Virtual Real Worlds and virtual humans.

Virtual Real Worlds define a new interface for networked multimedia applications. The experience of ‘being there’ in the Virtual Real World is a necessary requirement for collaborative activities involving multiple remote users working with social interactions. Using virtual actors within the virtual environment is necessary to for the feeling of ‘being there’.  Team MellaniuM strives to provide this natural interface environment (Virtual Real World) for virtual humans for collaborative working.

Software technology and the increasing performance of hardware and networks enable the establishment of more and more complex interfaces for networked multimedia applications.  A networked Virtual Real World provides a natural shared environment, by supporting interactive human collaboration and integrating different media in real-time in a 3D surrounding.  Its strength comes from the fact that it aids awareness of and interaction with other users; and it also provides an appropriate mechanism for interaction with the environment by aiding the visual and audio mechanisms for information sharing and protection.

Team MellaniuM aims to provide a realistic environment, in terms of visual representation of the environment, and by improving the interaction mechanisms by physical realism and/or behavioral realism.

Team MellaniuM has developed a system which supports a networked shared virtual environment (Virtual Real World) that allows multiple users to interact with each other in real time.  3D virtual human actors can represent the users, to serve as agents to interact with the environment and other agents.  The agents will be of similar appearance and will have a behavior similar to real humans, this will enable the sense of ‘being there’ to the users in the virtual real world.

The Virtual Real World will incorporate different media; namely sound, 3D models, facial interaction among users, images represented by textures mapped on 3D objects, and real time videos.  Instead of different windows or applications for each medium, the Virtual Real World will integrate all tasks in a single 3D surrounding, therefore it provides a natural interface similar to the real world.  The Virtual Real World will work as a general purpose stream, allowing the usage of various models for different applications.

Team MellaniuM has identified the requirement for standardization as urgent; therefore it is imperative that the format and methodology of the standard software tools and coding standards be declared before large projects are embarked on.

Virtual Real World - definition.

The objects in the Virtual Real World can be classified into two groups: fixed (e.g. walls) or free (a chair). Only free objects a can be picked, moved, and edited. This allows faster computations in database traversal for picking.  In addition to the virtual actors representing users, the types of objects can be: simple polygonal objects, image texture-mapped polygons (e.g., to include three dimensional documents, or images), etc. Once a user picks an object, they will be able to edit the object, each type of object shall have a user-customized program corresponding to the type of object.

Return to Virtual Real Worlds.  page.

Tele3DWorld is the new age communications media used to transmit Virtual Real Worlds.

Interested?   Click here for MellaniuM Home Page

Copyright © Ken Rigby, 2006  for MellaniuM