and awareness for why 3D mapping is important and how it is conducted, we did further independent research on the different technologies and practices used in indoor 3D mapping. With this knowledge, we completed the first draft of our research report within the first week. However, as geomatics engineering is not a very well-known field, some challenges we faced were finding reliable and detailed information online. Furthermore, as this was very new to us, the information provided to us through sharings and other resources were overwhelming and we were not able to fully understand everything that was shared with us as they were quite technical and for us as individuals new to this field to understand this information in such a short time was really a challenge. This caused us to be a bit lost and confused. That being said, over time we started to learn more about this field and had more hands-on experience of applying what we have researched into real life, which led us to have a better understanding of the entire field of geomatics engineering.
3D modelling: For the next three weeks, we were tasked to create a digital 3D model of an area in the building (The lift lobby of the building). For this task, we had to first collect geospatial data on the area we were going to model. In the second week of our attachment, we were exposed to different measuring techniques and equipment throughout the week to map out the area we were asked to. The first method we used was to measure the life lobby with a measuring tape and a Disto(electronic measuring tape that uses laser technology). The second method was using a total station to measure the lift lobby. These tools allowed us to collect accurate measurements of the room to form a simple 3D model on SketchUp. However, these methods had certain limitations. We were unable to obtain enough data to make a complete detailed model as these tools required us to reach the area to be measured in order to take measurements. Hence these tools could not be used to measure features out of our reach such as the ceiling as it was too high for us to measure. The third method we used was using a handheld 3D laser scanner to make a digital map of the room with accurate measurements, colours and textures. Using this method, after conducting a few scans, we were able to obtain an accurate map of the lift lobby with both texture and color. However, it was difficult to use as the scanner worked by recognising different features but there were certain features which looked alike e.g. white walls, causing the scanner to be unable to correctly processing the information captured and ultimately affect how the final image turned out. The last method we tried was to use a terrestrial laser scanner to map out the room. With this method, while it could not produce a colourised map, within 30 minutes we had an extremely accurate map(accurate to millimeters, meaning the error to the actual area was only by a few millimeters) of the room with very little errors. These small errors were caused by reflective surfaces as the equipment worked by sending a laser and calculating the time it took to reflect back in order to calculate the distance between different features. With the data we collected, we did not need to do much processing except for stitching the different scans together to form a full image.
For the next two weeks, we used the model that we made in SketchUp to create a mobile application that could present our model using augmented reality. This required us to do a lot of independent research on how to create the application using different softwares and required us to troubleshoot some of the problems we encountered. We used the software Unity to integrate the model from SketchUp with another software Vuforia which allowed for augmented reality into a single application. The application we created worked by scanning the SLA logo and our model would appear above it on the screen of our phones. To further better our project, we decided to that we should allow easier access to our application for testing by our mentors and colleagues. We chose to create a QR code which allowed phone users to download our application. Through our process of working on this project, we definitely faced many challenges as this was something that most of us have never done before and not taught in school. Some of these challenges include ensuring that our application and QR code worked properly. We had to test it out multiple times on multiple devices and whenever we had a problem, we had to find what went wrong with our project and edit it accordingly.
Content Knowledge and Skills Learnt:
Through this project, I have gained some knowledge about mapping. Firstly are some of the types of maps that exists. As there is a long list of types of maps, I shall just name a few. There are topographic maps which show the different elevation of different areas. Contour lines are used to connect places with equal elevation. There are also cadastral maps which shows the the boundaries of different sub-divisions of land, known as lots. In Singapore, land is divided into many different lots and SLA is in charge of the ownership and sales of these lots. I also learnt about land cover maps. These maps shows the different types of physical coverage of the Earth's surface, for example forests, lakes, buildings. Secondly, I also learnt how mapping is conducted for making 3D maps. Laser scanning is one key method used as it provides accurate data, with each point having an accurate coordinate(X, Y, Z). These laser scans can be conducted on a small scale with equipment such as a handheld laser scanner for mapping small areas or on a large nation-wide scale by using small planes with laser scanners mounted to it at the bottom of the aircraft for aerial laser scanning and laser scanners mounted on cars which are driven around the country. Thirdly, I learnt something that most people give much thought to. Many people use land cover and land use interchangeably, but they are actually quite different. Land cover represents what is covering the land while land use describes how the land is used. A building may be covering a plot of land, but this building can be used for many purposes, it could be a mall, school or hospital. These is only stated in land use maps but not in land cover maps. One can say that land use maps are more detailed versions of land cover maps.
I have also picked up some mapping skills through this attachment. I learnt how to use different equipment used in the collection of geospatial data for making of maps, for example the handheld laser scanner, the total station and the terrestrial laser scanner. These equipment are something that not everyone has the chance to use and we are very privileged to be able to do so. I also learnt how to use the different software used in the processing of data to create maps. On one of the days of our attachment, we used ArcGIS, a software used in geomatics to make 2D land cover maps by classifying an image of a specific area into different sectors (greenery, urban etc.) The software allowed us to create shapes which we then used to cover the different sectors and color coordinated them for easier recognition. These skills we learnt can be seen in our completed 3D models and maps that we created based on our measurements we acquired by using different methods and 2D blueprints given by our mentors(we used the coordinates given in the blueprints to create accurate digital 3D models of buildings in Singapore).
In the process of finding ways to present our 3D model, I also acquired some skills on application creation and augmented reality. By conducting independent research, we learnt how to create a downloadable application that is able to present our models in augmented reality. We did this by uploading our 3D model to Unity and using another software, Vuforia, as an engine that provides an Augmented Reality camera for our 3D model so that in the application, when a certain image we uploaded is detected by the phone camera, the 3D model we made would appear in Augmented Reality. In the completion of our project, I also learnt how to create a QR code and use it to bring those who scan it to certain websites or allow them to do certain things with greater ease. I feel that these skills will be able to help us in the near future as our society becomes more and more technologically advanced.
Interesting Aspects of the Job:
Surveying includes the collection of data on field and the processing of the collected data in the office. Something interesting about the job is that we were able to experience both aspects of the job. Normally, people only work in areas they are specialized in, however for this job, those working in the office had the chance to go out on field to experience what it's like. Hence we were able to experience the whole job and I feel that this is a good opportunity to learn about the different part of the jobs. We were taught how to handle expensive and high end equipment that is used in the real land surveying and mapping done by the government. This was very interesting and enriching as we were learning how to actually conduct surveying and mapping and during our fieldwork, we even helped the field team collect real data to be used by the agency. We also learnt how to use software used in processing this data and shadowed a fellow colleague in the processing of data for his work. It was a very real experience for us and exposed us to what our colleagues and mentors actually do in their line of work.
Another interesting thing was that while there were many high-tech and expensive computers and devices, none of these devices were given access to the internet. Most companies are given internet access due to the fact that this is a government agency, the data collected and processed is very private and hence, cannot risk being leaked or spread outside of the agency. This was interesting as it gave us the realization that we were dealing with very real and important data that is handled by the government and gave us an experience of working in an environment with high security and dealing with confidential data.
Takeaway:
One of the main takeaways i had was the experience to work in a government agency. Normally, only the best of the best are able to work for the government, however through this attachment, I was given the chance to work at SLA which I think is a rare opportunity as not everyone is able to do so. Through the time I had in SLA, I realised working in a government agency requires us to complete our tasks with efficiency and accuracy and keeping whatever information we receive confidential as the things being done is for the government and most of the information being dealt with concerns the nation's security. In our time in SLA, we were also able to work with something very real and important. I felt like this was a very good experience as this was very different from the things we do at school where most of the things we learn is on the theory aspects of the things we dealt whereas the work we did here was more of applying the theory we learned.