<title>Distributed virtual worlds in high-speed networks</title>

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recent research efforts have concentrated on determining how the distributed workplace can be transformed into a sharedvirtual environment. Interaction among people and processes virtual worlds has to be provided and improved. To enhancethe usability of our virtual collaborative environment we integrated a multicast communication environment. With theavailability of global information highways, 3D graphical intercontinental collaboration will become a part of our dailywork routine. This paper describes the basics of our network infrastructure and the multicast support. As a proof of concept,a virtual world scenario is also presented in this paper.Keywords: Virtual collaborative environments, cooperation, multicast, network architecture. INTRODUCTION The combination of 3D graphics, spatial audio, object interaction, and haptic feedback in a distributed virtual environmentconstitute a multidimensional form of telecommunication, addressing the three main perception senses of human beingssimultaneously. These advanced forms of telecommunication make it possible to transform distributed workplaces intovirtual collaborative environments (VCE). Scenarios can be tailored to the particular needs of an application or user.Possible applications range from simple distributed multimedia visualizations of scientific data in standard 3D data formatsto distributed Virtual Reality (VR) environments for teleconferences and simulators [1], which demand advanced computertechnology.In this paper, we introduce the use of broadband networks in combination with virtual realities as a future communicationsystem. By doing so, two major fields of Computer Science are tied together: networks, which stem from the field ofcommunication, and 3D-VR systems as part of computer graphics. The main goal is to enhance usability and realism ofvirtual environments by combining 3D objects with broadband networks, and to explore new aspects evolving from thiscombination.As a basis for our work introduced here, we use Virtual Collaborative Environments (VCE). Avatars, the graphicalrepresentations of participants, can move around the 3D scenario. In order to improve non-verbal communication, they havevideo-textured faces and business cards for identification. Walls serve as information displays and may be overlaid byadditional video streams or applications. By overlaying, messages and discussion material can be brought into the scene.The environment, described later, allows the user to accomplish her task in an easy and intuitive way by operating ingeographically distributed working groups.