Interacting in Distributed Collaborative Virtual Environments

Virtual reality toolkits and systems for computer supported cooperative work are often treated separately. However, combining them offers new possibilities for remote cooperative (or collaborative) group working. In this paper we review existing distribution models of virtual environments and propose a new method of concurrent interaction management. We will examine the different types of communication layers, which are needed by collaborative virtual reality (VR) applications to achieve complex user interaction. Finally we propose a model for handling the different requirements of such applications, depending on the connection strategies used within a distributed VR system. KEYWORDS Human computer interaction, computer supported cooperative work, virtual reality. INTRODUCTION With the increasing performance of modern workstations the acceptance and distribution of 3D applications has become more common. The best known and probably most spectacular development in this area is that ..