Collaborative Design In Virtual Environments

Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) are multi-user virtual realities which actively support communication and co-operation. This book offers a comprehensive reference volume to the state-of-the-art in the area of design studies in CVEs. It is an excellent mix of contributions from over 25 leading researcher/experts in multiple disciplines from academia and industry, providing up-to-date insight into the current research topics in this field as well as the latest technological advancements and the best working examples. Many of these results and ideas are also applicable to other areas such as CVE for design education. Overall, this book serves as an excellent reference for postgraduate students, researchers and practitioners who need a comprehensive approach to study the design behaviours in CVEs. It is also a useful and informative source of materials for those interested in learning more on using/developing CVEs to support design and design collaboration.

A Collaborative Virtual Environment (CVE) is a distributed, virtual reality designed to support collaborative activities. It is a topic of increasing interest to large global corporations, where work teams are often distributed over a large geographic area. Aimed at anyone involved in researching the design of tools for supporting distributed teams of workers, it helps the reader understand the latest technology, state-of-the-art research, and good working practice. Among the topics covered are: systems aspects of CVEs; user centered aspects of environment design; and methodologies for iterative evaluation and design.

Abstract: How can architects and engineers work together in the digital world? The article "Collaborative Design in Virtual Environments" provides an answer. The authors describe how the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is becoming increasingly important in the architecture industry and what opportunities this opens up. In particular, the article focuses on collaboration in virtual spaces and collaborative modeling of 3D objects. The authors also present a software tool that enables collaborative 3D modeling in virtual environments. The aim of the "Industry 4.0 in Teaching" project is to promote collaboration and joint learning and to prepare students for the requirements of the digital working world. (Editor)

Keywords: Collaborative design -- Participatory design -- Computer-supported collaborative learning -- Computer-supported collaborative work -- Collaborative learning -- Engaged learning -- Situated learning -- Constructionism -- Distributed constructionism -- Problem-based learning.

Collaborative virtual environments are multi-user virtual realities which actively support communication and co-operation. This book addresses the theory, design, realisation and evaluation of such systems, with a particular emphasis on support for large numbers of distributed users. A broad approach is taken, which ranges from the sociology of interpersonal communication to the management of communication in distributed systems. The emphasis on multi-user environments distinguishes this book from the many general books on virtual reality which only deal with single-user systems. This book presents: models of multi-party awareness and interaction in space-based systems; detailed designs of two prototypes (MASSIVE-1 and MASSIVE-2); experiences with collaborative virtual environments created using these; and analyses of the corresponding network requirements. Many of these results and ideas are applicable to other systems and approaches.

Most tasks that are desirable to train in a virtual environment are not tasks that we do alone, but rather are executed collaboratively with one or more team members. Yet little is known about how to construct virtual environment training systems that support collaborative behavior. The purpose of this thesis was to explore methodologies for developing collaborative virtual environments for training. Our approach centered on analyzing task or training specific requirements for the simulation environment. We applied user-centered design techniques to analyze the cognitive processes of collaborative way finding to develop interface design guidelines. We utilized the results of our analysis to propose a general model of collaborative way finding. This model emphasizes team collaboration and interaction in problem solving and decision- making. We tested the model in the field, using cognitive task analysis methods to study land navigators. This study was intended to validate the use of user- centered design methodologies for the design of collaborative virtual environments. Our findings provide information useful to design, ranging from model enhancement to interface development. We have explored the cognitive aspects of collaborative human way finding and design for collaborative virtual environments. Further investigation of design paradigms should include cognitive task analysis and behavioral task analysis.

This book examines how digital technology is being used to assist the artists and designers. The computer is able to store data and reproduce designs, thus facilitating the speed-up of the iterative process towards a final design which meets the objectives of the designer and the requirements of the user. Collaborative design enables the sharing of information across digital networks to produce designed objects in virtual spaces. Augmented and virtual reality techniques can be used to preview designs before they are finalized and implemented. Art and design have shaped the values, social structures, communications, and the culture of communities and civilisations. The direct involvement of artists and designers with their creative works has left a legacy enabling subsequent generations to understand more about their skills, their motivations, and their relationship to the wider world, and to see it from a variety of perspectives. This in turn causes the viewers of their works to reflect upon their meaning for today and the lasting value and implications of what has been created. Art installations are harnessing modern technology to process information and to display it. Such environments have also proved useful in engaging users and visitors with real-time images and interactive art.

This thesis addresses issues related to the development of Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) for architectural design use. Today a new level of complexity has been brought to the meaning of virtuality by the creation of network-based virtual communities and the use of avatars along with multimedia which provides the technology for remote presence and collaborative experience. Communication and especially collaboration among design teams are now key factors in making the design process faster and more efficient in order to achieve increased competitiveness in the construction market. The objective of this thesis is to present a tool that is capable of creating 3D shapes in a shared VR environment, therefore allowing the evolution of the design to be a shared process. Along with its companion thesis (Conti, 2002) it gives the description of a framework and software prototype which could help practitioners using Virtual Reality technology by being a new interface for collaborative design at the early stages of the design process. The prototype system that is described here is called JavaTM Collaborative Architectural Design tool in Virtual Reality JCAD-VR) and this thesis presents a description of its collaborative architecture. This thesis gives a description of the phases and technical solutions in the development of the network architecture and collaborative features of the JCAD-VR system. In addition, several different communication tools were used to enhance communication and the flow of information among the design teams and they are integrated in a Virtual Environment specifically created for architects. After the description of the software development the results are given of a test of the collaborative architecture of JCAD-VR and its ease of use in a real multi participant design experiment which show the potential and efficiency of using CVEs in architecture.