CMPUT 301: Lecture 35 Computer Assisted Collaboration Martin Jagersand Department of Computing Science University of Alberta Based on notes from Pierre Boulanger, Ken Wong, Martin Jagersand

2 What is Groupware? Groupware is technology designed to facilitate the work of groups. To communicate, cooperate, coordinate, solve problems, compete, or negotiate. Uses technologies relying on modern computer networks, such as , newsgroups, videophones, or chat.

3 Groupware technologies two primary dimensions: Same time "synchronous“ voting, presentation support videophones, chat Different time "asynchronous“ shared computers , workflow Same place (co-located) Different place

4 CSCW Computer-Supported Cooperative Work The field of study which examines the design, adoption, and use of groupware examines cooperation, competition, socialization, and play.

5 Groupware Design More than Traditional User Interface Design –understanding groups and how people behave in groups. –understanding of networking technology –E.g. how delays in synchronizing views) affect a user's experience.

6 Asynchronous Groupware –by far the most common groupware application, –messages between 2 people, –mailing groups, –attaching files with a message. Newsgroups –messages among large groups of people –explicitly requested (an "on-demand" service),

7 Asynchronous Groupware 2 Group calendars –detect when schedules conflict or –Find meeting times that will work for everyone. –help to locate people. Workflow systems –allow documents to be routed through organizations through a relatively-fixed process. E.g. expense report Collaborative writing systems –allowing users to track changes and make annotations to documents.

8 Synchronous or Realtime Groupware Shared whiteboards –allow two or more people to view and draw on a shared drawing surface –different locations. Video communications –multi-way calling with live video, –essentially a telephone system with an additional visual component. 3D immersive AR/VR meetings

9 The Virtual Meeting Place Project Goal: The main goal of this project is to create a general man-machine interface that is at the focal point of this integration. Based on VIT VR technology and high speed networks, this interface should allow people to naturally interact with the system and communicate their design over long distances, producing the equivalent of a Virtual Meeting Place. Goal: The main goal of this project is to create a general man-machine interface that is at the focal point of this integration. Based on VIT VR technology and high speed networks, this interface should allow people to naturally interact with the system and communicate their design over long distances, producing the equivalent of a Virtual Meeting Place.

10 Early Virtual Meeting Place Configuration Virtual Meeting Place Work Station A Virtual Meeting Place Work Station B Communication Controller CORBA BASED Communication Controller CORBA BASED Real-time Mpeg 3D Images and Sound Compression Real-time Mpeg 3D Image and Sound Compression Central Communication and Database Controller Real-time Central Database Real-time Local Database Real-time Local Database Engineering Design File Converters IGES or STEP->XML

11 Virtual Meeting Place Hardware Configuration Stereo Video Input Passive Stereo Display System Graphic PC Right Graphic PC Left Microphone 3D Sound Generator User Interface PC 3 as a Database and Communication Controller Left Image Right Image Local Network High Speed Network

12 First Version of a Virtual Meeting Environment Object Manipulation using FOB Video and Sound Actuator Live Stereo Texture

13 Virtual Avatars Based on Stereo Textures Left Image Right Image Stereo Texture

14 Virtual Avatars from 3-D Sensors 3-D Alignment of the Basic Models 3-D Alignment of the Basic Models Avatar Synthesis 3-D Sound + 3-D Geometry Using Morphing Text Kiss Smile Neutral AA Expression Database Expression Database Synthesis

Canadian National Optical Network and Virtualized Reality Chicago Teleglobe GigaPOP Vancouver Calgary Regina Winnipeg Ottawa Montreal Toronto Halifax St John’s Fredericton Charlottetown RAN BCnet WURCnet SRnet MRnet ONet RISQ ACORN OC3 DS3 OC12 OC48 STAR TAP CA*net 3 OC12

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Future of the Technology This technology can be the basis of a new and more intuitive way of interacting over distances. Could improve planning and monitoring of the day-to-day operations of many industrial processes by increasing the level of awareness It is a generic technology that integrates all the information known about a system into a coherent and intuitive representation This technology can be the basis of a new and more intuitive way of interacting over distances. Could improve planning and monitoring of the day-to-day operations of many industrial processes by increasing the level of awareness It is a generic technology that integrates all the information known about a system into a coherent and intuitive representation