Cloud-Enabled Ubiquitous Collaboration on Large Models Using Augmented Reality

A cloud-based augmented reality system is presented which is designed to enhance the real-time collaboration of domain experts involved in modeling large reservoirs. An evaluation of traditional techniques is compared with this new approach. Work-from-home (WFH) scenarios are becoming more important and, in some cases, critical. There is a need to untether the geologist and other domain experts from high end office-bound workstations. Reservoir models in recent years have become increasingly large. The volume of seismic, well data and modeling data structures presents a challenge in both management of the data and making it accessible to domain experts and others. The traditional practice of siloing data in various disconnected data repositories in various corporate data centers is becoming increasingly untenable. What is needed is a comprehensive approach that scales to the largest models and is accessible anywhere for time critical analysis and collaboration. The authors have created a prototype of a potential solution to this problem, where the model resides in the cloud and can be visualized in augmented reality either as a hologram through a head mounted display or through the AR capabilities of tablets and smartphones. This technology is ideal for WFH scenarios: it is light weight, inexpensive and does not require broadband speeds in excess of what most home users can access. What we have found is that AR based approaches to modeling large reservoirs can rival traditional workstation approaches. Furthermore, AR based approaches are superior for close collaboration among domain experts. Collaboration on 3D models has not changed significantly in a generation. For co-located personnel the approach is to gather around a 2D screen. For remote personnel the approach is sharing a model through a 2D screen along with video chat. Over the years various attempts have been tried to enhance the collaboration experience and have all fallen short. Virtual reality (VR) has been proposed as a solution. However, we have found that augmented reality (AR) is a much better solution for many reasons which are explored in the paper. The cloud has been transformative for nearly every industry. The oil and gas industry has been slow to adopt cloud technologies for many reasons that have largely been overcome. AR has already acquired an impressive track record in various industries. AR will have applications in nearly all industries. For various historical reasons, the uptake for AR is much faster in some industries than others. It is too early to tell whether the use of cloud-based augmented reality for modeling large reservoirs will be transformative, however the results of this initial work are promising.