Lecture 5: Collaborative Virtual Environments

Dr. Xiangyu WANG

Outline

• Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) with examples

• Issues in CVEs

Definition of CVE

• “A CVE is a computer-based, distributed, virtual space or a set of places. In such places, people can meet and interact with others, with agents or with virtual objects”– (from CVE’00 conference)

General Features of CVEs

• CVEs represent a paradigm shift in that they provide a space that contains or encompasses data representations and users

General Features of CVEs

• To be fit for their intended purpose, systems must be designed with intended users' tasks explicitly considered.– task-appropriate information representation– communications tools– designed landscapes

General Features of CVEs

• Users can also support asynchronous interactions by leaving each other messages within the VE.

Text-based CVEs

• Offer limited avatar representations which are generally limited, acting more as 'placeholders' than active, gesturing embodiments.

Text-based CVEs• Examples of text-based CVEs

– MOOs: Multi-User Object-Oriented environments, e.g., “The palace”

– MUVEs: Multi-User Virtual Environments (both text-based and graphical)

– MUDs: Multi-User Dungeons

Graphical CVEs

• A set of 2D or 3D virtual places where people can meet and interact with others or graphical virtual objects

• Users are represented by avatars and communicate via chat, gestures, object manipulation and audio.

• Example: Active Worlds and SecondLife

An example of CVE

• Figure 1 shows WWW-3D, an application for visualizing parts of the web that have been explored.

Application Areas

• Meeting Place

• Information Spaces

• Demonstrations and Exhibitions

• Shared Workspace

CVE as meeting places

• An electronic ”container” where meetings and other activities happen over time

• Purpose of meeting places:– Remote or local users, or both (target on audience)– Work, discussions, socializing (target on activity)

• Facilities: shared whiteboard, slide-show, generation of awareness information, outlook of a classroom or lecturing hall, round table and chairs, roads leading to the place etc.

• Examples: Virtual Campus, VLEARN

Virtual Campus, Singapore

Source: Virtual Campus of NTU

CVEs as information spaces

• This metaphor aims at facilitating collaborative information visualization and navigation

• Purpose– Presenting materials in a certain course– Presenting student projects– Storing common information resources– Presenting personal information

• Facilities: modes of information presentation• Examples: iPalace, VBI, Viras

iPalace

CVEs as demonstrations andexhibitions

• Feasible to use in situations where it is for practical and safety reasons difficult to demonstrate the phenomena in real life.

• Purpose– Real, historical and fictional places– Demonstration of art, by artists or students– Demonstration of scientific concepts and experiments

• Facilities: creating “atmosphere”• Examples: Vetumini, VanGogh, CHEMEET,

SciCentr, Artshow

Vetumini – virtual vet clinic

CVEs as shared workplaces

• Allows users to work in a shared context on a shared task using shared artifacts.

• Purpose:– Synchronous vs. asynchronous cooperative work– Different type of working activities, e.g. collaborative

construction of environment

• Facilities: means for mediation of workplace awareness

• Examples: SecondLife, Cybergen, Euroland, GrMuseum

Euroland

Issues in CVEs

1. Currently many systems are rather clumsy in the way interaction and modality shifts are handled, and the tools for navigation do not always provide the easiest mapping from 'real world' to VE movement.

Issues in CVEs

2. Objective view v.s. Subjective views

3. Level of-detail (LOD) effects.

Issues in CVEs

4. Representation of Interactions between the users/representations: virtual embodiments in CVE offer: – proximity cues through use of auditory and

visual cues, – activity cues through their movements and – informational cues through gesture, speech

and intonation

Timeline for Tutorial

• 3:00-3:15 break

• 3:15-3:30 warm-up for design session

• 3:30-4:00 design task one

• 4:00-4:15 break

• 4:15-4:45 design task two