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Hypermedia in the Virtual Project Room - Toward Open 3D Spatial Hypermedia Preben Mogensen & Kaj Grønbæk InterMedia & Dept. of Computer Science University of Aarhus DK-8200 Aarhus C, Denmark Email:{pmogensen, kgronbak}@daimi.au.dk Outline Introduction Problem domain
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Hypermedia in the Virtual Project Room- Toward Open 3D Spatial Hypermedia Preben Mogensen & Kaj Grønbæk InterMedia & Dept. of Computer ScienceUniversity of AarhusDK-8200 Aarhus C, DenmarkEmail:{pmogensen, kgronbak}@daimi.au.dk
Outline • Introduction • Problem domain • Collaboration support for architects and designers • Sources of inspiration • Spatial hypermedia and open hypermedia • Collaborative Virtual Environments • The Manufaktur prototype • Architecture • 3D spatial hypermedia • Collaboration support • Status and future work
Toward virtual project rooms • Projects in our lab focusing on support for designers/architects • spatial organization of heterogeneous materials • bridging between physical and virtual worlds • designing office and project room layout • distributed collaboration • Prototypical user groups • Industrial design: LEGO Futura, Design/Nord, etc. • Landscape/Townscape architects • The EU DESARTE Project • Participatory design with Landscape architects and architects • The original Manufaktur concept (PC version DirectX) • Distributed Multimedia (DMM) project • Distribution and collaboration architecture • Stereo-based Manufaktur (SGI version with OpenGL) • Collaboration with Aarhus School of Architecture • Interactive Room project, e.g. designing a video analysis room
Studies of architects' and designers' work environments • Designers and architectsworking on common projects are often physically co-located in large office spaces • physical project rooms • Important materials are constantly available in the room on bulletin boards, whiteboards, flipovers etc. • People often work in smaller groups around boards, computers and tables. • Need bridge between physical and computer based material • e.g paper and physical objects • Co-location stimulates collaboration • peripheral awareness about common tasks, implicit learning • seamless transition between individual and collaborative work
Spatial hypermedia in 2D • Example: The classical VIKI system (Marshall and Shipman) • CAOS - Open Collaborative Spatial Hypermedia • Implicit grouping of related items based on spatial proximity
A 2D desktop is insufficient to mimic physical organization of material • 3D provides a better overview of materials
Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVE) • 3D collaborative environments • MASSIVE-1 and 2 from Nottingham • DIVE from SICS in Sweden • Both systems support • Tele-conferencing (audio,video, shared boards) in virtual worlds • Internet distribution • Collaboration between many users represented as avatars • Use aura concept to express proximity in virtual spaces • An aura is a specification of a 3D region in which a service or an avatar is visible or present • When an avatar’s aura intersect with that of another person they can see each other and start communicating • When an avatar’s aura intersect with that of a service (e.g. a conference table) the service become available • DIVE uses VRML and MASSIVE uses proprietary OpenGL based software
CVE examples • DIVE(http://www.sics.se/dive/) • MASSIVE (http://www.crg.cs.nott.ac.uk/research/systems/)
Traditional CVE Weaknesses • Focus on casual formation of meetings and conferences • Avatars are not well-suited for illustrating ongoing work • Documents are not taken serious - boils down to ”runic inscriptions” • No integration of real working tools, such as CAD and Word processors
Manufaktur: Document Centered CVE • General infrastructure for document-centered CVE • Management of Workspaces, collections of material belonging to, e.g. task or project contexts • “Live” hypermedia-links to real documents • Distributed and collaborative architecture • Multi platform support (DirectX and OpenGL) • No human-like avatars - hand and camera only Open HMServer ObjectServer CollaborationServer
Manufaktur Open Hypermedia Integration ExternalApplications ActiveX Ole Linking PersistentStore Webvise Client Webvise Server SGI - 3DManufaktur ActiveX PC - 3DManufaktur Clients onlocal machine XML TCP/IP TCP/IP ODBC - TCP/IP Object Server NetworkedServers CollaborationServer RDB Storage
Manufaktur display architecture PC - 3DManufaktur DirectX COM SGI - 3DManufaktur Shared servers Performer OpenGL Stereo projection
Objects in Manufaktur • Document-objects • hot-links to office and CAD documents, updates are immediately visible • 3D objects • 3D Studio models, e.g. mobile phones, rollerskates, or landscapes can be loaded into the workspace • Implantations • objects and devices to custom ("furnish") the space • Groupings • explicitly or implicitly formed collections of objects that can be manipulated as a whole • ActiveEndpoints • ActiveX-based link anchors that can be placed on top of Document-objects (Microsoft platform only)
Explicit and Implicit grouping – spatial hypermedia structuring • Groups may be created manually • add to group • remove from group • Groups may be identified semi-automatically based on intersecting auras • invoking 3D spatial parsing on demand • as future work, we consider background incremental parsing • Groups can be stored and handled as hypermedia composite objects
ActiveX-based open hypermedia links Endpoint: ID Moniker Endpoint: ID Moniker Link External Document External Document ActiveEndpoint (Anchor): ID ActiveEndpoint (Anchor): ID
Open issues • Manufaktur as a "roomware" component • Projection devices: Smartboard, HoloBench andtables • Two-handed input, gesture interface, speech recognition • Understanding workspaces and workpractice • Metaphors for workspaces • Space topology and furnishing • Representing hypermedia structures in 3D • visualization of structures, natural integration in the common workspace • Collaboration support • tightly and loosely coupled collaboration • common view • common orientation
Status and future work Comprehensive prototype for Windows 2000 • Single user version tested by users in work-like environments • Architects in Austria, Denmark and the UK • Integration of MS Windows version with SGI IRIX (HoloBench and similar) • Roomware development and physical room design • PC based client coupled with SGI based stereodisplay built into table • Wall projections of shared workspaces • Prototype room setup in June 2000 • Test in distributed use setting: fall 2000 + 2001 Proof of concept prototype In collaboration with School of Architecture in Aarhus
3D workbenches • Projection based VR • immersion through active stereo vision • Collaboration • Between people at the same place • Between remotely separated people