Ebook: Collaborative Virtual Environments: Digital Places and Spaces for Interaction

Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) are online digital places and spaces where we can be in touch, play together and work together, even when we are, geographically speaking, worlds apart. We can hang out, present alternative selves, interact with realistic and fantastic objects and carry out impossible manoeuvres. In CVEs we can share the experience of worlds beyond the physical. This book offers an introduction to up-to-date research in the area of CVE design and development. A reader might feel that, collectively, the chapters in this book beg the questions "What is a CVE?". And, for that matter, "What isn't a CVE?". These are good questions, which invoke many different responses. What is certain is that CVEs are the perfect arena for gaining insights into human-human communication and collaboration, collaborative interaction with (virtual and real) objects, the effect of (potentially differing) embodiments, and the nature of place and space. Central to our work and to the work of the authors in this volume is the belief that putting people "into the loop" - explicitly considering human-human and human-environment interaction in the design and development process - is central to the design of any technology, and especially to the design of CVEs. In the case of CVEs this means actually putting people into the worlds, and many of our authors talk explicitly about their experiences and the experiences of study partici­ pants in virtual environments.

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This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of collaborative virtual environments. It tells you all you need to know about the latest technology, state-of-the-art research, and good working practice.
The issues raised include:
- what is a CVE?
- what are the issues in the design of embodiments and objects within CVEs?
- how can CVEs support collocated and non-collocated collaborative and cooperative work?
- what are the best ways to provide awareness of the actions of others?
- how can they support seamless interactions given differential computational resources?
- what design issues arise from the meeting of social requirements and computational limitations? - what technical challenges face the designers of CVE systems?
It will be invaluable reading for anyone with an interest in collaboration but will be of particular interest to researchers and students in areas related to computer supported cooperative and collaborative work and human computer interaction.

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This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of collaborative virtual environments. It tells you all you need to know about the latest technology, state-of-the-art research, and good working practice.
The issues raised include:
- what is a CVE?
- what are the issues in the design of embodiments and objects within CVEs?
- how can CVEs support collocated and non-collocated collaborative and cooperative work?
- what are the best ways to provide awareness of the actions of others?
- how can they support seamless interactions given differential computational resources?
- what design issues arise from the meeting of social requirements and computational limitations? - what technical challenges face the designers of CVE systems?
It will be invaluable reading for anyone with an interest in collaboration but will be of particular interest to researchers and students in areas related to computer supported cooperative and collaborative work and human computer interaction.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xx
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Collaborative Virtual Environments: Digital Spaces and Places for CSCW: An Introduction....Pages 3-17
Front Matter....Pages 19-19
Extending the Limits of Collaborative Virtual Environments....Pages 21-42
System Challenges for Collaborative Virtual Environments....Pages 43-54
Understanding the Network Requirements of Collaborative Virtual Environments....Pages 55-74
Front Matter....Pages 75-75
“He’s Behind You”: The Experience of Presence in Shared Virtual Environments....Pages 77-98
All That Is Solid Melts Into Software....Pages 99-114
Virtually Missing the Point: Configuring CVEs for Object-Focused Interaction....Pages 115-139
Front Matter....Pages 141-141
How Not To Be Objective....Pages 143-159
Supporting Flexible Roles in a Shared Space....Pages 160-176
Front Matter....Pages 177-177
Designing Interactive Collaborative Environments....Pages 179-201
Designing to Support Collaborative Scientific Research Across Distances: The nanoManipulator Environment....Pages 202-224
Tele-Immersive Collaboration in the CAVE Research Network....Pages 225-243
Front Matter....Pages 245-245
Designing an Emergent Culture of Negotiation in Collaborative Virtual Communities: The DomeCityMOO Simulation....Pages 247-264
Waterfall Glen: Social Virtual Reality at Work....Pages 265-281
The Role of the Personal in Social Workspaces: Reflections on Working in AlphaWorld....Pages 282-296
Back Matter....Pages 297-316

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This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of collaborative virtual environments. It tells you all you need to know about the latest technology, state-of-the-art research, and good working practice.
The issues raised include:
- what is a CVE?
- what are the issues in the design of embodiments and objects within CVEs?
- how can CVEs support collocated and non-collocated collaborative and cooperative work?
- what are the best ways to provide awareness of the actions of others?
- how can they support seamless interactions given differential computational resources?
- what design issues arise from the meeting of social requirements and computational limitations? - what technical challenges face the designers of CVE systems?
It will be invaluable reading for anyone with an interest in collaboration but will be of particular interest to researchers and students in areas related to computer supported cooperative and collaborative work and human computer interaction.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xx
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Collaborative Virtual Environments: Digital Spaces and Places for CSCW: An Introduction....Pages 3-17
Front Matter....Pages 19-19
Extending the Limits of Collaborative Virtual Environments....Pages 21-42
System Challenges for Collaborative Virtual Environments....Pages 43-54
Understanding the Network Requirements of Collaborative Virtual Environments....Pages 55-74
Front Matter....Pages 75-75
“He’s Behind You”: The Experience of Presence in Shared Virtual Environments....Pages 77-98
All That Is Solid Melts Into Software....Pages 99-114
Virtually Missing the Point: Configuring CVEs for Object-Focused Interaction....Pages 115-139
Front Matter....Pages 141-141
How Not To Be Objective....Pages 143-159
Supporting Flexible Roles in a Shared Space....Pages 160-176
Front Matter....Pages 177-177
Designing Interactive Collaborative Environments....Pages 179-201
Designing to Support Collaborative Scientific Research Across Distances: The nanoManipulator Environment....Pages 202-224
Tele-Immersive Collaboration in the CAVE Research Network....Pages 225-243
Front Matter....Pages 245-245
Designing an Emergent Culture of Negotiation in Collaborative Virtual Communities: The DomeCityMOO Simulation....Pages 247-264
Waterfall Glen: Social Virtual Reality at Work....Pages 265-281
The Role of the Personal in Social Workspaces: Reflections on Working in AlphaWorld....Pages 282-296
Back Matter....Pages 297-316
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