An Evaluation of AR-Assisted Navigation for Search and Rescue in Underground Spaces

In this study, we evaluated the performance of AR-assisted navigation in a real underground mine with good and limited illumination conditions as well as without the illumination considering possible search and rescue conditions. For this purpose, we utilized the Lumin SDK’s embedded spatial mapping algorithm for mapping and navigating. We used the spatial mapping algorithm to create the mesh model of the escape route and to render it with the user input into the Magic Leap One. Then we compared the spatial mapping algorithm in three different scenarios for the evacuation of an underground mine in an emergency situation. The escape route has two junctions and 30 meters (100 feet). The baseline scenarios are (i) evacuation of the mine in a fully illuminated condition, (ii) evacuation with the headlamp and (iii) without any illumination. In the first scenario (fully illuminated route with the rendered meshes) the evacuation took 40 seconds. In the second scenario (illumination with the headlamp), the evacuation took 44 seconds. For the last scenario (no light source and hence in total darkness) the evacuation took 54 seconds. We found that AR-assisted navigation is effective for supporting search and rescue efforts in high attrition conditions of underground space.