Configuring Point Object Type (KB-AP014)

A point object can represent any object in the real world, such as a manhole, inlet, street light, or fire hydrant. To configure a point object, select an option within the Object Subtype field. There are three options: Custom, Manhole/Inlet, or Object.

Manhole/Inlet: represents any manhole or inlet in the real world. There are several object configuration settings for the manhole/inlet point object. 

• Object Shape: defines the appearance of the manhole/inlet. It can either be symmetric, asymmetric, a cylinder, or a box.
• Default Width: sets the default diameter/size of the manhole/inlet cover. You can choose a unit of measurement from the drop-down box adjacent to the 'Default Width' value field.
• Width Field: sets the object width dynamically. It can be mapped by selecting the appropriate field from the drop-down box. Use the sample data at the bottom of the page to find the width value field. Next, select the unit of measurement that your data source uses.
• Texture: enables or disables the concrete look for a manhole/inlet.

Object: represents real-world objects with 3D shapes in the vGIS mobile app. They exist to provide visual aids and information to the device user while navigating the vGIS AR environment. Object points can be used to represent items like cable boxes, water pipe valves, and transformers. There are several object configuration settings.

• Object Shape: a three-dimensional image that represents real-world objects viewable through the vGIS mobile app. To select an object shape, choose it from the Object Shape drop-down menu.  
• Default Height: sets how tall an object will be in the vGIS app. If this value is zero, the object will appear flat. Positive values extrude the object upwards and negative values downwards. You can change a unit of measurement from the drop-down box adjacent to the Default Height value field.
• Height Field: sets the object height dynamically. It can be mapped by selecting the appropriate field from the drop-down box. Use the sample data at the bottom of the page to find the height value field. Next, select the unit of measurement that your data source uses. Check the Invert checkbox if attribute values need to be inverted (multiplied by -1).
• Default Width: sets the width of the object. You can also choose a unit of measurement from the drop-down box adjacent to the Default Width value field.
• Width Field: sets the object width dynamically. It can be mapped by selecting the appropriate field from the drop-down box. Use the sample data at the bottom of the page to find the width value field. Next, select the unit of measurement that your data source uses. Check the Invert checkbox if attribute values need to be inverted (multiplied by -1).
• Underground connector depth: a visual connection between above-ground objects to underground lines. For example, it can be used to join a fire hydrant to a hydrant lead, or a traffic light to a subsurface electrical line. You can choose a unit of measurement from the drop-down box adjacent to the 'Underground Connect' value field.
• Enclosed Shape: adds another object inside of the Object Shape. This can be used to make objects more easily identifiable in the vGIS AR environment.

Custom: a custom point is an object that has been designed by the vGIS support team to meet a specific customer need. It can be virtually anything that does not currently fit the mold of any other point object. You will need to select the applicable custom object from the Custom Object Type drop-down box.

To add a custom point object to your vGIS mobile app, please contact our support team at support@vgis.io.

Infocard Image sets the picture that will be displayed in the object's infocard within the vGIS app. The image can be selected from a range of preset images or uploaded from your library.

Enabling the display at calibration toggle (in Additional Details) will make the selected point object visible during calibration. They will be visible from either the overhead map or augmented reality view.

Examples

This scene contains 4 different point objects, here is how we configured them:

• The blue manhole was assigned the asymmetrical object shape with the depth set to -2.5m. A transparency of 20% (the aa value at the end of the 8-character primary color code) was set to allow the valve, pipes, and other objects to remain visible.
• The yellow valve (inside the manhole) is represented as an inverted cone. The height was set to -0.4m (to create the inverted look) and width was set to 0.4m. An underground connector of -1.5m was assigned to connect it to the pipe network.
• The grey manhole was assigned the inlet object shape. The texture toggle was turned on to make the AR object look like concrete. The inlet has a depth value of -3m and a width value of 0.65m.
• The hydrant is represented by a red cylinder object shape and its height was set to 0.9m. The color transparency was set to 20% (the aa value at the end of the 8-character primary color code) to allow other objects to remain visible. Additionally, an underground connector of -1.5m was assigned to connect it to the pipe network.

This scene contains a variety of subsurface objects with the following configurations:

• The valves are shown as yellow inverted cones. The height was set to -0.4m (to create the inverted look) and width was set to 0.4m. An underground connector of -1.5m was assigned to connect it to the pipe network.
• The joints are shown as blue cubes. The height and width were set to 0.4m and the color transparency was set to 10%. A default depth/elevation of -1.5m (same as the pipes) was assigned to place them at the same depth of the pipe network.