an enhanced augmented reality architecture - wordpress…€¦ · the research questions 3. the...

AN ENHANCED AUGMENTED REALITY ARCHITECTURE

RAHIM P. KHAJEI

ALEX ARAVIND, CONAN VEITCH

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA

OCTOBER 13, 2017

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WHAT IS AR?

• Superimposes virtual objects on the physical environment.

• Enhances the physical environment

• Contrasting to virtual reality, users are in real world.

• Key elements:• Target or point of interest

• Content

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THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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Communicate

ROOT CAUSING

• Communication and interoperability• Lack of formats and standards

• Context-aware services

• Sharing targets• AR structure

• Client-server architecture

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AR IS A CONTEXT-AWARE SERVICE

• Context-aware service• provides relevant information by recognizing a situation

• AR• Context

• Content

• Availability and the quality of contextual information

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K. Slabeva, T. Wozniak, C. Mannweiler, I. Hoffend, and H. Schotten, Emerging context market and context-aware services, 2010 Future Network and Mobile Summit (2010)

WHAT IS MISSING?

• The separation of content and context• Aggregators are missing

• Lack of formats and standards for context

• lack of interoperability

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K. Slabeva, T. Wozniak, C. Mannweiler, I. Hoffend, and H. Schotten, Emerging context market and context-aware services, 2010 Future Network and Mobile Summit (2010)

ROOT CAUSING

• Communication and interoperability• Lack of formats and standards

• Context-aware services

• Sharing targets• AR structure

• Client-server architecture

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AR ARCHITECTURE

• Must be standards-based architectures

• Proprietary formats• Communicating and sharing information

• The wide-spread adoption of AR applications

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AR ARCHITECTURE

• Must be standards-based architectures

• Proprietary formats• Communicating and sharing information

• The wide-spread adoption of AR applications

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LIMITATIONS WITH CURRENT STRUCTURES

• User interaction and contribution

• Limited number of targets

• Lack of contents and content sharing

• Target and content naming convention (uniform access)14

LEARNING FROM WEB 2.0• Web 2.0

• Sharing

• Interoperability

• Social networking

• Social media

• AR 2.0: Enables user generated content, information sharing, and massive scale deploy of information

• Backend infrastructure for distribution of AR content and applications

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CLIENT FEDERATED SERVERS (CFS)

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MAIN PROCESSES

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SHARING TARGETS AND SUBSCRIBING

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Target sharing

developer App Server Target Hub

Request to Upload

Change status to shared

Uplaod the target

Registered?

[Yes] Recive the target

Update Target Database

Reply the result Subscribe server to target

[No]

Reply the result

SEARCHING AND LOADING TARGETS

• Identification tags for targets

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For each Target

List of content for each target

-Content ADescription: Free, ...

-Content BDescription: 5$, ...

-Content CDescription: 2$, ...

CHAT ROOMS AND COMMUNICATION HANDLING

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AR A

ppTa

rget

Hub

BENEFITS OF CFS

• Enables users to connect, share and communicate

• Facilitates the software development

• Potential to open up several new paths for future

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SCRATCHER - PROOF OF CONCEPT

• Scratcher is a prototype application

• Capabilities: user interactions, target searching, sharing functionalities, chatting, and notification

• Environment: smartphones (Android)• Client side: Unity using Vuforia plugin

• Server side: ASP.net and Microsoft SQL Server for its database

• Resides in Microsoft Azure• Target hub address: http://arconnect.azurewebsites.net

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

• Run the app and log in

• Browse page loads

• Search for targets

• Load new targets

• Start chatting over common targets

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HOW DOES IT WORK?






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HOW DOES IT WORK?






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HOW DOES IT WORK?






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HOW DOES IT WORK?






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HOW DOES IT WORK?

• Target’s chat room is loaded by entries

• Subscribe to target to receive messages

• Messages that are not received (gray)

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CHAT SYSTEM: STORING AND RETRIEVING

• All chat histories are• Stored in an XML file

• In the local device

• Under the target’s name

• Number of messages and the last communicated message for synchronization

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CHAT SYSTEM: SENDING AND RECEIVING A MESSAGE

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CONTRIBUTIONS

• An alternate model of AR

• Connecting users of different AR applications• Target as focal point

• Providing the ability to share targets and content

• A prototype AR mobile application• Scratcher

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LIMITATIONS

• Content and target management

• Increase of the traffic

• Adaptability

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FUTURE DIRECTIONS

• Participatory AR• Support of complex behaviors in target hub

• Social network in AR• Traverse the graph of friends

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THANKS

•Questions?

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