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Opensimulator Based Multi-User Virtual World: a Framework for the Creation of Distant and Virtual Practical Activities
(IJACSA) International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, Vol. 9, No. 8, 2018 OpenSimulator based Multi-User Virtual World: A Framework for the Creation of Distant and Virtual Practical Activities MOURDI Youssef, SADGAL Mohamed, BERRADA FATHI Wafaa, EL KABTANE Hamada Faculty Semlalia University Cadi Ayyad Marrakesh, Morocco Abstract—The exponential growth of technology has skills and/or illustrating scientific approaches to solve contributed to the positive revolution of distance learning. E- problems. learning is becoming increasingly used in the transfer of knowledge where instructors can model and script their courses A huge quantity of solutions has been attempted in order to in several formats such as files, videos and quizzes. In order to propose approaches for teachers to integrate PAs in distance complete their courses, practical activities are very important. learning. The first was the remote-control laboratory Several instructors have joined Multi-User Virtual World [5][6][7][8], then the use of videos and finally virtual (MUVW) communities such as SecondeLife, as they offer a laboratories [9]. However, the latest proposal is very degree of interrelated realism and interaction between users. The superficial, and very limited. modeling and scenarization of practical activities in the MUVWs remains a very difficult task considering the technologies used by At this level, several challenges arise following the these MUVWs and the necessary prerequisites. In this paper, we providing of PAs remotely and which come in two main issues: propose a framework for the OpenSimulator MUVWs that can the first is to have a scalable and open environment for tutors to simplify the scenarization of practical activities using the design, model practical activities and set it accessible to OpenSpace3D software and without requiring designers to have learners. -
Virtual Worlds? "Outlook Good" (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAU
Virtual Worlds? "Outlook Good" (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAU... http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/VirtualWo... "Outlook Good" © 2008 AJ Kelton. The text of this article is licensed under the Creative Commons VIEW A PDF Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License OF THIS ARTICLE (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 43, no. 5 (September/October 2008) Virtual Worlds? “Outlook Good” AJ KELTON (“AJ BROOKS”) AJ Kelton (“AJ Brooks”) is Director of Emerging Instructional Technology in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University. Comments on this article can be sent to the author at [email protected] or [email protected] and/or can be posted to the web via the link at the bottom of this page. A year ago, I picked up the Magic 8-Ball sitting on my desk and asked: “Are virtual worlds a viable teaching and learning environment?” Turning the ball over, I received my answer: “Reply hazy, try again.” Even six months ago, the outlook for virtual worlds was uncertain. Many people believed that virtual worlds would end up like the eight-track audiotape: a fond memory of something no longer used (or useful). Yet today there are hundreds of higher education institutions represented in three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds such as Active Worlds and Second Life. Indeed, the movement toward the virtual realm as a viable teaching and learning environment seems unstoppable. The idea of synchronous interactive spaces is not new, of course. Chat rooms, MOOs, MUDs, and other multi-user online experiences have been on the periphery of education for decades. -
2. Virtual Worlds and Education 8
World of Physics World-of-Physics - 2016-1-CY01-KA201-017371 Project funded by: Erasmus+ / Key Action 2 - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, Strategic Partnerships for school education Erasmus+ (European Commission, EACEA) Deliverable Number Report III Deliverable Title State of the Art in Virtual Reality and 3D Worlds Intellectual Output I: Reports on Physics Education in Intellectual Output Title Schools around Europe and the state of the art in 3D Virtual Worlds Research on the State of the Art in Virtual Reality and Activity description 3D Worlds Authors (per company, if more than one company UCY, CTE provide it together) Status (D: draft; RD: revised draft; F: final) F Date (versioning) 30/12/2016 World of Physics World-of-Physics - 2016-1-CY01-KA201-017371 Partners University of Cyprus, Cyprus https://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/seit/ University of Patras, Greece http://www.upatras.gr/en CTE, Romania http://www.etcenter.eu/index.php/en/ Computer Technology Institute and Press "Diophantus", Greece http://www.cti.gr/en ITD-CNR, Italy https://www.cnr.it/en NEW EDU, Slovakia http://www.newedu.sk/ 2 World of Physics World-of-Physics - 2016-1-CY01-KA201-017371 Executive Summary A research on the State of the Art in 3D Virtual Reality Worlds and frameworks is deemed very important for the work to be conducted in the scope of the World-of- Physics project. The aim of the report is to serve as an introduction to the 3D Virtual Worlds, tools and frameworks available, identify the strengths and weaknesses of each one of them and select the most appropriate one to be used within the World-of- Physics project. -
Big Project: Project Darkstar
BIG PROJECT: PROJECT DARKSTAR Karl Haberl, Seth Proctor, Tim Blackman, Jon Kaplan, Jennifer Kotzen Sun Microsystems Laboratories Project Darkstar - Outline • Some Background > The online games market, industry challenges, Darkstar goals, why Sun Labs? • The Technology > Architecture, recent work, technical challenges • Project Wonderland > A view of Darkstar from the developer's point of view • Community > Current activities and plans for the future 2 Project Darkstar: Background 3 Online Games Market • Divided into 3 groups: > Casual/Social – cards, chess, dice, community sites > Mass Market – driving, classic, arcade, simple > Hardcore – MMOG, FPS, RTS • Online mobile still very small • Online games are currently the fastest growing segment of the games industry • Online game subscriptions estimated to hit $11B by 2011* *(Source: DFC intelligence) > not including microtransactions, shared advertising, ... 4 The Canonical MMOG: World of Warcraft • Approximately 9 million subscribers > Average subscription : $15/month > Average retention : two years + > $135 million per month/$1.62 Billion per year run rate > For one game (they have others) • Unknown number of servers • ~2,700 employees world wide • Company is changing > Was a game company > Now a service company World of Warcraft™ is a trademark and Blizzard Entertainment is a trademark or registered trademark of Blizzard Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. 5 Ganz - Webkinz • Approximately 5+ million subscribers > Subscription comes with toy purchase > Subscription lasts one year > Average 100k users at any time > Currently only US and Canada; soon to be world wide > Aimed at the 8-12 demographic • And their mothers... • The company is changing > Was a toy company > Becoming a game/social site company Webkinz® is a registered Trademark of Ganz®. -
Collaborative Virtual 3D Environment for Internet-Accessible Physics Experiments
COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL 3D ENVIRONMENT FOR INTERNET-ACCESSIBLE PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS Collaborative Virtual 3D Environment for Internet-Accessible Physics Experiments doi:10.3991/ijoe.v5s1.1014 Tina Scheucher1,2, Philip H. Bailey2, Christian Gütl1,3, V. Judson Harward2 1 Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria 2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA 3 Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA Abstract—Immersive 3D worlds have increasingly raised the were the two main technological advances that have en- interest of researchers and practitioners for various learn- abled the development of 3D VEs and have generally in- ing and training settings over the last decade. These virtual creased the potential of the World Wide Web. Such envi- worlds can provide multiple communication channels be- ronments provide the illusion of being immersed within a tween users and improve presence and awareness in the 3D space, and enable the user to perform actions and be- learning process. Consequently virtual 3D environments haviors which are analogous to those she can initiate in facilitate collaborative learning and training scenarios. the real world [16]. The fact that users can gain experience in the same way that they can in the real world opens new In this paper we focus on the integration of internet- and interesting opportunities for physics education. By accessible physics experiments (iLabs) combined with the expanding reality beyond the limits of the classroom in TEALsim 3D simulation toolkit in Project Wonderland, both time and space, the educator can enrich the student’s Sun's toolkit for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds. learning experience to ease understanding of abstract Within such a collaborative environment these tools provide physics concepts [8]. -
Support for Mobile Augmented and Synthesized Worlds
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository Support for Mobile Augmented and Synthesized Worlds December 17, 2007 Won J. Jeon and Roy H. Campbell {wonjeon, rhc}@uiuc.edu Department of Computer Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Abstract Virtual worlds provide 3D-immersive experiences to users and some of them already have already launched commercial service to users. As computing environment becomes more heterogeneous, more mobile users are anticipated to access the virtual world with their mobile devices. However, still there are challenges and problems to be addressed for mobile users. In this report, state-of-art virtual world platforms are presented and their key features are compared. We compare possible approaches to tackle these problems to support virtual worlds for mobile devices. Transcoding scheme at the proxy is presented and evaluated for a given computing and networking environment. 1. Introduction A virtual world is a computer-simulated or synthesized environment where multiple users inhabit and interact to each other via avatars. The world mimics the real world via simulated real world physics and the persistence of the world comes from maintaining and updating the state of the world around the clock. Historically this concept is rooted from distributed interactive simulation (DIS) and massively multiplayer online role- playing game (MMORPG). DIS is used mainly by military organizations whereas MMORPG has gained huge popularity among general users or gamers. The world is typically represented as 2D or 3D graphics to multiple users. -
ICL Template
Collaborative Virtual 3D Environment for Internet-accessible Physics Experiments 1,2 2 1,3 2 Tina Scheucher , Philip H. Bailey , Christian Gütl , V. Judson Harward 1 Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria 2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA 3 Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA Abstract—Immersive 3D worlds have increasingly raised the user is able to interact within the environment. For interest of researchers and practitioners for various example, the user can enter and exit rooms, walk around learning and training settings over the last decade. These buildings, and open drawers to see what is inside. virtual worlds can provide multiple communication Increases in desktop 3D computer graphics and network channels between users and improve presence and infrastructure were the two main technological advances awareness in the learning process. Consequently virtual 3D that have enabled the development of 3D VEs and have environments facilitate collaborative learning and training generally increased the potential of the World Wide Web. scenarios. Such environments provide the illusion of being immersed within a 3D space, and enable the user to perform actions In this paper we focus on the integration of internet- and behaviors which are analogous to those she can accessible physics experiments (iLabs) combined with the initiate in the real world [16]. The fact that users can gain TEALsim 3D simulation toolkit in Project Wonderland, experience in the same way that they can in the real world Sun's toolkit for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds. opens new and interesting opportunities for physics Within such a collaborative environment these tools provide education. -
Research Article High-Level Development of Multiserver Online Games
Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Computer Games Technology Volume 2008, Article ID 327387, 16 pages doi:10.1155/2008/327387 Research Article High-Level Development of Multiserver Online Games Frank Glinka, Alexander Ploss, Sergei Gorlatch, and Jens Muller-Iden¨ Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Munster,¨ 48149 Munster,¨ Germany Correspondence should be addressed to Frank Glinka, [email protected] Received 2 February 2008; Accepted 17 April 2008 Recommended by Jouni Smed Multiplayer online games with support for high user numbers must provide mechanisms to support an increasing amount of players by using additional resources. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the practically proven multiserver distribution mechanisms, zoning, instancing, and replication, and the tasks for the game developer implied by them. We propose a novel, high-level development approach which integrates the three distribution mechanisms seamlessly in today’s online games. As a possible base for this high-level approach, we describe the real-time framework (RTF) middleware system which liberates the developer from low-level tasks and allows him to stay at high level of design abstraction. We explain how RTF supports the implementation of single-server online games and how RTF allows to incorporate the three multiserver distribution mechanisms during the development process. Finally, we describe briefly how RTF provides manageability and maintenance functionality for online games in a grid context with dynamic resource allocation scenarios. Copyright © 2008 Frank Glinka et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. -
A Survey of Technologies for Building Collaborative Virtual Environments
The International Journal of Virtual Reality, 2009, 8(1):53-66 53 A Survey of Technologies for Building Collaborative Virtual Environments Timothy E. Wright and Greg Madey Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Notre Dame, United States Whereas desktop virtual reality (desktop-VR) typically uses Abstract—What viable technologies exist to enable the nothing more than a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, a Cave development of so-called desktop virtual reality (desktop-VR) Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE) might include several applications? Specifically, which of these are active and capable display walls, video projectors, a haptic input device (e.g., a of helping us to engineer a collaborative, virtual environment “wand” to provide touch capabilities), and multidimensional (CVE)? A review of the literature and numerous project websites indicates an array of both overlapping and disparate approaches sound. The computing platforms to drive these systems also to this problem. In this paper, we review and perform a risk differ: desktop-VR requires a workstation-class computer, assessment of 16 prominent desktop-VR technologies (some mainstream OS, and VR libraries, while a CAVE often runs on building-blocks, some entire platforms) in an effort to determine a multi-node cluster of servers with specialized VR libraries the most efficacious tool or tools for constructing a CVE. and drivers. At first, this may seem reasonable: different levels of immersion require different hardware and software. Index Terms—Collaborative Virtual Environment, Desktop However, the same problems are being solved by both the Virtual Reality, VRML, X3D. desktop-VR and CAVE systems, with specific issues including the management and display of a three dimensional I. -
Jim Waldo Is Gordon Mckay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences At
Jim Waldo is Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard, where he teaches courses in distributed systems and privacy; the Chief Technology Officer for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; and a Professor of Policy teaching on topics of technology and policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Jim designed clouds at VMware; was a Distinguished Engineer with Sun Microsystems Laboratories, where he investigated next-generation large-scale distributed systems; and got his start in distributed systems at Apollo Computer. While at Sun, he was the technical lead of Project Darkstar, a multi- threaded, distributed infrastructure for massive multi-player on-line games and virtual worlds; the lead architect for Jini, a distributed programming system based on Java; and an early member of the Java software organization. Before joining Sun, Jim spent eight years at Apollo Computer and Hewlett Packard working in the areas of distributed object systems, user interfaces, class libraries, text and internationalization. While at HP, he led the design and development of the first Object Request Broker, and was instrumental in getting that technology incorporated into the first OMG CORBA specification. Jim is the author of "Java: the Good Parts" (O'Reilly) and co-authored "The Jini Specifications" (Addison- Wesley). He edited "The Evolution of C++: Language Design in the Marketplace of Ideas" (MIT Press). He co-chaired a National Academies study on privacy, and co-edited the report "Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age." He is the author of numerous journal and conference proceedings articles, and holds over 50 patents. -
Software Requirements Specification
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS SPECIFICATION by car'eless İrfan DURMAZ Gürkan SOLMAZ Erkan ACUN 2009 Table of Contents 1. Purpose of the Document....................................................................................................................3 2. Project Introduction............................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Project Background.............................................................................................................................................3 2.2 Project Definition................................................................................................................................................4 2.3 Project Goals and Scope......................................................................................................................................4 3. The Process.......................................................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Process Model................................................................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Team Organization............................................................................................................................................ 6 3.3 Project Constraints............................................................................................................................................ 6 3.3.1 Project -
Opensimulator and Unity As a Shared Development Environment
OpenSimulator and Unity as a Shared Development Environment Fumikazu Iseki Austin Tate Tokyo Univ. of Info. Sci., Dept. of Informatics, AIAI, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Japan United Kingdom Daichi Mizumaki Kohei Suzuki Tokyo Univ. of Info. Sci., Dept. of Informatics, The Daiichi Information Systems Co., Ltd., Japan Japan Abstract We developed a conversion system to load OpenSimulator Archive (.oar) files into Unity. This system allows the user to load world data jointly created in OpenSimulator into Unity on a region-by-region basis, and to ultimately output the data from Unity in a variety of formats. These features allow us to treat the pairing of OpenSimulator and Unity as a shared development environment, which simplifies the low-cost creation of 3D spatial visualization data. 1. Introduction. Several approaches exist to construct three-dimensional (3D) worlds in a computer system at low cost. Representative methods include using the systems Unity [1] and Unreal [2], which are so-called game engines. Alternatively, one can use so-called metaverse systems. At present, the widest used metaverse-type examples of 3D virtual space (virtual world) platforms are Second Life™ [3], offered by Linden Lab, and OpenSimulator (also known as OpenSim) [4], which is an open-source platform largely compatible with Second Life. These game engines and metaverse platforms each have advantages and limitations. For example, Second Life and OpenSimulator allow users to construct 3D spaces through collaborative efforts over a network using in-world real time content editing tools, while Unity and Unreal allow the conversion of created 3D spatial data for use in webpages and applications so that general users can easily reference it.