LARA project partners had the opportunity to test and assess the performance of the integrated LARA system in Thessaloniki and Kozani, Greece from the 14th to 21st of September 2016. After an intensive week calibrating and testing the individual modules as well as the entire system in the premises of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, LARA partners moved to the nearby city of Kozani, where they conducted the first pilot of the system in real-life conditions. LARA partners navigated to the area selected for the pilot and took measurements using the GNSS based system verifying the system’s accuracy as well as responsiveness to an urban area with given locations of buried assets such as water, sewerage and heating pipelines.
System setup in AUTH premises in Thessaloniki, Greece from 14 to 18 September 2016
Testing the system in Kozani, Greece from 19 to 21 September 2016
As expected at the first test case, several technical issues have been raised when working in real world situations. Some problems have been solved on spot, while others have been scheduled for the coming weeks. In general, the results of the assessment for the first pilot were very promising and provided valuable feedback for integration improvements on the augmented reality element.
Complementing the technical development and evaluation activities, LARA project launched on the 20th of September, an information and training seminar attended by more than 25 local stakeholders. During the event, organised by our local partner DEYAK, the mixed audience of utility management professionals, engineers and decision makers including the mayor of Kozani, experienced in an in-house demonstration, the possibilities of the LARA system and the multiple benefits it can have to their everyday work. During the Q&A session that followed, the stakeholders provided valuable feedback on the usability of the interface, usage scenarios and future improvements for a LARA system 2.0.
Stakeholders’ information and training seminar in Kozani, Greece
LARA consortium meeting