Putting geomodels in everyone's hands - An app for visualizing 3D subsurface geomodels in Augmented Reality

Started as a project at a geoscientific hackathon in 2018 and released to the public in 2020, GST[AR] is an app-based attempt of utilizing Augmented Reality (AR) to bring 3D geological data to almost everyone with a smartphone or tablet. In this way, multiple european-based geological surveys already offer some of their models to experts and interested users alike today. 3D subsurface models especially are great for public engagement and education as they are easier to grasp and fun to interact with. GST[AR] joined the growing list of tools that allow users to visualize geological data without the need for expensive and proprietary software, but chose to do it with the rather novel technology of AR.

AR holds great potential since it is a fun and intuitive way to interact with 3D data and is readily available on most portable devices. Enabling users to directly manipulate a 3D scene is essential for user engagement, but also for gaining a deeper understanding of the spatial relations and dimensions. Simpler methods like creating an animation, or still image, of a 3D model fall short in that regard because they lack the interactive component. Compared to AR, Virtual Reality is allowing for a much higher level of immersion, but it also comes at the cost of a more convoluted and expensive setup and user isolation.

GST[AR] offers the user a list of multiple data sources, providing additional background information for some of them. After a model and a set of features have been selected, the downloaded 3D model can be placed in AR. The app then gives the user the means to scale or rotate the model, and even to look "below the surface" by highlighting individual parts. It is also possible to share a session with multiple peer devices to view the same model in the same physical space and spark a conversation. In these sessions every user is able to manipulate the model or place down markers to make sure that all peers know what specific part is being discussed at the moment.

While a connection to a running instance of GST Web to download subsurface models was required in the past, a tool has been developed that allows everyone to convert input data into an app friendly state and host it on their own machine. At the point of writing this abstract, this is limited to GoCad and Wavefront (OBJ) input files, but the plan is to expand that list in the future. A new way of opening models within the app by means of simply scanning a QR code aims to make it easier and faster to engage with potential users. In this presentation we will look into the capabilities of the app, ways for everyone to utilize their own models, and the potential this holds for conferences and education.