Context model for Augmented Reality

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) technologies allow to present virtual information in the real world. An Augmented Reality system differs from the traditional systems because it interacts to a great extent with the user and his surroundings. The virtual-real combination in AR is complex and it does not consist simply on superposing the two worlds. AR applications require appropriate methods of abstraction to be aware of the environment or context. This paper presents an object oriented context model for AR. In this model, context information is represented as a set of objects, describing real or virtual entities, structured in a graph. The advantages found in the use of this data model are compared with a traditional model. The conclusion is that the traditional model is limited and context models should be used.