Collaborative product modelling in hetereogeneous environments: an approach based on XML Schema

Collaborative solid modelling among distributed designers is becoming an effective chance for product design. Nevertheless the available solutions usually rely on proprietary systems and formats and do not enable heterogeneous collaboration. The overall aim of the work presented in this paper is to introduce a framework for heterogeneous collaboration. The proposed solution is based on the definition of an intermediate neutral modelling language capable of capturing the modelling activities carried out by distributed users. Thedescribed system is based on the XML Schema technology.