Collaborative augmented reality: Multi-user interaction in urban simulation

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) environment allows user or multi-user to interact with 2D and 3D data. AR simply can provide a collaborative interactive AR environment for urban simulation, where users can interact naturally and intuitively. AR collaboration approach can be effectively used to develop face to face interfaces. This is because AR provides seamless interaction between real and virtual environments, the ability to enhance reality, the presence of spatial cues for face-to-face and remote collaboration, support of a tangible interface metaphor, the ability to transition smoothly between reality and virtuality. The fusion between real and virtual world, existed in AR environment, achieves higher interactivity as a key features of collaborative AR. Collaborative AR approach allows multi-user to simultaneously share a real world surrounding them and a virtual world. The features of collaboration in AR environment will be identified. The key for the proposed technique of precise registration between both worlds and multi-user are important for the collaborations using AR environment. Common problems in AR environment and issues in collaborative AR will be discussed. This paper will give an overview for collaborative AR framework employed in urban simulation and the multi-user interaction on how to share these virtual spaces with other users in collaboration. The work will also cover numerous systems in different cases of collaborative AR environments for multi-user interaction. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.