An Augmented Reality Assistance System to See-Through Vehicle Components

Abstract Limited visibility during the operation of forklifts is one of the most significant sources of danger in in-plant material handling. Existing systems record concealed areas via cameras and display them directly on monitors in the driver's cab. Augmented reality (AR) allows to display information directly in the driver's field of view (FoV). Concealed areas could thus be overlaid with the camera images, while nothing is displayed in areas with a clear view, allowing the real environment to be perceived. This research aims to demonstrate the suitability of AR as an assistance system for forklifts. The assistance system combines various sensors for pose determination, RGB-D cameras for environment recording and a head-mounted display (HMD) for visualization. We define requirements from a safety perspective and classify our system with respect to these requirements. The results show the suitability of AR technology as a driver assistance system. At the same time, they show challenges in accuracy and latency.