HyperReal

Abstract

This paper describes a generic hypermedia model that is used as a framework for building context aware and mixed reality applications. It can handle different media elements, and it defines a presentation scheme that abstracts several relevant navigation concepts, including link awareness. The model specifies a base structure for the relation between spaces, either real or virtual, and supports contextual mechanisms. Additionally, it establishes a way to correlate real/virtual world objects with information present in the hypermedia graph. It also includes store/replay mechanisms that can be used to repurpose the content in new ways, including storytelling applications. The proposed model is being tested in a gaming and storytelling environment that integrates the real world, media elements and virtual 3D worlds. The paper presents the overall framework, the current implementation and evaluates its usage in the prototype application.