The system
The current setup uses a windows-based free client tool called Muse (www.musecorp.com) which is an open, component-based, extensible software architecture that presents the developer with the possibility of creating immersive 3D environments that unite video and animation, audio, 3D models, and multi-user capabilities. The Muse architecture which is built on standards like OpenGL, Tcl and XML promotes rapid development and provides a flexible foundation for incorporating current and emerging technologies.

Our first 3D environment is a virtual replica of the SFU CoLab room (picture above) where web browsers kiosks stand in for the physical CoLab’s smart-board PC displays. We are now investigating how individuals in the physical CoLab can collaborate with remote colleagues who login to the Muse based virtual CoLabs from their PCs. The hope is that researchers in the near future will have the option, when they want to collaborate with peers, to travel the nearest physical CoLab room (at say a major university in the area), or choose to participate online in a virtual coLab with simple software and an available PC setup.

Functional vEnvironments

We are also building flexible virtual environments that can be tailored for specific collaborative goals, where the setup and functional (how many kiosks situated in what type of organizational relationship for instance) depend on the desired outcome or process. For instance you would have markedly different setup of the informational environment for a group of researchers who are planning a early stage brainstorming session compared to say a situation where a mathematician was giving a educational tour through a solved problem for those new to it. Our interest is to analyze which setups work best for specific goals and also compare similar analysis being performed at the physical CoLab room with that of the virtual setups.

History

Initial design of the Muse software is by Muse where DiPaola was one of the main architects. He and other researchers at SFU continue to work with (the open architecture) Muse (as well as other systems) from a 3d UI and virtual environment perspective. The virtual coLab project was part of Simon Fraser University’s Center for Constructive and Experimental Mathematics Research Lab and its CoLab research lab under Jonathan Borwein. Steve Dugaro is a graduate student there, and was the prime implementor of the vCoLab.