Telecollaboration - VRAPP (Virtual Reality Application)

Shared Virtual Environment

The shared virtual reality application VRAPP provides the central framework for our telecollaboration infrastructure. The software operates over the Center's T1-based communications link, communicating video, audio, and state between sites. Using VRAPP, remote participants can join together in a virtual conference room within which they can see and interact with multiple merged representations of a design in the shared space, together with other participants represented by avatars. The ultimate goal of VRAPP is to provide a shared environment to support multidisciplinary collaborative design.

The avatar motion in the virtual conference room follows each participant's location and orientation, which is controlled by the participant via a mouse or a tracked display device such as a HMD. In addition, when possible we superimpose live video of participants on their avatars.

VRAPP can be used in a variety of environments from non-immersive (desktop) to semi-immersive (Active Desk, a table-size stereo display with head tracking), to fully immersive (BOOM and HMD). This approach lets VRAPP take advantage of each type of environment without impacting the others.