A framework for generic inter-application interaction for 3D AR environments

We present a generic software framework enabling inter-application interaction in a 3D augmented reality environment. Our framework is built within a 3D AR window manager centered around ARToolkit. The user interface presents users with a simple visual mechanism to establish communications among applications in a generic way. The application interface is designed for ease of development and maximum end-user flexibility. We showcase some novel 3D applications and their interactions within the framework, demonstrating the new possibilities created by 3D interfaces. A classification is presented to categorize the applications´ roles in such interactions, to help steer development. Finally, we discuss future possibilities for applications and interactions within such a framework.