Existing ontologies for smart environments are often too specialized, focusing on a single aspect such as context modeling or interaction in a meeting space. This fragmentation prevents a global and interoperable understanding of complex environments. Many problems, such as describing dynamics or the relative location of objects, remain unsolved.

The UnOvi project aims to develop a universal ontology to overcome current limitations. The objective is to create a model capable of describing both the domains and applications of smart environments, by enriching existing concepts and introducing new fundamental notions like referentiality and environmental change.