Upload
buique
View
224
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Virtually Centralized, Globally Dispersed
A Sametime 3D Analysis
Arthur Valadares Cristina Lopes University of California, Irvine
1
Introduction
� Virtual worlds are not Second Life
� Growth of immersive technologies � $594 million invested in 63 VW Companies in 2008*
� Big names: IBM, Sun, AMD, Nvidia, Intel, HP, Zynga, Time Warner
� MMO, Fashion Design, Education, Business
� Companies can no longer afford not to participate
*Source: Virtual Worlds Management, http://www.engagedigitalmedia.com/research/2008/full.html
2
Thinkbalm market research 3
4
Thinkbalm market research
Mixed Reality Office Space
� Offices become a mixture of different realities � Co-workers physically near � Users in internal chat rooms / IRC channels � Internal Messenger � Virtual world meetings (Second Life) � Web conferencing
� Degrees of immersion influence participants behavior (Embodied social proxy, Venolia et al., 2010)
� Sametime 3D is IBM’s approach to immersive office meetings and collaborative environment
5
Sametime 3D - Description
� Virtual Collaboration for Lotus Sametime � “With Virtual Collaboration for Lotus Sametime (VCS),
organizations can now leverage virtual world technology to bring teams together in online meeting spaces that offer the collaborative benefits of in-person meetings without the high cost” IBM Virtual Collaboration for Lotus Sametime Website
� Based on OpenSimulator, an open source multi-platform, multi-user 3D application server
� Part of $100 million dollar investment in new business proposed on IBM’s Innovation Jam
6
Sametime 3D - Integration
� Integrates seamlessly to Sametime Messenger, IBM’s instant messaging application
7
Sametime 3D - Offering
� Communication � Spatial voice chat � Text chat � Second Life Gestures � User Generated Content?
� Virtual Spaces � Boardroom � Collaborative Space � Amphitheater
� Variety of Settings
8
Boardroom
9
Collaborative Space
10
Amphitheater
11
Collaborative Space � Tools for Collaborative Work
� Flipchart � Video/Presentation Screen � Brainstorming Wall � Interactive Polling Tool � Whiteboard
� Better solution than screen-sharing
12
Real to Virtual
� Believable environment leads to believable actions*
� Non-visual collaboration environments encourages anonymity* � E.g. Hiding in phone conferences
� Human representations create expectation of human interaction
� Spatial voice adds important contextual information about participants
� Further exploratory research is required to prove effectiveness
13
* (Biocca, 1997)
Results
� Unenthusiastic reception
� Possible reasons: � Low cost-benefit
� Price in the order of $50,000
� ThinkBalm survey: $50K, 25% < vs 16% >
� Training � Steep learning curve � Resistance to new technology
14
Competition
� Competition � Sun (Oracle) MPK 20; Wonderland
� Similar to Sametime 3D proposal � Next step: Mixed Reality
� Amphisocial; realxTend / Wonderland � OpenSimulator based with extensions
� Venuegen; Proprietary � Bettter graphics and functionality � Closer approximation to real
� Body posture and face expressions � Close comparison to WebEx � $90 / month (10 users)
15
Conclusion
� Investment in virtual world technology is increasing
� The gold pot is yet to be found
� Concept of mixed office reality (virtual-real) is already happening
� Questions � Which real world interactions should be reproduced in a
virtual environment? � Is physical similarity between avatars and their human
counterpart important for these interactions? � Are we missing the killer app? � How much should we charge for it?
16
Questions?
17
References
� Sametime 3D Images: Courtesy from IBM
� F. Biocca. The Cyborg’s Dilemma : Embodiment in Virtual Environments. Time, pages 12–26, 1997.
� E. Driver and S. Driver. Thinkbalm immersive internet business value study. Technical report, Thinkbalm, 4 South of Commons, Box 321, Little Compton, RI, 02837 USA, Q2 2009.
18