Enabling collaboration in virtual reality navigators
Victor Simon Theoktisto Costa
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
In w this paper we characterize a feature superset for Collaborative Virtual Reality Environments (CVRE), and derive a component framework to transform stand-alone VR navigators into full-fledged multithreaded collaborative environments. The contributions of our approach rely on a cost-effective and extensible technique for loading software components into separate POSIX threads for rendering, user interaction and network communications, and adding a top layer for managing session collaboration. The framework recasts a VR navigator under a distributed peer x-to-peer topology for scene and object sharing, using callback hooks for broadcasting remote events and multicamera perspective sharing with avatar interaction. We validate the framework by applying it to our own ALICE VR Navigator. Experimental results show that our approach has good performance in the collaborative inspection of complex models.
Related papers
On extending collaboration in virtual reality environments
Proceedings. 17th Brazilian Symposium on Computer Graphics and Image Processing, 2004
We characterize the feature superset of Collaborative Virtual Reality Environments (CVREs) out of existing implementations, and derive a novel component framework for transforming standalone VR tools into full-fledged multithreaded collaborative environments. The contributions of our approach rely on cost-effective techniques for loading graphics rendering, user interaction and network communications software components into separate threads, with a top thread for session collaboration. The framework recasts VR tools under a scalable peer-topeer topology for scene sharing, callback hooks for event broadcasting and multicamera perspectives of avatar interaction. We validate the framework by applying it to our own ALICE VR Navigator. Experimental results show good performance of our approach in the collaborative inspection of complex models.
Interacting in distributed collaborative virtual environments
Proceedings Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium '95, 1995
Virtual reality toolkits and systems for computer supported cooperative work are often treated separately. However, combining them offers new possibilities for remote cooperative (or collaborative) group working. In this paper we review existing distribution models of virtual environments and propose a new method of concurrent interaction management. We will examine the different types of communication layers, which are needed by collaborative virtual reality (VR) applications to achieve complex user interaction. Finally we propose a model for handling the different requirements of such applications, depending on the connection strategies used within a distributed VR system.
Collaborative virtual environments: going beyond virtual reality
icme, 2003
With the growing demand for collaboration technologies, several CSCW (Compute-Supported Cooperative Work) systems have been developed. CVEs (Collaborative Virtual Environments) represent an important category of CSCW systems that generally make use of 3D shared space to provide collaboration facilities. However in most CVEs collaboration is restricted to the Virtual Reality context. In this paper it is proposed to extend CVEs through the integration of different collaboration tools in order to allow collaboration to take place in different contexts (e.g. Web browsing), in a parallel and coordinated way with the virtual scene.
A Framework for Prototyping Collaborative Virtual Environments
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2005
COLLABORATIVE VR - A NEW ERA OF DESIGN
Seinäjoen ammattikorkeakoulu 2020: Osaamista strategian vahvuusaloilla, 2020
This article explores collaborative virtual reality and how it can be utilized in the design process. Also, the features and backgrounds of VR applications that support collaboration are introduced. In addition to these, the implementation of a collaborative VR application in Unity is reviewed in case-style using the Photon PUN 2 package (Photon Unity Networking).
Myriad: scalable VR via peer-to-peer connectivity, PC clustering, and transient inconsistency
Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, 2007
Distributed scene graphs are important in virtual reality, both in collaborative virtual environments and in cluster rendering. Modern scalable visualization systems have high local throughput, but collaborative virtual environments (VEs) over a wide-area network (WAN) share data at much lower rates. This complicates the use of one scene graph across the whole application. Myriad is an extension of the Syzygy VR toolkit in which individual scene graphs form a peer-to-peer network. Myriad connections filter scene graph updates and create flexible relationships between nodes of the scene graph. Myriad's sharing is fine-grained: the properties of individual scene graph nodes to share are dynamically specified (in CRR or Python). Myriad permits transient inconsistency, relaxing resource requirements in collaborative VEs. A test application, WorldWideCrowd, demonstrates collaborative prototyping of a 300-avatar crowd animation viewed on two PC-cluster displays and edited on low-powered laptops, desktops, and over a WAN. We have further used our framework to facilitate collaborative educational experiences and as a vehicle for undergraduates to experiment with shared virtual worlds.
CollaboVR: A Reconfigurable Framework for Creative Collaboration in Virtual Reality
2020 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), 2020
Writing or sketching on whiteboards is an essential part of collaborative discussions in business meetings, reading groups, design sessions, and interviews. However, prior work in collaborative virtual reality (VR) systems has rarely explored the design space of multi-user layouts and interaction modes with virtual whiteboards. In this paper, we present CollaboVR, a reconfigurable framework for both co-located and geographically dispersed multi-user communication in VR. Our system unleashes users’ creativity by sharing freehand drawings, converting 2D sketches into 3D models, and generating procedural animations in real-time. To minimize the computational expense for VR clients, we leverage a cloud architecture in which the computational expensive application (Chalktalk) is hosted directly on the servers, with results being simultaneously streamed to clients. We have explored three custom layouts – integrated, mirrored, and projective – to reduce visual clutter, increase eye contact...
VR-LAB---a distributed multi-user environment for educational purposes and presentations
Proceedings of the fourth symposium on Virtual reality modeling language - VRML '99, 1999
Distributed work is becoming a major issue for a large part of the work force and distributed collaborative research has almost become the norm. Consequently, distributed communication facilities play an important role in all future working and education scenarios. Tele-Teaching and Tele-Learning are important new applications for remote data access. Currently mainly focussing on audio-visual communication, Tele-Education has not discovered distributed 3D virtual environments to a large extent. However, we firmly believe that the demand for interactive exploration of distributed 3D databases over the internet and for collaboration within virtual 3D environments will soon become one of he driving forces of future deveopments. This paper presents an architecture, called VR-Lab, which embeds a distributed VRML-System and a remote contollable, distributed presentation environment to support Tele-Learning and education including 3D media.
Distributed Virtual Reality Systems
In this paper we present our Networked Virtual Environment (NVE) System, called W-VLNET (Windows Virtual Life Network), which has been developed on the Windows NT Operating System (OS). This paper emphasizes the Real-Time aspect of this NVE system, the advanced interactivity that the system provides and its ability to transfer data across the Internet so that geographically distant users can collaborate with each other. Techniques for communication, scene management, facial and body animation, and general user interaction modules are detailed in this paper. The use of VRML97 and MPEG4 SHNC is overviewed to stress the compatibility of the system with other similar Virtual Reality systems. The software provides realistic virtual actors as well as sets of applicable high-level actions in real-time. Related issues on obtaining actor models and animating them in realtime are presented. We also introduce a case study to show an example of how the system can be used.
Interaction and Co-located Collaboration in Large Projection-Based Virtual Environments
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2005
Conventional interaction in large screen projection-based display systems only allows a "master user" to have full control over the application. We have developed the VRGEO Demonstrator application based on an interaction paradigm that allows multiple users to share large projection-based environment displays for co-located collaboration. Following SDG systems we introduce a collaborative interface based on tracked PDAs and integrate common device metaphors into the interface to improve user's learning experience of the virtual environment system. The introduction of multiple workspaces in a virtual environment allows users to spread out data for analysis making use of the large screen space more effectively. Two extended informal evaluation sessions with application domain experts and demonstrations of the system show that our collaborative interaction paradigm improves the learning experience and interactivity of the virtual environment.
Related topics
Related papers
A Framework for Realistic Real-Time Walkthroughs in a VR Distributed Environment
Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) are increasingly being used in various business scenarios and are important driving forces in technology development. However the usage of these technologies in the home environment is restricted due to several factors including lack of low-cost (from the client point of view) highperformance solutions. In this paper we present a general client/server rendering architecture based on Real-Time concepts, including support for a wide range of client platforms and applications. The idea of focusing on the real-time behaviour of all components involved in distributed IP-based VR scenarios is new and has not been addressed before, except for simple sub-solutions. This is considered as "the most significant problem with the IP environment" [1]. Thus, the most important contribution of this research will be the holistic approach, in which networking, end-systems and rendering aspects are integrated into a cost-effective infrastructure for building distributed real-time VR applications on IP-based networks.
Extending VRML to Support Collaborative Virtual Environments
Collaborative Virtual Environments, 1996
In this paper we will give a short overview of the areas where VRML —the Virtual Reality Modelling Lan- guage— has to be extended in order to support collaborative virtual environments on the Internet. We will present extensions which allow an adequate representation of the individual participant within the virtual world. We will show how our approach supports shared interactions
CollaboVR: A Reconfigurable Framework for Multi-user to Communicate in Virtual Reality
2019
Despite various collaborative software that supports expressing ideas, people still largely prefer physical notebooks or whiteboards. The reason is that they provide free-form expressions, co-presence of all participants and easy collaboration. However, when working with remote participants, people often choose the convenience of video conferencing, perhaps with screen sharing. We propose CollaboVR, an open-source reconfigurable framework for distributed and co-located multi-user communication in Virtual Reality. We tested CollaboVR with an application that lets participants create freehand drawings and 3D objects, while allowing participants to adjust two key variables: (1) User arrangement (participants adjust the location of their views of other participants) and (2) Input orientation (participants adjust the input to be vertical or horizontal). Preliminary user studies show that CollaboVR is a useful collaborative tool. Users report that some user arrangements and input orientat...
Collaborative virtual environments
Communications of the ACM, 2001
We present extensions to research done at UNC in 3D object warping for collaborative virtual environments (CVEs). 3D objects are dynamically distorted in various ways to give visual cues to the users of a CVE about the actions that are being applied to the objects. Some warps occur with single-user actions; others happen when several users interact with one object collaboratively. We generalize the object warping methods to define 3D user interface techniques we generically call 3D sliders, meaning 3D objects that can be used to inject control information into programs. Unlike sliders in 1D, where the graphical image presents an analog to a physical control, we generalized the notion in both dimensions and in format/style. We do 3D sliders by warping the original object shapes, allowing their forms to retain their original representational value as well. The result is more than 3 degrees of control freedom in 3-space.
The VEplatform system: A system for distributed virtual reality
Future Generation Computer Systems, 1998
The VEplatform project aims at the development of a scaleable system which allows distributed virtual reality applications to be built. The system is decentralised, i.e. there is no central component which controls it and which can become a bottleneck. Entities of a virtual environment are represented by processes which are distributed over a network of computers. As a human participant (or "viewer") is also regarded as an entity there is no need to treat it separatly and therefore the system retains a simple structure. In this paper the working principles of the VEplatform system and its performance are discussed. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.
A Prototype System for Collaborative Virtual Environments: Design and Characterization
2004
Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) are distributed virtual reality systems that allow multiple geographically distant users to communicate with each other and interact with virtual objects in a shared virtual world. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the development and use of CVEs. The design analysis of CVE systems reveals several critical technical issues: managing consistent distributed information, controlling access to objects by multiple users, supporting large number of users, handling new users joining an existing shared environment, and representing users to each other in the environment appropriately. As a result, various CVE systems have been developed to address these issues. Most existing systems are either focused on specific collaboration features or customized to particular range of target applications, which constrains the flexibility of the system architecture to support a wider range of applications and limits its extensibility to respond to new requirements. This document presents a design framework that addresses all of these major issues associated with CVE design and implementation, and a flexible open prototype implementation of this framework that explicitly exposes each of them, making evaluation of the effects of specific issues on overall system performance possible. A systematic approach to evaluation of whole system is proposed and applied through a focus on internal system characterization and a focus on the external effects of specific issues on system performance. The experimental results showed that the prototype system provides efficient performance for collaborative applications with respect to the requirements considered in the experiments. The evaluation of our prototype implementation shows that our approach is feasible, and can be applied for the evaluation of other instances of issues.
A review of distributed architectures for networked virtual reality
Virtual Reality, 1996
The aims of this paper are twofold. First, it identifies the general requirements of future large-scale distributed virtual reality (VR) systems based on an analysis of current VR systems, of more general distributed systems platforms and a consideration of the key issues of scale and heterogeneity. These requirements subsequently reform the development of a general VR reference architecture; and a framework which identifies the key software components which will comprise future distributed VR systems. Second, it uses this reference architecture as a vehicle tbr conducting a broad review of current distributed VR products and research prototypes. The review covers twelve well known VR systems and is intended as a general resource for researchers entering the field. These systems are: AVIARY, BrickNet, DIVE, dVS, MASSIVE, the MR Toolkit, NPSNET, Superscape, VEOS, VUE, WAVES and WorldToolkit. The review also identifies relevant standards in the areas of computer graphics and distributed systems. The paper finishes by drawing out a number of more general conclusions from the review including the urgent need to conduct research into the subjects of security and resource discovery for distributed VR systems. 1 9 Cooperation -VR offers great potential as a communication tool. Systems to support cooperative work, especially over wide-area networks, necessarily require distribution. There is also the need to make virtual worlds and their associated resources (e.g. libraries of objects) shareable over wide-area networks. Hence, we see a growing interest in VR systems which are publicly accessible using personal computing platforms (e.g. the use of the emerging VRML standard to enable public access to 3-D scene descriptions stored on the World Wide Web).
A Java3D Tool for Real-Time Collaboration in a Virtual Reality CAADEnvironment
2002
Today the development of network-based virtual communities and the use of avatars have brought a new level of complexity to the meaning of virtuality, providing the technology for remote presence and collaborative experiences. In this project the intention was to pursue this articulated vision of VR in order to assist the design profession during the early stages of the design process. The objective was to provide a tool that is capable of creating 3D shapes in a shared VR environment, thus allowing thedesign and its evolution to be shared. The use of the Java programming language was a natural choice for this project. Because of Java’s performance scalability and hardware independence the concept ofCAAD has been extended, making it possible to create a VR environment that can co-exist between high-end supercomputers and standard PCs. The project is currently being tested using PCs and an SGI system running a Reality Centre. The research reported in this paper describes the architec...
VIRTUS: A collaborative multi-user platform
Proceedings of the fourth symposium on Virtual reality …, 1999
VRML is a file format for the description of dynamic scene graphs containing 3D objects with their visual appearance, multimedia content, an event model, and scripting capabilities. It is designed to be used on the Internet and on local system and to be used as an exchange file format. Although equipped with sophisticated techniques for user interaction the current VRML standard still lacks direct support for sharing virtual worlds that can not only be visited but also manipulated by multiple users distributed over the network. Several multi-user technologies have been developed in the past and some use VRML as the rendering and interaction vehicle. This paper gives a short review of design considerations for distributed virtual environments and approaches taken so far in the development of multi-user technologies. We present the design and implementation of VIRTUS, a multi-user platform that allows multiple geographically separated users to enter and manipulate shared VRML scenes.
The World’s Largest VR-Dome for Collaborative Design
This paper reports on the development of a new VR (Virtual Reality) system with the world's largest hemispherical screen, which can display high immersive, life-size scale, stereoscopic images. A cluster of PCs is used in master-slave architecture, with 18 slave PCs for rendering left eye and right eye images, and the master for synchronizing the images for stereo view. Contents can be shared with a VR system operating on a notebook with a new VR system developed as part of the same VR toolkit. We apply the system to a real, collaborative architectural design project.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.