Secure CAD model retrieval and data consistency: Issues in role-based visualization

Abstract

Application and development of collaborative design solutions is hindered by the lack of secure 3D data sharing among a wide range of participants in the product development chain. Role-based visualization facilitates presentation of CAD models at different visualization levels to intra- or inter-enterprise collaborators and thus protects confidential enterprise design data. By extending the traditional three-level (i.e. write, read, and deny) information security mechanism and defining the relationships between various roles, 3D models and visualization levels, information sharing is achieved with enhanced information security. The main purpose of the 'role-based visualization' concept is to support collaboration on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platforms. As a continuation of previous work, this paper highlights two key issues for role-based visualization, i.e. (1) secure model retrieval and (2) data consistency. Implementation details are presented and discussions on further work are also given.