DOCSLIB.ORG

Virtual 3D Worlds for Virtual Or Remote Laboratories with Regards to Learning/Educational Undertakings

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Virtual 3D Worlds for Virtual Or Remote Laboratories with Regards to Learning/Educational Undertakings Virtual 3D Worlds for virtual or remote Laboratories with regards to learning/educational undertakings. Fabio Ricardo dos Santos Graz University of Technology, Austria ABSTRACT The transportation of a campus classroom and/or laboratory into a three dimensional virtual representation has changed remote learning, especially in engineering education. This thesis is concerned with shared virtual environments for collaborative learning and working, mainly between students and tutors/professors in a virtual control experiment setting. The underlying foundation for this idea is the iLab Project, which is a scalable architecture for sharing online experiments used by students and institutions. This research project is conducted and developed by the Center for Educational Computing Initiatives (CECI) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The main goal of the iLab Project is to provide a broad set of experimentation resources for students at MIT and elsewhere. The iLab initiative has grown tremendously over the past two years, being adopted by numerous partner universities around the globe. 3D Virtual Worlds are computer-based simulated environments intended for their users to inhabit and interact via avatars with other avatars and the virtual environment. These avatars are typically three-dimensional graphical representations. Such modeled worlds may appear similar to the real world and represent a powerful new media for instruction and education. Many higher education institutions are advancing their online teaching methods by offering educational applications in 3D Virtual Worlds because they offer attractive features and possible applications for education. The integration of possible functional iLabs by prototyping an iLabs application in such a 3D environment (such as Second Life or Open Wonderland) seems to be a very innovative tool for distance learning. Open Wonderland is a Java open source toolkit and is completely extensible for new features in the existing 3D World, like a prototype for iLab application. The platform is ideally suited to the education sector because it provides a higher level of security than is possible on other virtual platforms. 2 The combination of the advantages both of 3D Virtual Worlds and the iLabs Project will be realize an appreciation for work with labs for university use and is the primary goal for this master thesis. The Project will open the doors of education to new possibilities for learning and collaboration in a globally connected world, and education itself will be fundamentally altered. This method of immersive learning in 3D virtual worlds environments does not replace traditional methods of evaluation, but instead offers additional ones, particularly for distance learning. The research project goals is organized as follows: • Research how iLab Application prototype and TEALSim Simulations should be integrated into a virtual 3D World. • iLab prototype should be ported from Open Wonderland Version 0.4 to the Version 0.5, which was in the beginning of the project as Developer Release available, to extend its functionality in 3D context. • Program interactive 3D Interfaces in Wonderland Release 0.5 • Create an entire environment for the simulation in Project Wonderland using 3D Graphics Software Tools. • Test the outcome/result with students at MIT. • Write the theoretical part of master thesis, including stand of the art (STAR) problems and results. Our first collaborative virtual environment, a proof of concept, provides full functionality of one physics experiment, though there are still some performance issues to be resolved. The next step for integrating TEALsim and iLabs in Open Wonderland is porting our system from Wonderland’s version 0.4 to 0.5. Our goal is a system redesign in order to support adding flexibility to multiple physics simulations. The performance improvements in Wonderland 0.5 will allow a large number of avatars in our future scenario, where they will be able to run even more physics experiments, through a new 3D user interface. The expected outcome of research in this topic is that the 3D context should make learning and working with online laboratories easier and more attractive. The possibility of immersive learning should be emphasized to users of iLab and scale up to large numbers of users worldwide. 3 1. INTRODUCTION In the past few years, especially due to the increasing availability of faster and robust hardware and software, 3D environments have become common technology. Virtual laboratories, scientific visualizations, and collaborative work approaches are just some of the successful fields of 3D graphics applications. One essential term is Virtual Environment (VE), which is a computer generated spatial environment, where the stimulation of diverse human senses gives the user a feeling of being immersed. Immersion refers to how deep the user is emotionally involved within a specific virtual environment [1]. Nowadays, a great challenge in educational technology research is building technology that not only supports the learning process, but also connects students and educators in a way that enables effortless cooperation, even when both parties are geographically spread. Our first collaborative virtual environment provides full functionality of one physics experiment. This environment results from the integration of internet-accessible physics experiments (iLabs) combined with the TEALsim 3D simulation toolkit in Open Wonderland [2]. Students and educators within this environment are represented as avatars that can remotely control experimentation equipment, visualize physics phenomena generated by the experiment, and then discuss results. This environment was developed based on the Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) classroom idea to support social interactions and encourage students’ active learning and interest in an environment that fosters conceptual change [3]. This study explores the process of conversion of the TEALsim simulation package to the rendering engine jMonkeyEngine (JME), which is the graphics engine used in Open Wonderland version 0.5. Additionally, we have built a Wonderland cell class that can dynamically load TEAL simulations into Wonderland by the end of the research project. This will provide a collaborative environment similar to the current 0.4 version, but using the new graphics engine. Furthermore, we implemented an automatic generation of the simulation's controls in the Wonderland environment either as buttons, sliders or other control elements within the 3D space or as elements in the Heads Up Display. These controls will provide the standard Java event handling model. 4 Therefore, avatars have the ability to interact directly with TEALsim elements, including moving elements and activating sensors. Changes in the environment would be updated in real time. Finally, this report outlines future directions and challenges to come, based on the latest research. FIGURE 1: CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE ‘FORCE ON A DIPOLE’ EXPERIMENT IN WONDERLAND 0.4 5 2. BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGIES 2.1 Terminology During the course of this report we will mention, cite and use various terms related to technologies, such as programming languages or rendering engines, and also often refer to other similar scientific projects. For better reader comprehension, we decided to dedicate some words to clarify some important terms, so our readers can easily follow the technical terminology used during the development of this project. In computer graphics, a scene is constructed using a scene graph and data structure, which represents all objects to be shown in a graphical virtual environment. A scene graph is built from nodes in a graph, where a node normally can have only one parent. One single operation applied on one node can propagate to all its children. For example, it is easier to move or transform objects grouped into a compound object (rather than) as all single objects separately. Nevertheless, it is difficult to codify how a scene graph should be, since programmers very often change and adjust its principles to fit their applications. Beginning with the lowest level, APIs such OpenGL, Direct3D and QuickDraw3D are responsible for the primitives, which allow for the creation and manipulation of 3D objects. OpenGL is a hardware independent library designed for efficient processing of 3D applications, although it can also handle 2D scene descriptions (z=0). This API has recently become the most widely used and supported in the industry [12]. In 3D computer graphics we can construct a virtual environment using Java3D, which is a graphic library developed for the Java language. We can use high-level constructs to create and manipulate geometries. Additionally, we can produce three dimensional web displays with Java3D. Substantial virtual worlds can be efficiently defined and rendered with this API. Java3D is an interface on top of OpengGL or Direct3D and it’s based on the concept of scene-graph. It will become clear later in this session how the comprehension of Java3D supports the development of this project. Java 3D acts on a gap between VRML, that focus on describing 3D content, and OpenGL, which is an API based on C, used in rendering geometries as triangles, lines, etc. The process of generating an 3D image from a model is carried by the rendering engines. Due to lack of graphics engine written in Java, the open source jMonkey Engine (jME) was built [7]. jME is an API dedicated for high performance scene graph based graphics; in other words, a 3D framework for Java developers. One of its greatest advantages is that it is a cross-platform software, having 3D games that can run on Windows, Mac OS or Linux. The feature list of jME is extensive and includes embedded integration of Java Applet and SWT (Standard Widget 6 Toolkit). JME Desktop System is responsible for the rendering of Swing components in jME scenes. In the Wonderland, jME help us to specify 3D objects in a scene. This concerns an object’s size, appearance, and their relation to each other. jME can perform not only computer graphics operations such as lighting and texture, but also complex techniques like particle systems. Nodes in jME can be either Leaf or Internal nodes.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Studying the Effectiveness of Multi-User Immersive Environments for Collaborative Evaluation Tasks
    Computers & Education 59 (2012) 1361–1376 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Computers & Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compedu Studying the effectiveness of multi-user immersive environments for collaborative evaluation tasks Carlos-Miguel Lorenzo*, Miguel Ángel Sicilia, Salvador Sánchez Alcala University, Spain article info abstract Article history: Massively Multiuser On-line Learning (MMOL) Platforms, often called “virtual learning worlds”, consti- Received 29 April 2011 tute a still unexplored context for communication-enhanced learning, where synchronous communi- Received in revised form cation skills in an explicit social setting enhance the potential of effective collaboration. In this paper, we 6 February 2012 report on an experimental study of collaborative evaluation in an MMOL setting with 21 graduate Accepted 6 June 2012 students enrolled in university courses in technology-mediated teaching and learning. This study was carried out using a prototype of a 3D MMOL platform built around an interactive space called Keywords: “MadriPolis”. This space was used to recreate an adequate scenario for a collaborative experience about MMOL platform Virtual world Learning Object evaluation using the mainstream Learning Object Review Instrument (LORI), which is Immersive education based on a Convergent Participation Model (CPM). The same experience was carried out using Simulations a conventional LCMS (Learning Content Management System) platform with the aim of contrasting the Mixed reality outcomes and interaction patterns in the two settings. This study makes use of Social Network Analysis Augmented reality (SNA) measures to describe the interactions between tutors and learners. By dwelling on the advantages Socio-computacional system of immersive environments, SNA indexes revealed that these interactions were rather dense and that Distributed learning environment student participation was rather broad-based in the case of the MMOL.
    [Show full text]
  • 3Drepo4unity: Dynamic Loading of Version Controlled 3D Assets Into the Unity Game Engine
    3DRepo4Unity: Dynamic Loading of Version Controlled 3D Assets into the Unity Game Engine Sebastian Friston∗ Carmen Fan Jozef Doboš University College London 3D Repo Ltd 3D Repo Ltd London, UK London, UK London, UK Timothy Scully Anthony Steed 3D Repo Ltd University College London London, UK London, UK Figure 1: Test scene used in our measurements being dynamically loaded from a remote version controlled repository using a newly developed 3DRepo4Unity library. The building consists of 13k components and 4m vertices. Model courtesy of Skanska. ABSTRACT stimulate further discussion around and research into web formats In recent years, Unity has become a popular platform for the devel- that would enable incremental loading on other platforms. opment of a broad range of visualization and VR applications. This is due to its ease of use, cross-platform compatibility and accessi- CCS CONCEPTS bility to independent developers. Despite such applications being • Computing methodologies → Graphics file formats; cross-platform, their assets are generally bundled with executables, or streamed at runtime in a highly optimised, proprietary format. KEYWORDS In this paper, we present a novel system for dynamically populating Unity, 3D assets, 3D Repo, MongoDB a Unity environment at runtime using open Web3D standards. Our ACM Reference format: system generates dynamic resources at runtime from a remote 3D Sebastian Friston, Carmen Fan, Jozef Doboš, Timothy Scully, and Anthony Repo repository. This enables us to build a viewer which can easily Steed. 2017. 3DRepo4Unity: Dynamic Loading of Version Controlled 3D visualize X3D-based revisions from a version controlled database Assets into the Unity Game Engine. In Proceedings of Web3D ’17, Brisbane, in the cloud without any compile-time knowledge of the assets.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Dimensional Computer Graphics Federates for the 2012 SISO Smackdown Federation
    Three Dimensional Computer Graphics Federates for the 2012 SISO Smackdown Federation Crystal Fordyce (843) 513-8980 [email protected] Bradley C. Schricker Dynetics, Inc. Swetha Govindaiah 1002 Explorer Blvd. (256) 714-3018 Huntsville, AL 35806 [email protected] (256) 964-4979 [email protected] Sean Muratet (256) 417-8237 Mikel D. Petty [email protected] University of Alabama in Huntsville 301 Sparkman Drive, Shelby Center 144 Daniel A. O’Neil Huntsville, AL 35899 Marshall Space Flight Center (256) 824-4368 Huntsville, AL 35811 [email protected] (256) 544-5405 [email protected] Abstract: The Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Smackdown is a two-year old annual event held at the 2012 Spring Simulation Interoperability Workshop (SIW). A primary objective of the Smackdown event is to provide college students with hands-on experience in developing distributed simulations using High Level Architecture (HLA). Participating for the second time, the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAHuntsville) deployed four federates, two federates simulated a communications server and a lunar communications satellite with a radio. The other two federates generated 3D computer graphics displays for the communication satellite constellation and for the surface based lunar resupply mission. Using the Light-Weight Java Graphics Library, the satellite display federate presented a lunar-texture mapped sphere of the moon and four Telemetry Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), which received object attributes from the lunar communications satellite federate to drive their motion. The surface mission display federate was an enhanced version of the federate developed by ForwardSim, Inc. for the 2011 Smackdown simulation. Enhancements included a dead-reckoning algorithm and a visual indication of which communication satellite was in line of sight of Hadley Rille.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Physical Concepts Using an Immersive Virtual Learning Environment
    Understanding Physical Concepts using an Immersive Virtual Learning Environment a a a, c b Johanna PIRKER , Stefan BERGER , Christian GÜTL , John BELCHER and b Philip H. BAILEY a Graz University of Technology b Massachusetts Institute of Technology c Curtin University of Technology Abstract. Understanding basic physical concepts is not an easy task. The Technology Enabled Active Learning Approach (TEAL) is an innovative learning approach and successfully improves the conceptual understanding in teaching freshmen physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This approach requires specially designed classrooms, hands-on experiments, different teaching methods and also virtual visualizations and simulations to enhance the student’s engagement and learning success. The Java-based open-source framework TEALsim was especially designed to support the students understanding of different physical procedures using visualizations and simulations of physical concepts such as Faraday’s Law. But not every institution or university is able to use the TEAL scenario because of the high expense in terms of required equipment. Also the distance learning idea is lost. Existing learning spaces are limited regarding time and space. Depending on the learning scope and application domain conventional E-learning tools are not always the best choice. Especially such abstract domains as physics are hard to teach without advanced tools. Drawbacks such as the lack of immersion and the lack of communication and collaboration possibilities suggest the introduction of a new e-learning tool, the Virtual 3D World. This paper focuses on the technical aspects of the implementation of TEALsim in the Virtual 3D World Environment Open Wonderland. This collaboration between the CECI at MIT and AEMT group at TU-Graz introduces a first potential scenario of in-world physics simulations.
    [Show full text]
  • Atlantic City’S Hottest Beach Bars Kim Kardashian’S Pool Party
    JULY 2010 INTRODUCES In July of 2000, Ensign John Elliott was killed by a drunk driver. To honor him, his family started The HERO Campaign. SEAFOOD WITH A SPLASH OPEN WEDNESDAY–SUNDAY • 6–11PM Ten years later, they are still Immerse your taste buds in the FIN experience. Mediterranean Chef Demetrios urges you to dive into saving lives. his delectable menu, utilizing the fi nest high quality, locally-produced foods and wine. Relish in FIN’s oasis of underwater fantasies with its breathtaking ocean views and eclectic sea glass murals. This is their story. Sip one of our freshly-infused specialty cocktails or locally-produced wines. Nibble on delicacies from our Raw Bar and Sushi Bar. Requiem for a Hero. Satisfy your palate with a delicious entrée from our selection of the fi nest local seafood. Indulge in an experience unlike any other. Ensign John R. Elliott ALSO INSIDE REMEMBERING A MAGNATE: MAXWELL “SONNY” GOLDBERG ‘MR. OCEAN CITY’ JAY GILLIAN ATLANITCarE RECEIVES BaLDRIGE AWARD AGAINST ALL ODDS: THE ACPD K-9 UNIT WINS BIG 48 OF OUR FAVORITE PICTURES ATLANTIC CITY’s HOTTEST BEACH BARS KIM KARDASHIAn’s Pool PARTY BRIGHTON AND THE BOARDWALK ATLANTIC CITY, NJ 08401 609-340-4936 | www.tropicana.net/fin • www.facebook.com/FinAtTrop We’ve Got the Jersey SHORE COVERED We Can Help You Go Solar! The most convenient way to care for your home. Start a Revolution Energy Independence starts at your house. Only Nogginhaus has the know-how to help free you from the shackles of high oil bills, gas bills and electric bills.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Dimensional Computer Graphics Federates for the 2012 Smackdown Simulation
    Three Dimensional Computer Graphics Federates for the 2012 Smackdown Simulation Crystal Fordyce (843) 513-8980 [email protected] Swetha Govindaiah (256) 714-3018 [email protected] Sean Muratet (256) 417-8237 [email protected] Daniel A. O’Neil Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL 35811 (256) 544-5405 [email protected] Bradley C. Schricker Dynetics, Inc. 1002 Explorer Blvd. Huntsville, AL 35806 (256) 964-4979 [email protected] Abstract: The Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Smackdown is a two-year old annual event held at the 2012 Spring Simulation Interoperability Workshop (SIW). A primary objective of the Smackdown event is to provide college students with hands-on experience in developing distributed simulations using High Level Architecture (HLA). Participating for the second time, the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAHuntsville) deployed four federates, two federates simulated a communications server and a lunar communications satellite with a radio. The other two federates generated 3D computer graphics displays for the communication satellite constellation and for the surface based lunar resupply mission. Using the Light-Weight Java Graphics Library, the satellite display federate presented a lunar-texture mapped sphere of the moon and four Telemetry Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), which received object attributes from the lunar communications satellite federate to drive their motion. The surface mission display federate was an enhanced version of the federate developed by ForwardSim, Inc. for the 2011 Smackdown simulation. Enhancements included a dead-reckoning algorithm and a visual indication of which communication satellite was in line of sight of Hadley Rille. This paper concentrates on these two federates by describing the functions, algorithms, HLA object attributes received from other federates, development experiences and recommendations for future, participating Smackdown teams.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Wonderland: a Potential 3-D MUVE for Teaching and Learning
    Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2013) 000–000 13th International Educational Technology Conference Open Wonderland: A Potential 3-D MUVE for Teaching and Learning Mohd Hishamuddin Abdul Rahmana, Noraffandy Yahayaa*, Noor Dayana Abdul Halima, Danakorn Nincarean Eh Phona aDepartment of Educational Sciences, Mathematics and Multimedia Creative, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM, Johor Bahru, 81310, Johor, Malaysia Abstract The use of 3-D MUVEs in education is still in its infancy in Malaysia, particularly in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. In order to promote the utilization of this technology, this article revolves around the features of 3-D MUVEs which are highly beneficial in teaching and learning, where some of the features are not offered in most of 2-D applications that are commonly used today. Additionally, this article also focuses on promoting the use of an open source 3-D MUVE, Open Wonderland as an alternative for infamous Second Life virtual world as an appropriate platform for conducting virtual learning activities. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of The Association of Science, Education and Technology-TASET, Sakarya Universitesi, Turkey. Keywords: 3-D MUVE; virtual world; virtual learning environment; Open Wonderland 1. Introduction 1.1. Online learning with 2-D applications Learning activities have experienced many levels of changes. In the past, it was conducted in the classroom, where teacher and students meet each other face-to-face (Zhang, Zhao, Zhao & Nunamaker Jr., 2004). However, this scenario began to change when technology became available as a medium for teaching and learning since late of the 20th century.
    [Show full text]
  • Ingham County Fair Will Start Monday for Crowded Week
    nuss McBfiiDE IIF.ATS TilE 1·/Et.T It's 'Winter Time in Brazil Whllr! Ingham people were to !he prorltwtlnn of SMA hahy Thelngha m Count trying to llnrl ways to i1roop ronol fond. Ills dedlenllon !:1 paying 1 1 '~ lfltit wcPII HLtssell MeBrlrl(! was off. Prurltwtlnn of SMA " Brazil Nr'nely·S1'xth Year, No. 32 M M' I' Tl d A II 1955 4 S just ns hw;y trying to I~elr>p warm. llas douhlcrl 1111 d quality str•nrl· ason, IC 11gan, mrs ay, ugusl , eclions - 26 Paues I!£l II'IIH In Brazil, In t lle midst ard.'l have now real'ill'rl the stand· -------·.;...-------;---:-"'"----------------------------------:-...;...--1 ------------------------..:_- of a eolrl w11ve whkh sent llw ill'fl at the Mnsr111 plant, n plw· men:ur.\' down helnw frem:lnJ.t, nomennn which !1. S. llllhy fonrl 'l'lw merc:ur.v ll!'lttally dipped mnnufncltii'Prs said mlgl1l never below zero, httl Brnzill11ns use n hnppen. County Studies I ccntlgl'llrll! sl'aie. Zero on a It was 1\'h'Brlrle's fourth trip Ingham County Fair ccntlgrndr. t hermometr.r is just to Brn;:il, In lite plant In Cruzerio freezing on Fnhrenlu•it, hut tlwl's nnrl \llf! offir•f!s In Sno Paulo. lie Meridian Plan I !'old PnrHtJ.th In unh(•.ttr>rl httllrl· was thmP wlwn tlw plnnt w11s lngs, anrl IIHII'H the Wll,V most being hull! nnrl the mlllt lnrlusll'Y Bru~ltlan htlsinPss hullrllngs Ill'(', WILH iaundH•rl In rropl;wr• !'offee For Sewage Aid McBrlrle didn't go to Brazil tn ('llitlll(~ on lands too long dr!votrYI Will Start Monday Mcrnhers of 3 eommlttces nf beat the ill'al, nn1· did Ill' mturn to tit!• lwrry.
    [Show full text]
  • Education Employment Pirker, Johanna
    Pirker, Johanna Graz, Austria Graz University of Technology 26/06/1988 [email protected] www.jpirker.com Education Graz, Austria Graz University of Technology (TUG) Since Fall 2006 • PHD in Engineering Sciences; Computer Sciences (in progress) o Major research areas: Game Development, Computer Graphics, Game Design, Immersive Environments, Data Visualization • M.Sc. in Software Development and Business Management, March 2013. o Master’s Thesis: The Virtual TEAL World – An Interactive and Collaborative Virtual World Environment for Physics Education; supervised by Christian Gütl (TUG) and John Belcher (MIT): Development of a Java-based simulation framework in a virtual world environment for physics education o Master’s Project: Development of a web-based framework to automatically visualize updated RDF-data o Major research areas: Information Systems, Web Development, Knowledge Management, Semantic Technologies, Internet Technologies, Human-Computer Interaction, Information Retrieval, Digital Libraries • B.Sc. in Software Development and Business Management, Jan 2011. o Bachelor’s Thesis: Development of a Java-based expert system for software cost estimation Cambridge, MA Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2011 - 2012 • Visiting Student at Center for Educational Computing Initiatives (CECI) under the supervision of Prof. John Belcher Employment Software Engineer, Researcher Graz University of Technology 2013-2014 • Austria-Forum (Information Wiki for Austria and digital library for old Austrian books), under the supervision of
    [Show full text]
  • Virtual Worlds and the 3D Web – Time for Convergence?
    Virtual Worlds and the 3D Web – time for convergence? Hussein Bakri, Colin Allison, Alan Miller, Iain Oliver School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom {hb,ca,alan.miller,iao}@st-andrews.ac.uk Abstract. Multi-User Virtual Worlds (MUVW) such as Open Wonderland and OpenSim have proved to be fruitful platforms for innovative educational prac- tice, supporting exploratory learning and generating true engagement. However, when compared with the way educational activities have flourished through the use of the constantly evolving WWW, MUVW learning environments remain a relatively obscure niche. Since the advent and promise of Second Life more than twelve years ago there has been no critical mass reached and no movement towards standardisation. Concomitantly, the 3D Web has emerged as a recog- nisable if loosely defined concept. With the advent of technologies such as WebGL and a plethora of plug-in 3D viewers for web browsers, the question arises: will MUVWs converge with the 3D Web? If so, can existing educational content be migrated to the 3D Web for mass dissemination? The paper contrib- utes a survey of 3D Web and MUVW terms, concepts, technologies and pro- jects, illustrating their similarities, their value for education and discusses the likelihood of convergence. The survey is complemented by a cultural heritage case study of Unity 3D support for the deployment of virtual worlds in web browsers using two different approaches. Keywords: 3D Web, Web-Based Virtual World, Multi-User Virtual World, HTTP/2, VRML, X3D, X3DOM, WebGL, HTML-5, O3D, Oak3D, Unity 3D 1 Introduction Multi-User Virtual Worlds (MUVW) such as Second Life [1], OpenSim [2] and Open Wonderland [3] are sophisticated client-server systems which have been used extensively for immersive learning activities [4][5][6].
    [Show full text]
  • An Experimental Evaluation of Server Performance in Networked Virtual Environments
    An experimental evaluation of server performance in Networked Virtual Environments Juan Luis Font, Jose´ Luis Sevillano, Daniel Cascado Department of Computer Technology and Architecture, University of Seville, Spain {juanlu, sevi, danic}@atc.us.es Abstract—Several works in the literature have recently ad- dressed the study of different Networked Virtual Environments / (NVE) due to their increasing popularity and widespread use in fields ranging from entertainment to e-Health. Open Wonderland 5 a is one of these NVEs which has been the subject of several studies a mainly focused on the client side. This paper aims to cover the server-side performance issues to provide complementary results that can be useful for properly sizing Open Wonderland systems 9 D ! according to the number of expected users. An experimental " a aD D 9 testbed is used, which provides real data that shows that CPU / w and outgoing bandwidth are the most critical parameters when L ! Wa9 D !tL the number of clients increase. %& . ! a ( Index Terms—Open Wonderland, Networked Virtual Environ- ment, server performance, monitoring, profiling, testbed. ! I. INTRODUCTION Fig. 1. Open Wonderland Architecture Open Wonderland (OWL) falls into the so-called Networked Virtual Environments (NVE), applications that provide virtual world experience based on a distributed simulation. OWL has This paper focuses on defining and configuring a testbed been used as basis for the “persuasive system” Virtual Valley composed by an OWL server and several clients. Several [1], an application aimed to motivate healthy lifestyle habits. testing sessions were performed over this testbed, increasing Some of the OWL key features supporting this decision were: the number of concurrent clients in each session.
    [Show full text]
  • Virtual Reality Concept for Entertainment
    ISSN: 2278 – 1323 International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering & Technology (IJARCET) Volume 5, Issue 5, May 2016 Virtual Reality Concept for entertainment Anusha Sajjan Gandla, Hari Kishan Darapaneni The game in our project contains the spherical ball which Abstract— This project is to provide entertainment which is moves in the direction of tilt of the phone. The user interface one of the extensions to the virtual reality concepts among will be easy to use and allow the user to navigate within the game with ease. The android operating system uses a market many.This android game for Android mobile device platforms place to sell applications for the phone. is to function as a motion gaming emulator, a simulated 3-D The Open Wonderland Java environment doesn’t render virtual world rendered with the Open Wonderland efficiently– or in some cases –on the Android or IOS environment. Our android game is intended to give a lag free operating systems. Hence it is necessary that we render the and seamless motion gaming experience and may also be Open Wonderland software on a remote PC and utilize transferrable for future applications. OPENGL to transmit this data to our mobile devices. OPENGL is a set of protocols and methods that allow a This would actually be very interesting as it’s a complete new mobile device to render 3D objects optimally; this will serve concept and the user would enjoy playing this. This extensions as our primary means of interfacing between the hardware development would have a great future due to its better concept and software components of the products.
    [Show full text]