Khovanov homology in thickened surfaces

Mikhail Khovanov developed a bi-graded homology theory for links in the 3-sphere. Khovanov's theory came from a Topological quantum field theory (TQFT) and as such has a geometric interpretation, explored by Dror Bar-Natan. Marta Asaeda, Jozef Przytycki and Adam Sikora extended Khovanov's theory to I-bundles using decorated diagrams. Their theory did not suggest an obvious geometric version since it was not associated to a TQFT. We develop a geometric version of Asaeda, Przytycki and Sikora's theory for links in thickened surfaces. This version leads to two other distinct theories that we also explore.