Put context-aware in Virtual Assembly: a study of ontology-based architecture and an arithmetic

VA (Virtual Assembly) provided a numerical platform for assembly design. However, lacking of intelligent guide is a critical problem in assembly design with VA technology. This paper proposes a novel concept of context-aware in VA, and discusses the connotation and extension of it. Such context should be a small world context that provided intelligent for virtual environment, while an ontology-based working model and architecture are presented to realize it. A decision-making arithmetic is also composed based on Quotient Space Theory, which supports the VA system to compute assembly context real-time in condition of different assembly granularity. By deploying this method, VA need no longer to be viewed only as an interactive tool or environment for judging feasibility of assembly, but rather as an virtual intelligent task processor that can offer decision service to assembly task based on application needs.