Urban Sketcher is Instrumental for Mixing Urban Realities for Consent

The overall goal of the urban planning process is consent, which requires the communication and integration of many different points of shared views on a reconstruction site.

Architecture models are usually designed and generated based on CAD software or build as physical miniature 3D representation in order to transport and communicate future visions. These static models are usually perceived in an synthetical environment which poorly allows interactive modification. The mixed reality technology makes it possible to overcome these immanent limitations and also allows to collaboratively interact with the environment by integrating and refining models as well as individual future visions.

The MR-Tent brings this technology right on to the reconstruction site, engaging individuals in the process of mixing realities on site.

Urban Sketcher is a mixed reality interface application, based on the Studierstube framework, designed to engage users in mixing realities processes. The highly configurable real-time mixed reality application unites several components and has an API, open for integrating other applications and interface devices.

Urban Sketcher facilitates sketching tools which enable users to express their visions by „sketching“ in a mixed reality scene. It provides various interfaces for placing and painting content like images and models. Furthermore it allows the user to create simple 3D geometries in the active view into the shared three dimensional mixed reality space.

Live video augmentation of the reconstruction site or augmenting physical miniature models are typical view configurations. Another interesting view integrates a live video stream of a scout with the mixed reality scene. Urban Sketcher can facilitate two simultaneous real-time views which can be configured independently.