Determining depth of buried assets

An augmented reality (AR) device, comprising:

• a position measurement apparatus for determining real-world coordinates of the AR device;
• one or more sensors for determining tilt of the AR device;
• a distance measuring apparatus for determining distances between the AR device and surrounding objects;
• an imaging apparatus for obtaining image information;
• and
• a display for displaying the image information and for displaying an AR model superimposed onto the image information, wherein the AR device is configured for determining depth of a buried asset by:
• receiving as input an identification of a first point on the AR model where a depth of the buried asset is to be determined, wherein the AR model is a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) representation of the buried asset projected onto a virtual surface or plane that is arranged to approximately correspond to a real-world surface that extends between a user of the AR device and the buried asset, the AR model being superimposed onto the image information that includes the real-world surface and that is displayed on the display of the AR device;
• determining real-world coordinates of a second point on the real-world surface corresponding to the first point on the AR model of the buried asset, wherein the real-world coordinates of the second point are determined while the AR device is aligned with the second point and includes steps comprising:
• determining real-world coordinates of the AR device using the position measurement apparatus;
• determining an azimuth of the AR device;
• determining a tilt of the AR device using the one or more sensors;
• and
• determining a distance from the AR device to the second point using the distance measuring apparatus;
• determining real-world coordinates of a third point on the buried asset corresponding to the first point on the AR model of the buried asset;
• and
• determining the depth of the buried asset either above, below, or laterally from the second point on the real-world surface based on the real-world coordinates of the second point on the real-world surface and the real-world coordinates of the third point on the buried asset.

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause an augmented reality (AR) device to determine a depth of a buried asset by performing steps comprising:

• superimposing an AR model onto image information that includes a real-world surface and that is displayed on a display of the AR device, wherein the AR model is projected onto a virtual surface or plane that is arranged to approximately correspond to the real-world surface that extends between a user of the AR device and the buried asset, the AR model being a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) representation of the buried asset;
• receiving as input an identification of a first point on the AR model of the buried asset where the depth of the buried asset is to be determined;
• determining real-world coordinates of a second point on the real-world surface corresponding to the first point on the AR model of the buried asset, wherein the real-world coordinates of the second point are determined while the AR device is aligned with the second point and includes steps comprising:
• determining real-world coordinates of the AR device;
• determining an orientation of the AR device;
• and
• determining a distance from the AR device to the second point;
• determining real-world coordinates of a third point on the buried asset corresponding to the first point on the AR model of the buried asset;
• and
• determining the depth of the buried asset either above, below, or laterally from the second point on the real-world surface based on the real-world coordinates of the second point on the real-world surface and the real-world coordinates of the third point on the buried asset.