MnOPS inspects natural gas, propane and hazardous liquid pipelines, and investigates leaks and accidents. The conference educates operators on a number of issues including best-practices, regulations, and new technologies.
In addition to having a booth in the Exhibit Hall this year, we also presented a "New Technologies" session on our application of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in this space. We have used this technology with our clients and at public meetings to help with key stakeholder design comprehension and buy in.
Here is a picture of our booth (which was not completely set up yet).
As part of describing our design services, we offered two real-world AR project examples using...
the Microsoft HoloLens, complete with the new Trimble Hard Hat for HoloLens. If that was not cool enough, we also gave away fresh ground coffee with an LHB sticker on it! My car still has a wonderful coffee aroma in it.
This conference is put on by the State of Minnesota. Pictured here, from the Department of Pipeline Safety, is Chief Engineer Jon Wolfgram trying out the HoloLens at our booth.
During our session I was able to give a live demonstration of the Microsoft HoloLens. As you can see in the last two images below, I was able to walk all over the room. What I was seeing was being broadcast to the projector so attendees could vicariously participate in my project exploration. This is one of the best things about the HoloLens - the ability to physically walk around a large area, completely untethered.
Here is one example of how we use the HoloLens with clients (be sure to watch the video): HoloLens Case Study Project Coming to Life - Vertical Endeavors
For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on Twitter
