New Augmented Reality App Streamlines Military Horizontal Construction Estimates

November 8, 2026 Rachel Kim – Technology Editor Technology

Horizontal Construction App Tested for Military Engineering Estimates

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps engineer officers and engineer chiefs are testing a new smartphone and tablet application designed to accelerate field calculations for roads, airstrips, landing zones, and base camps, techxplore.com reported on November 6, 2026. Developed in a partnership between the Office of Naval Research Global TechSolutions program and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst, the utility aims to standardize planning tasks across military branches.

The Tech TL;DR:

  • Application Purpose: The tool, titled ESTIMATE-HC and available on the Apple App Store, handles production calculations and material estimates for horizontal construction.
  • Core Capabilities: It functions offline without a network connection and uses augmented reality to let users place virtual equipment models over real-world camera feeds.
  • Standardized Formulas: Computations rely on unified data sets and formulas taught at the Engineer Equipment Chief Course at U.S. Army Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Transitioning from Clipboards to Offline Mobile Hardware

Before the release of ESTIMATE-HC, field personnel relied on paper clipboards and pencils to measure logistics requirements such as soil movement and equipment volume. Those manual notes required a return to base offices for manual data entry into customized Excel spreadsheets, a process that could take hours per project. Dakota Crouchelli, a training simulation development lead at NAWCAD Lakehurst, noted that the disparate nature of individual project spreadsheets prompted a Marine Corps engineer equipment officer to seek a consolidated software alternative through ONR Global TechSolutions.

Operating locally on iPhones and iPads, the software eliminates reliance on cellular or satellite connectivity. John Gazzara, an electrical and computer engineer at NAWCAD Lakehurst, pointed out that the reliance on unclassified, publicly available data means the app doesn’t require specialized software on each device.

Combines Math Models with Augmented Reality Tools

The application approaches resource estimation through two primary technical vectors: programmatic mathematical models and camera-based augmented reality. The calculation engine processes equations drawn directly from curriculum data at Fort Leonard Wood, establishing parity in how different military branches compute earthmoving and material thresholds. Alongside the math engine, the augmented reality interface accesses the device camera to render virtual machinery models directly onto physical terrain.

Dr. Jessica Jones, deputy director of ONR Global TechSolutions, stated that field teams maintain operational tempo by obtaining direct computations on-site rather than retreating to administrative workspaces. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Travis Hill, the equipment officer who initiated the project request, collaborated closely with development teams through iterative testing cycles and received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his efforts.

Ongoing Testing and Current Evaluation Phases

Active field evaluations supervised by ONR Global TechSolutions are currently underway with Marines and sailors testing the software under operational conditions. Developers have established the architectural framework—distributing the unclassified build via the Apple App Store.

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