A Framework for Augmented Reality Based Collaborative Product Development

The aim of this paper is develop a framework for a system for collaborative product development using Internet and augmented reality technology. The system allows fruitful interaction between experts at geographically dispersed locations through a flexible environment for sharing of information which could be in the form of live video, computer-aided design, audio, textual or conceptual. This system will provide a new paradigm for flexible interaction between the vendors and/or the domain experts at different stages of the product development cycle in order to reduce turn-around time. Also the system can be used in the classroom as a demonstration tool or in distance learning environment to introduce the concept of distributed collaborative engineering to students.