Analytics as a concept is not new and has been there since the evolution of human being.

However, in the past 20 plus years, there has been a systematic approach to Analytics based
on data stored in a structured format, in computers. This is the concept of data-driven
analytics. Initially, it was in the form of simple reports on operational data. Later with the
advent of Storage technologies, there arose the concepts of historical storage called Data
Warehouses and Data Marts. This gave rise to more advanced forms of Analytics like OLAP
or Multi-Dimensional Analytics, Predictive Analytics and Prescriptive Analytics. Even the
reporting has evolved based on these Historical Data, to show more complex Representations
in the form of Dashboards, Graphs, Visual representation of data, leading to sophisticated
Analytics tools called Visualization tools. While this progress has been happening in the
world of Analytics, there is a parallel, related and interesting development happening in the
world of Image Processing. This is the usage of Cameras to build AR (Augmented Reality)
applications. Better Telecom Bandwidths, Powerful Mobile cameras, AR techniques have
made it possible now to View, Point, Detect and Transmit an Identified object’s coordinates
and other information to the Backend Systems for further processing. There is also another
technology called the Image Analytics, which can leverage the image captured by the AR
application to do the relevant Image Analytics and pass it back to the AR application. This
article attempts to bring a Convergence of the above three Technologies Viz.: Visualization
Technologies (backed by Huge Historical Databases or Big Data), Image Analytics and AR
Technologies, to bring out the Next Generation Class of Analytics called as “Ground-Zero”
Analytics. Ground-Zero Analytics is basically trying to see the Descriptive, Predictive and
Prescriptive Analytics, in Real-time at the Location where it is Happening, using Mobile
Cameras, AR Technologies and Visualization Technologies.

Data and Big Data

Data has been around in computer systems for more than a few decades in the form of Files,
Databases – either in Structured or Un-Structured forms. However, it is only recently that the
data management has encompassed Huge Volumes, Variety and Velocity of data, to deliver
faster processing to the downstream Reporting and Visualization applications. The data is
stored in files, Databases, Data Lakes, Data Warehouses, Subject oriented Data Marts,
Analytical Databases – all with the single goal of providing valuable information to the
downstream Reporting and Visualization applications – through which Business can view
their data in multiple dimensions across time, place, products, people.

Data Visualizations

Data Visualization is the most Intuitive approach to depicting the Processed data to the
Business Users. This uses various visualization techniques like Graphs, Plots, Tables and
many more to show various sets of related data, in a single view to the Business User, so he
or she can make an informed decision about their business scenarios. The current Data
Visualizations tools and technologies talk about a Business Unit or Business area in the form
of Data or Visuals and it is up to the Business User to have the domain knowledge of their
Business or a photographic memory of their Business area, or branch or office or Warehouse
or Stores.

Augmented Reality of the Domain in which we do Data Visualizations

Augmented Reality is the concept of the user seeing the reality upon which embedded
information is also shown. This is not difficult to imagine. While watching a News Channel,
we see the actual video footage (say of the Cricket Field) and on top of it we see Data being
shown (maybe of the flight path of the ball). This is the simplest form of Augmented reality.
However, the AR (Augmented reality) in the context of Data Visualizations can get a bit
more complex and much more Dynamic in nature. While the camera shows the Image of a
particular domain, the domain itself is marked with specific points (either in a Marker or
Markerless mode), such that when a particular Point in the Domain is in View of the Camera,
the AR system can detect the Specific Point and then become aware of what that Specific
Point is. Example: When the camera is pointed toward a Refinery pipeline, the specific point
on the pipeline can tell the AR system that this is a “Crude Oil” carrying pipeline toward the
Main Refinery. It will also know based on the GPS coordinates of the “Crude Oil” carrying
pipeline. With this basic information about the “Crude Oil” carrying pipeline, like the Actual
Image from the Camera, its GPS coordinates, and the Marker Inputs, being passed onto the
AR system, there is now scope for Mashing this AR information with its related Analytics
information, to derive newer forms of Analytics. This is the core concept of this article and is
called “Ground-Zero-Analytics”

Introducing the concept of the AR-based-Ground-Zero Analytics

AR-based “Ground-Zero” analytics is the concept of using the AR-based information like
Image, GPS coordinates, Marker information as inputs to a Backend Data Visualization
Engine in realtime. The Backend Visualization Engine would then pull the relevant
information about the “Marker” in context, build the necessary Charts, Graphs, Historical
Summaries and then show in real-time these, Analytical Insights on the “Image” being looked
at by the camera, with Zero Latency. So, in our example, while the Camera is looking at the
“Crude Oil” pipeline, at the same time the AR system would pass on information like the
Image, GPS coordinates, Marker Inputs to the Data Visualization systems and Image
processing systems. The Data Visualization systems would pull out the “Crude Oil” pipeline-
related information, from the databases, like Date of Installation, last Service or Inspection
Date, Expected Lifetime of the Pipeline, Any History of Leakages, Breakages, Fire, etc for
this “Crude Oil” pipeline. The Data Visualization system would then do the specified analysis
and then build the necessary Dashboard, Graphs, Charts, or Additional Textual information –
and then show it on the Screen as an Overlay on the Image being shown in the Camera – all
in realtime. In addition to the Data Visualizations, the AR systems will also pass the image of
the “Crude Oil” pipeline to an Image Processing engine, to detecting any Faults, Cracks, etc.
This would then be passed to the Analytical Systems and finally recommend “Preventive
Maintenance” instructions on the Screen, again all in realtime.

Hence by converging AR technologies with Image Processing/Recognition and Data

Visualizations, we can take the Analytics from a Backroom activity to “Ground-Zero” where
the Report or Dashboard is being spoken or analyzed about, in realtime. This is the concept of
the “AR-based Ground-Zero” analytics.

Technical Approach

Shown below is a high-level Technical Approach to implementing an AR-based “Ground-

Zero” analytics:

The AR system would expose their AR data to an AR Receiver which would then curate this
data and then pass it to the Consuming Systems like Data Management, Visualization and
Image Processing Applications. These Consuming applications would then pass on their
relevant Analytical insights to the Visualization Outputs, Text Outputs, Image Processing
Outputs and Analytics Output Modules (as shown in the above diagram). These Analytical
Outputs would then be passed onto the AR Transmitter Custom Software Module, which
would then pass on their relevant information back to the AR Scenes, which can then display
the same as additional Data or Insights or Intelligence on top of the current Scene in view of
the Display Screen.

Benefits of AR based-Ground-Zero Analytics

AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics is the real-Time Avatar of the Offline Analytics that we are
used to seeing on our Laptops and Mobiles in the form of reports, Dashboards and
Visualizations, for the past few decades. While these serve our purpose fairly well, we still
have to map (in our mind), the Real-World Scene/Domain about which this particular reports
or dashboard or Visualization is talking about. However, with an AR-based “Ground-Zero”
analytics, we can implement the concept of “Get your Insights when you See it and Where
you see it”, in realtime. This can be very useful in situations where latency is crucial and we
cannot wait for the offline BI and Analytics systems to do their analysis and then enable us to
do after-the-fact analysis. An opportunity for Sales or Preventive Care could be lost. AR-
based “Ground-Zero” Analytics can be the future of all reporting and Visualizations and if
merged with the Digital-Viewing-Glasses, then we can be a walking-Encyclopaedia in the
True-Sense.
Use Cases of AR-based-Ground-Zero Analytics

 AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics can be useful in the Operational Scenarios like

Inspectional Visits to Oil refineries, or Office Installations or any Factory
Installations. We can point our AR-enabled Mobile Camera on a particular Object in
our View (which can have pre-determined Markers or using Markerless Hit-tests) and
then use the information received by the AR applications, to pull out the relevant
additional Information from the backend systems like Data warehouses, Visualization
Software, Image processing software and then give relevant additional data or Instant
Insights or Recommendations to the Field Officers or the Disaster Recovery
Personnel.
 AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics can be very useful in Defence Scenarios where a
Soldier or Navy personnel can point at the Object-in-View to know more information
about that object be it the terrain information, the wild fruit in the forest whether it
can be consumed, Analysing enemy weapons or landmines, Enemy Troop movement
or formations, Enemy Vehicles deployed, Soldier Injury analysis and suggested first
aid (e.g. timely amputation of a Hand or Leg can save our Soldier if the appropriate
information is provided using the AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics system.
 AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics can be used in the Tourism industry to create AR-
Guides which can show additional information, Visualizations of the Tourist Place or
Monument, or Palace or Priceless Artifact in the Museum that a Visitor is viewing.
This will make the Tourist’s visit more enriching. The AR-based Ground-Zero
Analytics Travel companion can also give additional information about a particular
shop, lake, local food speciality as seen in the local markets etc
 AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics can be used in Server Management, especially in a
Cloud Environment where there are tons of Server Farms. An AR-based Ground-Zero
Analytics can give instantaneous information (in the form of Graphs, Tables, Text) to
tell when was the last time a particular Server failed or had gone through maintenance
or part replacement details within that Server and what was the cost and who was the
service provider and what was the downtime and impact to the users of that Server.
All this Insightful information can be obtained in real-time, just by Pointing our AR-
enabled Mobile camera on that particular Server.
 AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics can be a huge aid to the Insurance Investigators
who can point at the part of a Vehicle Damaged in Accident and then try to get
additional information about that part, its cost, availability with Suppliers, Service
costs, Driver behaviors, Repair options, Insights based on other similar claims etc
before computing the Insurance Claims, using the real-time information that is
available on the Screens against each part of the Vehicle.
 We can use AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics in the Global Education Industry, so be
it in the Physical Classroom or in the Online Classes on a computer screen, we can get
additional information about the topic being taught, by pointing our mobile camera
onto the Writing board or the Computer Screen.
 AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics can be used in the highly critical and large Security
Industry, where we can get more information about a person or employee or vendor or
customer who is entering or leaving our Office or Factory premises, just by pointing a
mobile camera at them or their ID card and then the AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics
system will pull all the recent history of that person, thus enabling the Security
Personnel with additional information about the person, than what the person might
be revealing. This also applies to National Security at our Borders, Immigration
Offices, Airports, Local Police Surveillance, Customs, etc.
  AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics can be used in the Billion-dollar Online Shopping
Industry by the Customers, so they can get additional Text, Analytical, Audio and
Video information about a product on their Mobile Camera before they make an
Online Purchase. Thus, Online shopping is now more data-driven and intelligence-
based, than what the Vendor wants to tell the customer.
 In a country like India, where we still rely heavily on Small and Medium size shops
for all our purchases, it would be an Innovative Concept to give each Shop an AR-
Marker, so when a customer points this AR-based Ground-Zero Analytics application
at the Shop’s Marker, the customer gets information about all the products that are
sold in that shop, the quantities, the price range, as per their Budget. This enables the
concept of Hybrid-Shopping Model ( or an Intelligent Window-Shopping Model),
where a Customer is not Online, but physically in front of the Store and yet does not
enter the Store yet, as he/she does Window Shopping using the AR-based Ground-
Zero Analytics Application on their mobile phone – simply by pointing the Mobile
camera at that Shop’s AR Marker-point.

There are hundreds of similar Use Cases as it is applicable to any Business Domain and any
Industry like Newspaper, Advertising, Flyers, Books, Reference Books and Journals,
Libraries, Detective Agencies, RTO offices, Traffic Violations, Legal Opinions, Medical
Inference, Archaeology, Mining Industry, Port Management, Shipping Container Analytics
and hundreds of other applications in all Domains of our lives and hence this concept of
Ground-Zero Analytics is Ubiquitous in nature and only limited by our imagination,
innovation and inquisitiveness.

Conclusion

In this article, an attempt has been made to using three existing technologies like Augmented
Reality (AR), Data Visualizations (backed by Data warehouses and Predictive/Prescriptive
Analytics) and Image Processing, to come out with a Next-Generation Reporting Concept of
Realtime “Ground-Zero” Analytics. Ground-Zero Analytics is not a complicated concept, it
just involves the integration of Outputs/Inputs from AR, Data Visualization and Image
Processing engines, to generate Augmented Analytics on top of the Realtime Scene being
Viewed. This would enable the users to have Realtime relevant and additional data about
their object in view, and thus make intelligent and Data-Driven decisions in real-time.
Ground-Zero Analytics could soon be the new normal for all Operational Analytics, which
can co-exist with the traditional Reports, Dashboards and Visualizations which would be
used for Offline after-the-fact analysis on a detailed level over a historical period of time.
Ground-Zero Analytics is basically trying to see the Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive
Analytics of an Object-in-View in Real-time at the Location where it is Happening, using
Mobile Cameras, AR Technologies, Visualization Technologies and Image Analytics – thus
making it a solid platform for the Intelligent Viewing Glass Assistant of the Near-Future.
Benefits of VR and AR in Data Visualization

Modern datasets are multivariate. In order to have humans effectively analyze the complexity
of data today without VR and AR, they have to manually pull together 2D representations,
reports, graphs, and the like, to try to inform decision-making. VR/AR allows users to see
everything at once, allowing a holistic vantage of the data that’s impossible with traditional
ways of data visualization.

Another benefit of VR and AR in data visualizations is that it uses a human’s natural instinct
to think about and process data in multiple dimensions. The immersion of a user in the data
representation makes it possible to communicate data attributes in numerous positions.

A greater density of data can be displayed at once, which can allow much faster cognitive processing
of the information than in a 2D representation. The human brain processes information faster when
it’s presented in multiple dimensions.

AR/VR technology opens up data analytics to a broader user group than just data scientists. It
can allow more humans to be involved in monitoring neural networks and machine learning
models to ensure that the machine's decisions continue to be ethical, fair, and reasonable.

And, AR and VR can make data analysis more fun. Since data-driven decisions are the way
for companies to remain competitive, it’s important that humans embrace data analysis. By
“stepping into the data,” data analysis is no longer an exercise of pouring over spreadsheets
and reports but rather an immersive experience that can actually be fun!

Examples of Immersive Data Analytics

Bader, the world's first immersive data analytics platform, makes it easier to get value from
data without special training. By allowing users of the same team to see the whole picture,
real-time collaboration is possible. Teams can adjust the data and visualize the results and
then collaborate on how to proceed.

AI and VR were used by the logistics company Kuehne+Nagel to make sense of the data
collected from its massive supply chain. These technologies helped accelerate the
understanding of what processes relate to each other.

Virtualitics is another innovator in the data visualization space that has an AI-driven
visualization VR tool that helps companies get actionable insights quicker than with
traditional data analytics tools. Multiple users can manipulate 3D data sets at the same time
with its tool.

DataViewVR provides a virtual workspace dubbed the “Workplace of the Future” to power
immersive data presentations. These help analysts develop insights from the data faster and
share with others virtually.

3Data is a 3D platform developed for enterprise IT and cybersecurity operations. The ability
to “step into” the command and control of complex networks allows better and faster
decisions.
At this point, there seem to be many more positives to using AR and VR in data visualization
than negatives. Certainly, the adoption of these tools can be slowed by naysayers in an
organization who don’t quite understand the capabilities of the technology since its still early
in its development. I certainly expect this to be a growing industry with additional
specialization for specific use cases.

https://wear-studio.com/vr-ar-data-visualization/