A Survey of GIS and AR Integration: Applications

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that enhances a person’s sensory perception by overlaying virtual objects in the user’s immediate surroundings. Furthermore, with the development of technologies, devices such as smartphones and head-mounted displays are being launched and are expanding the AR technology application sectors from research labs to a wide range of domains. On the other hand, Geospatial Information System (GIS) is capable of dealing with geospatial information, so it can be beneficial in most AR systems mainly because those systems are connected to location and information related to locations. The ultimate integrated solution could be beneficial for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper investigates the combination of AR and GIS. Specifically, it studies the advantages of integration to address the challenges available in systems employing merely one of the technologies. The presented findings would assist researchers in future studies on utilizing GIS and AR simultaneously by giving an overview of the current applications and challenges.

1. Introduction

Augmented Reality (AR) has found extensive usage in many applications [1], such as gaming [2], tourism [3], and education [4,5]. Specifically, it can be beneficial in sustainability development in terms of different target fields such as manufacturing and telecommunication. Moreover, it is not a technology being used merely in laboratories anymore and has forced its way into everyday life [6]. In AR, physical objects are enriched with graphics so that they can be augmented to the environment. As mentioned in [7], AR is a digital overlay of information on users’ surrounding environment. Nowadays, mobile devices [8,9] as well as head-mounted displays [10,11] and smart glasses [12], easily help humans experience this kind of combination of the real and virtual world. AR allows the user to experience an interactive environment [13] by observing the real world augmented by digital objects. However, this technology cannot store and control the data [14]. Geospatial Information System (GIS) provides storage, visualization, and analysis of geospatial data, which can be used to address the issues and deficiencies faced in AR. Additionally, the capabilities offered by GIS can be helpful in reaching sustainable development goals through areas such as efficient planning as resource allocation. Traditional GISs especially 2D maps provide a weak intuitive perception for users which leads to difficulties in interpreting the map and reach a conclusion. Therefore, AR can be used as a bridge between 2D and 3D visualization. As GIS largely deals with geospatial data, the augmentation of these data onto real world would be easy to imagine. Ref. [15] also marks a high demand for 3D visualization of spatial data. The involvement of GIS in human activities, and the transfer of AR usage from the traditional expedition to industry-related applications make it suitable to integrate GIS with AR [16] in order to benefit from these two technologies at the same time. The simultaneous visualization of real and virtual geospatial information results in an interactive approach. Due to the simultaneous visualization and omitting the back and forth of data between different systems, the errors would be diminished significantly. Ref. [17] discusses the integration of GIS and AR in order to bridge the gap between real and digital data. Specifically, it utilizes the advantage of combining real and digital data offered by AR to enhance the visualization capability of GIS.

No papers targeting a classification of different types of AR being used in GIS applications were found. That said, by investigating current studies, the AR types being used in GIS applications can be categorized into three groups. The first group, marker-based AR, is used when it is required to know where the user is looking at. This type of AR seems to be used less than the other two groups. Ref. [18] proposes a 3D puzzle-like framework with the help of marker-based AR and ESRI shapefiles to visualize geographical models onto markers which are the parts of the puzzle. On the other hand, sometimes, the goal is to display a computer-generated model without utilizing a marker, and that is when the marker-less AR is used. The zoo navigation application, designed by Sakamoto and Ishida [19], utilizes marker-less AR. The app displays information about animals, and zookeepers can update various content through a Web-GIS application capable of storing and managing data. Moreover, in applications such as navigation which involves displaying road directions, the user’s location is needed. Therefore, the third type of AR, location-based AR, is employed. Ref. [20] proposes a bus routing system that reduces the travel time of the user by providing information about their travel by bus, such as the correct bus to take. They utilize a location-based AR where the information about the location is obtained through sending a request to a Base Transceiver Station.

For the current state of this research field, many studies have investigated different use cases offered by the combination of AR and GIS. Furthermore, even some studies discussed below explored different challenges in such integrated systems. However, no similar study was found in which a classification of ARGIS applications is presented.

As mentioned earlier, AR can be used to present geospatial data as a digital overlay in the real-world environment. Although this feature holds some benefits, such as providing immediate feedback, data collection, and data manipulation, it causes some major challenges [21,22,23]. Depth perception has been a major problem in AR visualization, which is concerned with detecting the true distance between objects. Depth distortions and object ordering issues lead to recognizing spatial relationships incorrectly; therefore, it results in wrong interpretations [21]. Some solutions have already been proposed to tackle this challenge, including controlling the lighting and shading [24]. Another challenge faced in AR visualization is information clutter. Moreover, visual clutter interferes with the user’s interpretation of the environment by making objects to be obscured [25]. Data filtering, dimensionality reduction, and multi-resolution approaches can be regarded as some solutions to solve this problem [25,26,27]. Some studies are performed addressing these challenges, particularly in GIS-related aspects. Ref. [26] discusses solutions to address challenges of information and visual clutter and incorrect label alignment using situated visualization techniques. The proposed technique provides dynamic annotation placement, which results in a better understanding of spatial relationships. Ref. [22] proposes flexible data management to deal with the challenges faced in presenting geospatial data in AR systems. The proposed data management approach offers data consistency between the GIS database level and AR 3D geometry level, which leads to interactive visualization of data. Specifically, a bi-directional layer called transcoding is designed to convert GIS data into specific comprehensible 3D geometries. In addition, aiming at the interactivity of the system, this layer enables users to modify the geospatial data themselves through selection, manipulation, and navigation. Moreover, the most common method for the camera pose and calibration of the AR system is to use markers. However, marker-based AR has restrictions mainly because they require specific markers for augmentation criteria. In contrast, marker-less AR estimates camera pose using other information such as geo-location-based information. Therefore, they do not need a specific marker for calibration but higher computational complexity. Geo-location-based AR applications can be easily developed on mobile devices [28,29]. Thus, the employment of GIS in AR can be beneficial and compelling enough to investigate different kinds of combinations of these two technologies.

The contribution of this paper is to investigate the applications offered by the integration of AR and GIS. In this paper, four main domains are defined to discuss the capabilities that the integration of AR and GIS can offer. This not only would present a classification of ARGIS application, which never has been presented in other papers, but also it will provide a general overview of the features offered by this kind of integration to enhance the current systems or propose new ones.

The paper is organized as follows with four main sections. In the following section, different application domains of AR and GIS integrations are investigated. In Section 3, the discussion is provided. Section 4 concludes with a summary and direction for future research.

2. AR and GIS Integration Use Cases

For the methodology of this study, firstly, several papers for obtaining different keywords available in AR and GIS integrations were studied. After that, papers from Google Scholar and Scopus were selected. In the screening stage, the title and abstract of exported articles were read, and papers were selected for full-text analysis. Two main questions asking for the application domain and the role of GIS were considered as inclusion criteria. Finally, the following investigation about the classification of applications offered by the combination of AR and GIS was performed. The articles were examined in terms of their proposed application and the role of GIS. After all, by exploring the obtained applications, classification for the applications was proposed. Geospatial topics are inextricably interconnected to some extent, so the proposed categories might have some topics in common. That said, the authors tried to present a meaningful classification with the least possible overlay. The papers assigned to each class concentrated on the idea of the class more than other ideas. As this study aimed to investigate the integration of GIS and AR, some major domains in GIS were considered before determining the classes. Terms such as visualization, positioning, and analysis are indispensable to GIS. Therefore, the authors tried to design classes according to these terms. As a result, three main classes, namely Mapping, Positioning, and Analysis, were considered with regard to the abovementioned common terms in GIS, respectively.

In order to investigate the integration of AR and GIS, three categories of applications, namely AR Map, AR Analysis, and AR Positioning, are defined (Figure 1). In each category, different domains in which the combination of GIS and AR can play a role are discussed. It is worth mentioning that the categories might have some aspects in common. For instance, a paper proposing a tourism navigation application can be discussed in two groups. First, as the navigation requires positioning, it can be used in the AR Positioning class. In addition, navigating, the user might need to superimpose some virtual objects on the screen or map to guide the user more properly. As a result, the paper can also be assigned to the AR Mapping class. As this study is the only study presenting a classification for AR and GIS combination in all domains, not just some specific ones, providing true distinctive classes is almost impossible. Having said that, as mentioned earlier, the authors decided to define classes with respect to the common terms in GIS. This, in turn, resulted in a more meaningful classification.

2.1. AR Map

This section covers those papers targeting map-related topics in domains such as education, tourism, and paper and digital maps. As visualization is a common term in both GIS and AR, this category includes papers in which visualization and mapping are more noticeable. Paper maps offer a holistic view of where the user is going. Even in this digital world, paper maps are still considered valuable for providing ease of use in using dense information [30]. With the development of marker-based and marker-less AR, digital annotation can be superimposed onto traditional maps. In other words, the dimension of printed or screen maps can be extended by means of computer vision [31]. Valuable real-time information can be presented using AR, which provides detailed statistics without forcing the user to analyze the map data [32]. In [31], using pattern recognition techniques, the position and orientation of the user’s vision are determined, and the map is enriched by cartographic visualization according to markers placed around the map. In addition to providing detailed information, AR maps would improve the interactivity of the user with the presented map compared to traditional 2D maps. Ref. [30] exploits ARtoolkit and a Head Mounted Device to enhance paper maps digitally and provide some interactions. In order to reach better performance, they load the dynamic information of the terrain of the region of interest instead of the complete terrain. AR maps provide the visualization of real-time geographic information [33]. In addition to AR maps, AR-based education environments and AR-based tourist-related systems can be considered examples of this category.

AR has a great history of being used for educational purposes [34,35]. Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching and causes knowledge transfer. Open geodatabases, Geographic technologies, and web-based multimedia have created a great opportunity for spatial representations and spatial storytelling. It can be used to tell a story by spatial representations with a mobile smartphone or personal computer [36]. With AR-based maps, stories are experienced in a comprehensive environment that has locations, events, objects, and emotions altogether. Ref. [37] indicates that AR is a promising technology for storytelling because it can often increase the interaction with stories and create a social experience for several users. In the AR sandbox, the reality is superimposed by computer-generated inputs to present the conception of geology, topography, etc. [38]. In this case, elevation contours often indicated by different colors are augmented onto a box full of sand. Savova [38] provides a thorough analysis of AR sandbox as a working system and proposes an educational usage of this tool to represent disaster events in which GIS plays a role. Ref. [39], by reminding us of the importance of geo-factors in collaborative decision making, explores the capabilities of AR sandbox to be used in a collaborative geo-design workflow. This research uses an AR sandbox to create an educational learning and design environment in active transport and tourism systems. The integration of visualization in education provides positive outcomes [40,41]. Visualization provided by AR sandbox in geoscience education is not only useful in presenting a simulation of real-world events but also can improve the spatial thinking skills of students [42]. Ref. [43] suggests further research on incorporating AR sandbox in teaching topographic lessons compared to traditional paper maps.

The tourism industry could benefit from emerging technologies such as AR [44,45]. AR provides valuable information, such as historical ones about different points of interest (POI). In this category, the exact location of an object and the user is needed [46]. Moreover, the orientation of the device camera to which it is pointing must be computed. Therefore, pointing the camera toward a special object, related information would emerge on display. In addition to location awareness, GIS provides data associated with POIs related to tourism [47]. Ref. [3] proposes an intelligent ticket that provides audiovisual information about a site or monument in an AR system. Pointing the camera toward a specific POI while the user is close enough, the related information will be displayed on the user’s device retrieved from a GIS database. Apart from man-made POIs, these kinds of applications can be used for other attractions such as animals. A zoo navigation application is designed employing augmented reality by marker-less image processing. The app renders information about animals, and zookeepers can update various content through the web application, which is a webGIS and can store and manage data [19]. Finding directions to a particular location can be difficult, especially when a new area is not familiar. Ref. [48] presents an AR-based application for location finder guidance. This application works with the help of GIS functions to find the best path and helps users find and navigate directly to the desired destination.

2.2. AR Analysis

This category involves topics that require analysis with the help of AR and GIS. With the development of microelectronics resulting in smart devices equipped with sensors such as GPS/IMU and processing units, the application of surveying in AR has been noticeable. This type of application covers a wide range of domains such as data collection, including measuring physical quantities and object size measurements. Therefore, these measurements could be exploited in GIS which is capable of dealing with geospatial data and relationships. A tracking module, a component of the AR system presented in, is responsible for performing the act of measurement in an AR system [49]. In other words, tracking is defined as the determination of spatial relations dynamically at runtime [50]. Currently, three methods for tracking are being studied by researchers, namely sensor-based [51], vision-based, and hybrid tracking [19,52]. As an example of hybrid tracking, Ref. [28] proposes a marker-less AR framework based on a mobile device equipped with a depth camera and IMU, which can achieve real-time trajectory tracking and 3D reconstruction in a normal indoor environment without any pre-set marker. Furthermore, many studies have tried to address the challenges addressed in vision tracking by GPS/IMU [53,54]. However, some problems still exist as follows [50,55]. Vision tracking tends to use huge computational resources, which leads to a limited outdoor AR application. Moreover, due to a consistent change in environments, current methods do not present suitable outcomes. As a final note, the rapid movement of cameras results in some problems in vision tracking. Therefore, Ref. [55] proposes a combination of manual interaction with sensors to have an unlimited area for AR systems. They also use 3DGIS to solve the real-time registration problem. In other words, 3DGIS, by providing geo-information, would change the real-time registration problem into a matching one. Utilizing 3DGIS and geospatial data requires alignment with the camera views before superimposing virtual objects to the scenes of which registration is in charge [56].

AR mapping would be another topic in AR Analysis. GIS, capable of increasing interoperability in construction industries [57], makes it suitable for developing mapping applications for surveying. An integrated ARGIS solution is proposed in [58] for mapping and collecting data in underground utilities. They try to improve the process of retrieving information related to underground construction. They use Google Earth and KML format to import and export geospatial data to a cloud service which is mentioned as a major challenge in their study. Ref. [59] discusses the applications of AR for urban utility management. An outdoor AR is proposed to aid workers on-site for the maintenance of underground infrastructures using GIS data. It offers a bi-directional interaction in their system, which displays changes dynamically. In mapping underground utilities, 3D GIS geodatabases can help AR with rendering the utilities beneath the ground [60]. Moreover mapping underground infrastructures, AR can be used in mapping emergency management systems [61]. In these systems, GIS can be used to help decision-makers with suitable actions on a chain of events. ARGIS can be useful in construction, as Ref. [62] mentions the role of AR as an X-ray tool to display the structure of buildings such as pipelines and wires. Ref. [14] emphasizes the use of ARGIS in underground pipeline prospect system since the 3D virtual models comprised of 3DGIS and Virtual Reality GIS (VRGIS) suffers from a bias from the real world and also depends highly on hardware capabilities. In this study, a lack of adequate research is recognized in some major challenges, including 3D modeling, registration, and tracking in mobile-based AR. Aspects of computer vision and sensor vision techniques are analyzed in [16] to implement an ARGIS system for underground pipelines. Computer vision techniques utilizing neural network and sensor vision techniques respectively outperformed in providing an interactive experience and environmental robustness.

Mapping spatiotemporal changes have been another active topic in the analysis as well. Ref. [63] developed a visualization system to display spatiotemporal information for educating history and geography subjects. They use a Web-GIS to display digital content on digital maps, along with image processing-based AR and location-based AR to visualize the spatiotemporal information. Ref. [64] developed an augmented map application in order to track petrified trees, display their features, and visualize the spatiotemporal changes in the suburbs. In this research, AR and GIS are used to develop processing and visualization techniques for dealing with spatial data.

More recently, AR has been used in different engineering applications, including those which require analysis and simulation [65,66], such as electronic engineering [67], mechanical engineering [68], industrial engineering [69] civil engineering [70]. On-site data collection can be obtained by utilizing AR. With the presence of sensors, real-time measurement is possible, which leads to the direct conversion of these measurements to simulating inputs [71]. AR could be beneficial in analyzing different parameters and structures by providing: (1) visualization of various datasets in real environments and (2) a higher interactivity level between user and environment [71,72]. Numerical simulation, along with the mentioned capabilities, make AR suitable for prediction and simulation of the behavior of physical structure called Finite Element Analysis (FEA) [73]. There are some virtual-based FEA systems, but the use of AR holds some benefits. In virtual environments, it is needed to prepare all related data before performing the simulation, which might be error-prone [71]. However, the involvement of AR in FEA systems offers more interactivity and ease of use. Geospatial data and GIS analysis could also be useful in FEA. Ref. [73] proposes a large-scale FEA for environmental flows in urban areas which utilizes GIS functionalities such as Delaunay, contour lines, and valley and ridgelines to shape a model. The module related to engineering simulation and analysis is indicated in Figure 2, which illustrates the workflow of an AR-based system for this purpose. The involvement of GIS in the workflow of engineering simulation can be recognized in Figure 2.

The Image processing module shown in Figure 2 uses computer vision algorithms to process the stream of image data. The output would be valuable in GIS systems. Apart from that, in the Rendering stage, GIS capabilities of providing different visualization can be useful. GIS offers different thematic maps such as land use or land cover in various domains about which FEA can be carried out [74]. Furthermore, other subjects such as the topology and geometry of structures can be exploited in scientific visualization in AR-based systems [72]. Ref. [75] highlights the advantage of using GIS as a control tool for different parts of related systems.

During the procedure of investigating the papers, a few articles discussed below were found to cover scenarios such as monitoring structural or natural changes. Such domains can be assigned to classes such as AR mapping and AR analysis. As the analyzing aspect of these kinds of monitoring is more noticeable, such papers were categorized into the Section 2.2. However, the frequency of such articles was so small and inadequate to consider them a distinctive class. Real and virtual environments that contain additional information for the real world are two sides of ARGIS. This additional information could be a designed 3D map of a building or bridge [76] that adds to the current section of the structure or information about a monument or historical building [77] that has changed over time. By using ARGIS, this information can be visualized in a three-dimensional space in the real environment, and their deformation can be examined. ARGIS is a useful tool for tracking projects. Ref. [78] examines the efficiency of ARGIS in architecture and building engineering education. They have shown virtual information on buildings with the help of a 3D model on smartphones. This helped students to expand their thought about architecture, and students believed this could be useful for education and their future as professionals.

2.3. AR Positioning

The third category, AR Positioning, covers articles paying more attention to positioning topics. AR has a great potential to be used with the aim of providing leisure and mobile gaming [79]. Regarding the development of capabilities and features of smart devices such as smartphones, tablets, and wearables, the combination of these devices with the Internet and networks has provided a good opportunity to develop AR systems. Although mobile devices have limited ability to perform computationally, they have many sensors that can help develop more advanced applications. AR applications can use mobile geographic information such as that information retrieved from GPS sensors, magnetic sensors, and gyroscope sensors. A gyroscope sensor measures the rotational rate along the three axes of the device [80]. An instance of the prevalent use of these capabilities can be seen in gaming applications such as Pokémon GO [81] and Kkongalmon [51]. However, due to the restriction of GPS signals in indoor environments and the increasing complexity of these environments, indoor positioning has been a pressing topic [82,83]. Recently, research has been performed using AR technology in indoor positioning [84]. Ref. [85] makes a comparison between older techniques, including Magnetic Beacons, Wi-Fi, and RFID, and modern techniques, such as vision-based in indoor positioning and navigation. Ref. [82] proposes an indoor positioning technique using ARtoolkit in which AR is responsible for displaying directional information in 3D formats to aid users in reaching their destination. ARtoolkit, an open-source developed AR application, utilizes computer vision techniques to track the viewpoint of the user in real-time [86]. ARtoolkit computes the camera position and orientation to align and place a virtual object properly according to a specific marker [82]. Ref. [87] highlights a need for data models and database management systems to deal with indoor spatial data. Furthermore, Ref. [88] marks a lack of enough information about the indoor environment in GIS. Therefore, the spatial information, including the indoor location and the paths between them, should be collected accurately. GIS analysis can help with finding the path to the destination or finding a suitable place for further steps. In [89], GIS and Ubiquitous GIS is exploited respectively to find the best place in order to install advertisement content and enrich the visualization of the content. The indoor positioning topics in AR can be discussed from different standpoints. The positioning could be performed to navigate a user who is unfamiliar with an indoor environment or to superimpose virtual objects accurately onto real environments [84,90]. The emerging technology of AR could be beneficial to create a higher sense of immersion in navigation about which limited options are available [85]. Ref. [84] presents a vision-based location positioning system that automatically recognizes a location using pre-stored image data. In this indoor positioning system, AR is used to seamlessly augment location information on the user’s view. Their system also benefits from GIS to retrieve location and path information of an indoor environment. In contrast to indoor ARGIS, Outdoor AR allows users to observe geo-referenced information without restriction space and have interacted with them through AR devices. In comparison to indoor, ARGIS in an outdoor environment can connect to GPS satellites and receive the position of the device continuously. That provides this opportunity to move without limitation in the environment [91]. The tourism industry benefits from this technology considerably and it helps tourists to overcome the biggest problem which is transportation and travel in unfamiliar places. ARGIS makes transportation easier and safer [92] and allows tourists to experience an amusing and interactive exploration in unknown locations [44]. Ref. [93] developed a platform that assists geoscientists in their outdoor tasks. This system helps them to navigate and interact with data implemented. The system uses hybrid sensors such as camera, inertial sensor and GPS to estimate camera pose and then, shows the augmented scene to the scientists. They found working with the 3-dimensional geographical model interesting, and took the idea that this helps to have a better understanding of underground structures.

3. Discussion

AR applications associated with GIS cover a wide range of domains. As mentioned earlier, the emergence of using the capabilities of GIS in AR-based systems is by no means negligible. Ref. [66] mentions six future trends of AR application; among those, the integration with location-specific information is highlighted.

Despite the discussion provided in Section 2 in each category, here a summarized and a deeper discussion are provided. One of the most popular uses of the integration of AR and GIS is making maps more apprehensible. Generating maps by GIS and representing them by AR allows novices to interact with maps without any spatial or geographical knowledge, and it can improve the experience of using maps for people and make them feel more comfortable. A clear example of this matter can be found in the tourism industry, where it helps users obtain information about landmarks by pointing their phones at them. Furthermore, this integration assists experts in many tasks and allows them to observe real-time data from geodatabases and interact with them. This, in turn, will lead to a better understanding of information, and patterns will be easily analyzable for experts and scientists. Furthermore, mapping improves education as well, especially helping improve students’ spatial thinking and spatial representation. ARGIS makes the educational process more interesting and assists students in having better visualization of geospatial phenomena in training. Particularly, AR sandbox is mostly used in geography and geoscience education which requires the visualization of natural phenomena and spatial thinking skills. These potentialities make it suitable for employing pedagogical strategies such as the constructivist learning approach in such systems. As a result, AR sandbox, especially in geoscience education; still it is in early development.

In different domains such as healthcare, education, industry, and environmental monitoring, AR measurements are being employed. Daponte, De Vito [49] highlight some main future research areas in order to develop a more efficient AR measurement system. Equipping AR systems with measurement tools or Wide Sensor Networks (WSN), designing a user interface to display the measured data, and developing hybrid indoor positioning techniques can be considered major challenges for future studies. In indoor positioning and navigation, the advancement of smart devices’ cameras, and computer vision methods along with AR would result in a more effective system. Mobile-based outdoor ARGIS for underground utilities, for instance, AR pipeline systems, can be more effective and pervasive if processing capacity, computing techniques, and sensor accuracy are improved. By using AR analysis, the data collection process becomes more meaningful and easier, especially by developing GPS/IMU sensors and processing units, and tasks such as physical quantities and object size measurements have been expanded. Moreover, the AR tracking module provides the ability to map and determination of spatial relations, and with 3D GIS, we can adjust this mapped data to database data in real-time. Construction industries and underground infrastructures have been benefiting from this useful application for simulation and visualization. Thus, this helps decision-makers have a better understanding of these projects and take proper policies. ARGIS resulted in better analysis of different scenarios by providing visualization of various datasets in real environments and a higher interactivity level between user and environment. Furthermore, it performed a valuable simulation in various domains such as thematic maps and land use or land cover. The existing ARGIS underground systems do not employ methods of localization such as computer vision and sensor vision simultaneously. Preparing the spatiotemporal changes maps of historical buildings or famous structures would bring advantages to the education sector or tourism industry which is to find tourists’ attractions. On a final note, AR can help those systems investigating large-scale FEA to provide the primitive data for GIS functions to operate.

Moving forward with relating the findings to SDGs, it is expected that advantages resulting from ARGIS systems assist in reaching these goals. To begin with, it should be noted that citizens, organizations, analysis, and location-based data are some of the terms which exist in sustainable development. The combination of these terms is of paramount importance in reaching the goals. In today’s world, GIS can provide key facilities to link the abovementioned terms. As discussed earlier, AR can also enhance the efficiency of GIS-based systems. With the developments of technologies, a digital transformation is happening in every society. AR and similar technologies can, therefore, provide enabling environments to aid this transformation. Hence, the integration of AR and GIS would lay the foundation to take major steps toward sustainable development. For instance, the provided discussion related to education can be helpful in enhancing the quality of education, which is one of the SDGs. There are different topics such as clean water, good health, and sustainable cities in the sustainable development concept. These topics, which are related to infrastructure, can also be targeted using the ARGIS systems. As a result, these systems would provide solutions to different challenges, such as economic and environmental ones, to make SDGs come true in the future.

4. Conclusions

This research presents an overview of AR and GIS integration in different applications so that some suitable measures toward SDGs can be taken. To be specific, the applications are categorized into three main domains, namely AR Mapping, AR Positioning, and AR Analysis. The studies investigating these topics by employing AR and GIS are discussed within each category. In addition, the way these technologies are integrated into the proposed system and the challenges they aim to address are studied briefly. Overall, it is recommended to use location-specific information to enhance the efficiency of current AR systems. Simply put, those systems face some challenges with which GIS can help in dealing. This survey highlights the applications to be aware of the capabilities of this kind of integration. It also states some challenges that need to be faced by the research community in the future. That is to say, presenting a general classification of ARGIS applications will help researchers not only to obtain familiarity with the capabilities offered by this kind of integration but also to help them with proposing new solutions in order to design new systems or enhance current ones.