Project Title: Infrastructure Development and Planning Project to Explore the Benefits of a Collaborative Virtual Environment in Virginia Universities and Businesses.

In this project report we first listed the original objectives as a reference and then described the results of each of these objectives followed by recommendations. In this summary we list these objectives again for discussion.

In this report we will first list the original proposed objectives as a reference and then describe the results of each of those objectives followed by recommendations.

Original Proposed Objectives:

1. Develop a suite of distributed virtual environment (VE) software tools that enhance collaboration between various Virginia based academic and industries using high-speed networks.
2. Create a pilot project with VPST (Virtual Prototyping and Simulation Technology Inc.) and its clients, Mainstreets Productions Company (a Virginia based entertainment company), that will demonstrate how an entertainment, marketing or sales company could benefit by using collaborative VE software.
3. Visit key academic institutions and industries in Virginia who have expressed an interest in using collaborative VE software.
4. Summarize results in objectives 2 and 3 and modify objectives for the development of network collaborative VE software tools that was discussed in objective 1. Make recommendations for the creation of a CIT Virtual Environment Center as part of Virginia Tech’s new UVAG-ACITC (University Visualization and Animation Group – Advanced Communications and Information Technology Center).

1. Collaborative VE tools:

Based on our work with the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Computational Science Alliance (NCSA) – Partnership in Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI) we developed a Collaborative CAVE Console (CCC), see http://bleen.sv.vt.edu/~kcurry/ccc.html, that extends collaboration to desktop workstations, CAVEs^*, and I-Desks across high-speed networks. An important collaborative component of the CCC is the voice recognition interface. A portion of funds from this CIT project were used to buy the computer and software for this interface.

The purpose of developing CCC was to enhance collaboration in shared virtual environments (VEs) that extends from CAVEs, I-Desks, and I-Walls to desktop workstations. In the next year the NSF NCSA-PACI is committed to extending these collaborative VEs to desktop NT workstations. Much the same as web-browsers are used to share information over the internet, the CCC was designed to enhance collaboration over the internet for commercial, education, and research applications. Typically participants are part of an interdisciplinary team.

"… an interdisciplinary research consortium should examine possible business models that take advantage of telecommuting and remote collaboration…"

For example, one of the long term goals for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is to create a persistent virtual environment enabling an interdisciplinary team, 1) design professionals, 2) owners and 3) contractors, to understand and gain insights of construction projects before or during the construction. Instead of relying exclusively on 2-D drawings, virtual reality generates a 3D environment and provides opportunity to walk-through the project while under construction. Desktop virtual reality applications on personal computers allow users to walk through a simulated environment created with commercial off the shelf (COTS) software tools. A prototype of this type of construction project was documented at http://www.sv.vt.edu/classes/ESM4714/Student_Proj/class99/wanamakok/wanamakok/index.htm .

A similar collaborative environment has been used by Caterpillar Inc at NCSA’s CAVE, as a NCSA Industrial Partner over the last three years which is call the Distributed Virtual Reality (DVR) Project, see http://www.ncsa.uiuc.eduVEGA/DVR . Recently the VT-CAVE has hired Dr. Lance Arsenault from the NCSA Caterpillar DVR design team to build similar VR prototypes for the Navy’s Virtual Crane Project funded by ONR. An extension of the CCC for CAD (computer aided design) design will be built this summer at the VT-CAVE, called ME-JIVE (Mechanical Engineering – Just In a Virtual Environment), see http://www.sv.vt.edu/future/cave/proposals/jive/jive.1.html. This year we will combine the DVR Caterpillar experience of Dr. Arsenault with the ME-JIVE project that will become part of the Newport News Shipyard (NNS) Collaborative Engineering Environment (CEE) Project with HPCMO (High Performance Computing dod Modernization Office center).

Glen Wheless and Cathy Lascara at Old Dominion are the only other university in Virginia that are developing remote site collaborative tools such as CAVE5D which like the CCC is also based on CAVERNsoft and Limbo. Details of CAVE5D can be viewed at http://www.ccpo.odu.edu/~cave5d. For both CCC and CAVE5D web sites allow prospective users to download and install software at their remote sites.

Both Virginia Tech and ODU have recently met with key planners for the HPCMO and NNS Collaborative Engineering Environment (CEE) Project where we have agreed to be co-developers on HPCMO-CEE tools. Recently ODU has been funded by a ONR DURIP to build a CAVE, possibly located at the HPCMO Damneck facility, where we will connect the VT and ODU CAVEs together with HPCMO supercomputers to create the CEE collaborative modeling-simulation-visualization environment with high speed networks.

Although NASA Langley in Hampton is not a commercial Virginia company, several Virginia based companies are subcontractors for NASA Langley’s Intelligent Synthesis Environment (ISE) Program. The ISE program is based at NASA Langely, where a CAVE has been recently built, under subcontract by a Virginia company. Virginia Tech and ODU have visited this company at NASA where together we have made plans to created a Collaborative Engineering Environment (CEE) that will connect CAVEs and other HPC resources at universities and NASA facilities with high speed networks. Again Virginia Tech and ODU has been identified as two key Virginia universities that will work with Virginia companies at NASA Langley to extend their existing CCC and CAVE5D tools for NASA’s ISE-CEE.

2. VPST Pilot Project:

VPST, Inc. (VPST) is a virtual environment (VE) technology company jointly owned by its four principals and Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc. VPST is located in Blacksburg Virginia, adjacent to the Virginia Tech campus. VPST designs and implements end-to-end VE-based solutions including development of virtual prototypes, interactive visual and multi-modal environments, complex numerical simulations, 3D geographic information systems, and military-based training environments. VPST is also one of the leading VE companies developing virtual environments for architecture and interior design. VPST has provided VE-based solutions for a number of well-known organizations including NationsBank, the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, and the US Army.

VPST efforts under this proposal have been focused, at a high level, on using information technology to discover, structure, and foster collaborative partnerships with other Virginia-based companies and to leverage the combined strengths to compete at the national and even global level. Indeed, many of the products and services we have been able to develop were only previously available in California, Canada, or overseas. VPST and its strategic partnerships aim to bring high-tech services and products backed by local hometown support to a large-volume of hi-tech east coast consumers.

VPST’s current and previous work, under this proposal, are presented below. Presentation is based on the May 12 "Statewide Investment Strategy" drafted by the Governor’s commission on Information Technology and is intended to reflect VPST’s goal of fostering collaboration within Virginia.

"Business leaders need to be aware of opportunities in other parts of Virginia where they might potentially develop partner relationships."

The commission held six regional meetings during March and April of 1999. One of the three key findings of the regional meetings was the need for business leaders to seek and construct IT partnerships and within the state. VPST has been aggressively seeking Virginia companies that offer compatible and synergistic technologies and services. By coupling cutting edge VE technology with other IT-based efforts, VPST and its strategic partners aim to develop unique products and services not yet available to world-wide markets. VPST has partnered with several Virginia-based companies in pursuit of this goal. Three of these collaborations are described below.

Digital Motion, Richmond, Virginia

Collaborative efforts with Digital Motion revolve around combining Virtual Set technology with Virtual Environments. Virtual set technology provide the latest cinematic effects used in the film and broadcast industry. Digital sets allow real-time integration and interaction of real actors and digitally created sets and props. Television shows such as Fox’s "America’s Funniest Videos" and VH1’s "Rock & Roll Jeopardy!" use digital set technology to create captivating, surreal sets at a fraction of the cost of building actual sets. Advertising firms use digital set technology to "freeze" an actor and product in mid-air, while the camera or another actor continue to move around or under the suspended item (for example The Gap’s "Swing Dance" and Subaru’s "Outback" commercial).

VPST is teaming with Digital Motion to produce a series of interactive VE technologies that use virtual set technology to support integration of remote actors as well as create interactive experiences for large audiences. One such project underway will create a travelling, immersive theater for the Smithsonian Museums. The immersive theater will not only display stereo, 3D computer generated images, but also allow guides or even visitors to the theater to be "included" in the actual presentation. In the first case, an off-stage actor, dressed in historically meaningful apparel may interactively appear in the presentation, fielding questions, or leading an interactive experiences. In another case, an audience volunteer may be lead backstage to appear in the interactive experience. This collaborative effort extends beyond Digital Motion in Richmond to include Pyramid Systems in Arlington, Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C., and possibly even Coca-Cola!

AS Imagined, Newport News, Virginia

VPST is teaming with AS Imagined of Newport News to provide a Virginia-based motion-capture facility used for character animation in film and broadcast media. Currently, east coast animators must travel to Canada or California to acquire these services, which must be done a specialized sound and motion studio. VPST and AS Imagined are combining resources, experiences, and contacts to not only create the studio, but provide influx of project work to fund further development.

The most current project will provide motion capture for an animated "Flamingo", who hosts a network television show for young children. VPST and AS Imagined are also teaming up to provide computer animated content for VE theaters (including the travelling Smithsonian theater). Other opportunities include developing content for promotion and advertising uses. VPST is currently in discussions with the Jamestown/Yorktown Foundation to provide develop interactive content for the 2008 celebration.

Main Street Productions, Richmond, Virginia

VPST teaming with another Richmond-based company to research and develop cutting edge video technologies aimed to exploit next-generation Internet and Internet II capabilities. Main Street Productions is mostly a broadcast studio with an emphasis on computer animation.

The strategic partnership aims to combine Main Street Production’s animation and broadcast experience with VPST’s knowledge of cutting edge VE-based stereoscopic presentation techniques and Internet knowledge. Using Alias|Wavefront as the backbone, a stereoscopic animation of a flying bat was created that can be viewed remotely using current internet technologies. The vision, is to create a prototype of a "video on demand" internet service, that not only provides remote access to thousands of Hollywood movies, but movies that are downloadable and presentable in full 3D, stereo. A small sample of this prototype is currently up and running in the Virginia Tech CAVE™.

"… an interdisciplinary research consortium should examine possible business models that take advantage of telecommuting and remote collaboration…"

One of the observations and recommendations forged from the council’s May meeting addresses innovative needs and requirements to support telework or telecommuting. VPST is currently pursuing a collaborative research consortium between Virginia Tech and Wright Patterson Air Force Base to create a collaborative environment for biomedical haptic research.

To goal is to leverage common resources to provide innovative visualization environments for both academic research and industry development. By coupling VPST and VT resources, it is believed that a multi-modal, collaborative environment can be created that allows researchers in multiple locations to see, hear, and feel a common biomedical information space. This work is in a very early stage of development, but nonetheless, represents a common working environment that facilitates telecommuting and remote collaboration.

"The technology community throughout Virginia needs to take every opportunity to be fully aware of what is in its backyard…"

In order for the commonwealth to quickly realize the benefits of many of its recommendations, Virginia companies must market themselves to each other, in a spirit of collaboration rather than competition. Capitalizing on the benefits of emerging technologies requires coupling these technologies with more traditional and stable economies. As such, it behooves new information technology companies to understand the needs of older, more established Virginia based-companies as much as it behooves traditional Virginia-based companies to understand what emerging technologies may offer.

VPST has performed a number of "awareness raising" exercises throughout the state, not only to market and promote the VPST name, but more importantly, to describe VE technology and to communicate advantages of Blacksburg-based VE capabilities. VPST has incurred significant expense to promote VE technology throughout the commonwealth. Nevertheless, VPST will continue to promote Blacksburg-based VE technology resources and solutions currently available to the commonwealth. Two such promotional efforts are described below.

Greater Richmond Technology Council

One of VPST’s best attempts to present sophisticated VE-technology to Virginia business leaders in a remote location was its computer-generated, 3D, stereo presentation at the Richmond Technology Council meeting. This presentation used 3D demonstrations and animations created via the collaborative efforts described above. VPST engineers coordinated simultaneous presentation of a slide-show presentation, live video feed, and multiple computer generated 3D, stereo images to over 500 people. Many Virginia corporations were able to get a "hands on" view of what VE technology has to offer. A number of strategic partnerships emerged from this presentation including the arrangement with Digital Motion described above.

The Governor’s Commission on Information Technology

In May of 1999, Virginia Tech hosted the Governor’s Commission on Information Technology. VPST was asked to head up the VE portion of the demonstration aimed to exhibit both VPST and Virginia Tech’s VE capabilities. VPST worked with the state GIS coordinator to produce "Virtual Virginia"; a VE-based flythrough of the entire state illustrating landcover, elevation, and other geographic features.

Many of the Commissions’ business leaders were impressed with the cutting-edge technology under development at VPST and Virginia Tech. Indeed, a number of collaborative opportunities have become apparent since the May demonstration. One such opportunity is focused on leveraging the high-tech Blacksburg workforce, with workforce deficits in Northern Virginia. VPST has teamed with PRC of McLean, Virginia to provide high-tech, software development subcontracting services. VPST intends to leverage both the Virginia Tech graduate resource pool, as well as, local IT training graduates to provide this service.

3. Visit Key Academic Institutions:

Several visits with Old Dominion University, three visits to University of Virginia, and two visits to George Mason University resulted from this project. To the best of my knowledge these visits were the first of their kind. Consequently there was a sincere interest in our preliminary discussions on how respective VE researchers and educators might work with each other on future collaborative VE projects.

Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University and Virginia Tech are already collaborating on a funded project from the NSF NCSA-PACI. ODU like Virginia Tech have developed collaborative tools as discussed in section 1 of Results and Discussion: Collaborative VE Tools". ODU and Virginia Tech will be co-developers in future CEE tools for both the NASA and HPCMO-NNS projects using high-speed networks. Common to all three of these efforts is the fact that Virginia Tech, ODU, and NASA all have CAVEs in Virginia, but even more important is that these collaborative tools extend from CAVEs and I-Desks to the desktop UNIX workstations, which will include NT workstations in the near future. These collaborative tools are general enough for applications in research, education and industry.

The key people to contact at ODU are Glen Wheless (wheless@ccpo.odu.edu) and Cathy Lascara (lascara@ccpo.odu.edu). For a more complete description of projects at these two universities, visit their respective web sites: http://www.cave.vt.edu and www.ccpo.odu.edu:80/Research/vr.html. It is interesting to note that neither ODU nor Virginia Tech are considered to be VR research centers but rather focus on applications that use VR tools. ODU and Virginia Tech use CAVEs, I-Desks, and desktop workstations to study simulation model predictions that result is complex three-dimensional structures with an emphasis on collaboration. Virginia Tech’s CAVE is unique in that it was created to be part of the new Advanced Communications and Information Technology Center (ACITC) currently under construction with a completion date of spring 2000. The VT-CAVE is currently located at the University Corporate Research Center near campus and works closely with VPST who works closely with other industries interested in VR applications.

University of Virginia

There are a variety of VR capabilities at the University of Virginia (UVa). Currently the university is seriously looking at purchasing a "Vision Dome". Unlike ODU and Virginia Tech, UVa is a NSF NPACI Partner, associated with UC San Diego, works closely with UVa’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH). To encourage future collaboration about 20 researchers and educators first visited the VT-CAVE in the fall of 1998. VT-CAVE and VPST visited UVa and gave presentations to the Piedmont Technology Council on February 18, 1999 at the Boars Head Inn. Earlier that morning we meet with several folks from IATH, The New Media Center and the Health Sciences Center which is associated with the UVa medical center. From this meeting we learned the most about future opportunities. Dr. Tom Spraggins, is the manager of Academic Computing in Health Sciences and is associated with information technology and communications projects at UVa. Tom is the contact point for medical imaging and telemedicine. Michael Tuite is the Director of the New Media Center which has strong ties with the Health Science Center and provides expertise in VR software development.

George Mason University

On March 29, 1999, we visited George Mason University (GMU) and met with Scott Martin, Jim Chen, and Chris Dede. Scott Martin, is the director of the Art and Visual Technologies and Internet Multimedia Center and works closely with CIT’s Internet Technology and Innovation Center. Chris Dede works closely with Jim Chen and Edward Wegman and together they have work with Bowan Loften at the CAVE laboratory at the University of Houston (UH). Together GMU and UH have created an excellent set of VR collaborative tools, ScienceSpace’s Immersive Virtual Worlds", that connect CAVEs and desktop workstations running Head Mounted Devices (HMDs), see www.virtual.gmu.edu. Dr. Jim Chen, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and is an expert in computer graphics, virtual environments, visualization, and medical imaging. Recently Dr. Chen has worked closely Dr. Edward MacMahon, M.D. at the Pentagon City Hospital using VR in knee surgery. Together Drs. Chen and MacMahon have submitted proposals on Interactive Visualization for Knee Surgery Assistance.

On May 6, 1999 the VT-CAVE demonstrated the CCC at the Symposium99 The Art of Technology: Creative Collaborations – Higher Education and Business. The emphasis was on using collaborative tools on the internet where all the presentations where focused on applications in education. Following the presentation was a panel discussion on "Digital Homogeneity of Innovative Education? Future Models for Collaboration" where the discussion included commercial applications but there was still a strong emphasis on education. Representing Virginia Tech at the symposium we attempted to present a real-time demonstration of the Collaborative CAVE Console where an SGI Octane UNIX workstation at the symposium was hooked up to the CAVE at Virginia Tech and O2 workstations located at governors schools at Lynchburg and the Shenandoah Valley. Unfortunately that very morning a construction crew in Chantilly dug up the Sprint cables connecting GMU to a large segment of Virginia so we were not able to demonstrate the CCC in real-time.

4. Summarize Results and Modify Objectives:

All four universities are already involved in VR projects that encourage collaboration to the degree dictated by the constraints of time & resources allocated by the funding agency and cost sharing provided by their respective institutions. Except of the collaboration that already exists between ODU and Virginia Tech, it was surprising to see the level of interest to develop collaborate VE tools at these four Virginia universities. Universities are typically competitive and it is particularly difficult to forge partnerships between universities were one university is seen by the others as the principal institute.

Based on discussions with researchers, educators and administrators who are interested in future collaborations between universities and businesses that emphasize VE collaborative tools on the internet, We make the following recommendation with modified objectives.

1. The creation of a collaborative CIT VE Center is premature at this time. Because of the emphasis of a collaborative VE tools distributed across high-speed networks, any future CIT VE Center should also be managed as a shared / distributed resource and not centralized like previous CIT centers.
2. Prior to creating a CIT VE Center, CIT should first consider funding a demonstration project that allows key universities and businesses identified in this report to create a working telemedicine project. This project would combine the experience of Dr. Jim Chen (GMU), Tom Spraggins (UVa), together with the experience of Drs. Glen Wheless and Ron Kriz who would create collaborative VR tools based on CAVERNsoft at ODU and Virginia Tech. The focus of such a project will be to use existing network resources with an emphasis on actual medical applications at the UVa Medical Center and Regional Hospital in Blacksburg. This project would include funding companies such as VPST if CIT could make an exception to include direct funding for VPST to be a co-developer.
3. This project would be a demonstration project that would become part of the existing CIT Internet Technology Innovation Center (ITIC) that would include the existing experience and network resources of that center. This demonstration project would also take advantage of future network resources provided by the proposed CIT Advanced Communications and Network Infrastructure Program (ACNIP).

"The Center for Innovative Technology should actively support ACNIP…". "ACNIP will serve to provide early access to advanced networks and will be a catalyst for commercial availability of Net.Work.Virginia-like offerings"

4. If the recommendations 2 and 3 are approved by CIT, Co-PIs would meet and draft a proposal. A portion of the residual funds ($9,109.55) not spent by this project if approved by CIT would be evenly distributed to GMU, UVa, ODU, and Virginia Tech / VPST to draft a proposal for the telemedicine project.
5. Successful completion of a larger scale telemedicine demonstration project of the ITIC and possibly ACNIP would provide justification of the future CIT Network Virtual Environment Center.
6. Have researchers from ODU, GMU, and Virginia Tech / VPST visit CIT and demonstrate their existing collaborative VE tools at the NSF NCSA Access Center located at the Balston Office Bldg. in Arlington Virginia.