INTEGRATION OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS WITH MOBILE AUGMENTED REALITY

Abstract

The finite element analysis (FEA) method is a powerful mathematical technique for obtaining approximate solutions to complex problems in engineering and physical sciences. Conventional FEA software is usually carried out in an off-site virtual environment with counter-intuitive user interfaces. To improve the efficiency of problem solving and make FEA easily applicable, a mobile AR-based framework for outdoor finite element structural analysis is proposed. The proposed solution integrates FEA simulation, scientific visualization and sensor measurement into a mobile AR-based environment. FEA results are visualized directly on real-world objects and this allows users to analyze the practical problems on-site with their mobile devices. Near real-time FEA simulation can be performed and the users can customize loading conditions of the structures being analyzed with their mobile devices. The system is developed on a server-client architecture, and the mobile tracking and remote visualization are optimized based on this architecture.