virtual collaborative environments togetherness in VR

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virtual collaborative environmentstogetherness
in VR
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virtual worlds

• a LONELY future for SAD people?
• or
• an opportunity to
• meet people see exotic (virtual)
  places make friends

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things to do together

• playing
• learning
• business
• getting married !!

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collaborative virtual environments

• virtual worlds
• multi-participant
• able to communicate (text, audio, video)
• embodied - avatars

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MUDs

• text based dungeons dragons
• multi-user networked games
• Doom!
• soon (if not already) on Virgin Atlantic ...

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Cyberspaces

• virtual graphical worlds
• often 2.5 D - cardboard cutout
• choose an avatar
• off the shelf free, may pay for custom avatar
• move
• within and between different rooms/scenes/worlds
• meet people
• see others as their avatars, text based speech

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examples

• Contact Consortium
• http//www.ccon.org/
• THE place for links
• the Palace (previous slide)
• one of the worlds there
• virtual wedding !
• uses AlphaWorlds

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pros and cons

• Pros
• great leveler
• anonymity - accountability?
• hides disability - email even better
• cheaper than travelling
• Cons
• no body language
• limited communication
• SAD !!!

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Learning

• virtual universities
• traditional distance learning CDROM, video
• email, bullitin boards
• IRC/TCQ/chat
• CuSeeMe, video conferencing
• virtual worlds
• virtual classroom video

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meetings and business

• travel costs money
• fares, time - 1000s per hour
• timeliness essential
• miss the strategic moment
• video conferences
• now common, special rooms etc.

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VR alternatives

• virtual conference room
• stay at your desk
• real(ish) environment
• table, whiteboard, computer (?!?)
• shared synthesised environement
• scientific visualisation
• information visualisation
• video

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who's there?

• awareness
• that people are there
• what they are saying
• what they are doing
• modeling (for analysis and implementation)
• nimbus - area where your presence is felt/heard
• focus - area of attention
• point of action - where you are doing things

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embodiments/avatars

• geometric - blockies
• efficient to render
• texture map face
• humanoid
• full virtual body?

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viewpoints
Easy to read?

• everyone sees the same?
• text - difficult to read at an angle
  face on for everyone pointing?

Easy to read?
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of real and virtual ...

• augmented reality
• see others work projected on your desk!
• desktop collaboration
• video image on screen
• computer tools
• video of room/work in progress
• Internet foyer ...

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Internet foyer

• real foyer
• large screen, camera
• see virtual world on screen
• virtual world
• representation of web
• see real foyer on virtual screen

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outside looking in
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inside looking out