Engineering an advanced geo-location augmented reality framework for smart mobile devices

We present a client–server framework for the development of mobile applications that use augmented reality to visualize geo-located data. We provide a scalable and flexible architecture for development and management of the client, server, and data that are used by the applications. The idea is based on the concept of a layer that contains information related to the real environment that is displayed by the device. Information that enhances reality is identified as points of interest by their geographic coordinates. Layers can also be organized in a hierarchical model as a tree-like structure. We present four case studies that demonstrate the flexibility and generalizability of our framework: management of electrical power line failures, support for hydrogeological monitoring, management of sensor networks, and geo-localization of tourist attractions.