Heads Up!: Towards In Situ Photogrammetry Annotations and Augmented Reality Visualizations for Guided Backcountry Skiing

2026-02-25

AI Summary

This study addresses the inefficiency in communicating hazard information between guides and skiers during backcountry skiing by proposing an in-situ spatial annotation system that integrates photogrammetry-based 3D mountain mapping with augmented reality (AR) head-up displays. The system enables guides to annotate terrain- and weather-related hazards, slow-down zones, and safe areas via a web interface, with annotations rendered in real time within the skier’s AR field of view to support context-aware safety guidance. This work presents the first integration of on-site photogrammetric maps with AR head-up displays, implementing a prototype comprising a web-based guide interface and a VR-based skier perspective. User-centered experiments demonstrate the technical feasibility and communication effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Geometric, Spatial, and Temporal Reasoning
• Computer Vision: Remote Sensing / Geospatial AI

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Location- and context-aware Web and WoT applications and services
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Assisted, interactive, and conversational search
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Backcountry skiing is an activity where a group of skiers navigate challenging environmental conditions to ski outside of managed areas. This activity requires careful monitoring and effective communication around the current weather and terrain conditions to ensure skier safety. We aim to support and facilitate this communication by providing backcountry guides with a set of in situ spatial annotation tools to communicate hazards and appropriate speeds to the ski recreationalists. A guide can use a tablet application to annotate a photogrammetry-based map of a mountainside, for example, one collected using a commercial camera drone, with hazard points, slow-down zones, and safe zones. These annotations are communicated to the skiers via visual overlays in augmented reality heads-up displays. We present a prototype consisting of a web application and a virtual reality display that mirror the guide's and skier's perspectives, enabling participatory interaction design studies in a safe environment.

Problem

• backcountry skiing
• hazard communication
• in situ annotation
• augmented reality
• safety visualization

Innovation

• in situ annotation
• photogrammetry
• augmented reality
• heads-up display
• backcountry skiing