A Scalable Network Architecture for Closely Coupled Collaboration

This article describes the architecture and the network communication of a large-scale, networked virtual environment, which is designed to specifically support closely-coupled collaboration in highly interactive scenarios. Its main goals are the maintenance of low latency during user interaction and fast multicasting of messages in order to fulfill consistency requirements. This is achieved by sophisticated message distribution techniques, peer-to-peer connections between interacting clients and a global hierarchical communication topology. Scalability is realised through partitioning the virtual world.

[1]  Richard C. Waters,et al.  Locales and beacons: efficient and precise support for large multi-user virtual environments , 1996, Proceedings of the IEEE 1996 Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[2]  Michael Zyda,et al.  A Taxonomy for Networked Virtual Environments , 1997, IEEE Multim..

[3]  Wolfgang Broll.  Interacting in distributed collaborative virtual environments , 1995, Proceedings Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium '95.

[4]  Kyoung Shin Park,et al.  Effects of network characteristics on human performance in a collaborative virtual environment , 1999, Proceedings IEEE Virtual Reality (Cat. No. 99CB36316).

[5]  Rick Stevens,et al.  Access grid: Immersive group-to-group collaborative visualization , 2000 .

[6]  Michael Zyda,et al.  NPSNET:A Network Software Architecture for LargeScale Virtual Environments , 1994, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[7]  Oliver Otto,et al.  Constructing a Gazebo: Supporting Teamwork in a Tightly Coupled, Distributed Task in Virtual Reality , 2003, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[8]  Thomas A. Funkhouser,et al.  RING: a client-server system for multi-user virtual environments , 1995, I3D '95.

[9]  Michael Zyda,et al.  Bamboo-a portable system for dynamically extensible, real-time, networked, virtual environments , 1998, Proceedings. IEEE 1998 Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium (Cat. No.98CB36180).

[10]  Jens Volkert,et al.  Message Traffic in a Distributed Virtual Environment for Close-Coupled Collaboration , 2004, ISCA PDCS.

[11]  Chris Joslin,et al.  Trends in networked collaborative virtual environments , 2003, Comput. Commun..

[12]  Maja Matijasevic,et al.  A Review of Networked Multi-User Virtual Environments , 1997 .

[13]  Christer Carlsson,et al.  DIVE - A platform for multi-user virtual environments , 1993, Comput. Graph..

[14]  Wolfgang Broll,et al.  DWTP—an Internet protocol for shared virtual environments , 1998, VRML '98.

[15]  Michael Zyda,et al.  Virtual reality transfer protocol (VRTP) design rationale , 1997, Proceedings of IEEE 6th Workshop on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises.

[16]  Justin C. D. Savage,et al.  Symmetric and asymmetric action integration during cooperative object manipulation in virtual environments , 2002 .

[17]  Sandeep Singhal,et al.  Networked virtual environments , 1999 .

[18]  John C. Hart,et al.  The CAVE: audio visual experience automatic virtual environment , 1992, CACM.

[19]  Bruno Arnaldi,et al.  A General Framework for Cooperative Manipulation in Virtual Environments , 1999, EGVE.

[20]  Daniel Thalmann,et al.  A Flexible Architecture for Virtual Humans in Networked Collaborative Virtual Environments , 1997, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[21]  Rynson W. H. Lau,et al.  Collaborative distributed virtual sculpting , 2001, Proceedings IEEE Virtual Reality 2001.

[22]  James M. Calvin,et al.  The SIMNET virtual world architecture , 1993, Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[23]  Jens Volkert,et al.  Navigation models for a flexible, multi-mode VR navigation framework , 2004, VRCAI '04.

[24]  Steve Benford,et al.  MASSIVE: a distributed virtual reality system incorporating spatial trading , 1995, Proceedings of 15th International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems.