An Open Standardized Platform for Dual Reality Applications

In this paper we present a new approach towards assistance and awareness systems that exploits the duality of automated homes; the status of devices and appliances in the real world on the one hand, and their digital representation on the other hand. If the digital representation is embedded in a virtual world, i.e., a 3-D model that reflects the actual physical environment, we call this a Dual Reality (2R). The concept of Dual Reality emerges from the connection between real and virtual environments, so that they can mutually reflect and influence each other. This approach can be used to create new applications and to enhance already existing applications both in the real and also in the virtual world. In this paper, we show how the standard-based Universal Remote Console (URC) platform can be applied to Dual Reality applications and therefore can serve as an architectural foundation for synchronizing a virtual environment model with the real world.