Workshops are half-day and full-day events targeted towards researchers and developers in the area of collaborative virtual environments. Workshops will be set in a small informal environment to enable lively discussion and exchange of ideas.

The following workshops were scheduled for the CVE2000 conference. All workshops took place on September 10, 2000. Workshop rooms were available from 9.00am to 5.00pm.

1. "Systems Aspects of Sharing a Virtual Environment"
   Michael Capps, Naval Postgraduate School, USA
   Chris Greenhalgh, University of Nottingham, UK
   

   http://npsnet.org/sharedvr

   Contact: capps@cs.nps.navy.mil

   Abstract: The field of shared virtual environments has matured. We now have a reasonable understanding of the range of issues that must be considered, and of the key technologies and approaches that can be successfully deployed within particular domains of use.

   We do not believe that any single technological solution can address every potential application. However, we now have access to a number of enabling technologies that allow us to construct flexible and extensible technology building-blocks, that can be drawn together in different combinations for different applications and requirements. These technologies include object definition languages and frameworks, and dynamically-extensible execution environments.

   In this workshop we plan to bring together a focused group of world-class researchers and developers. We aim to establish a framework and preliminary component definitions for a flexible shared virtual world system, open to all application domains.

   The planned outcomes from the workshop are:

   • A documented and extensible framework and initial interfaces, that will be made available as an online resource, and submitted for publication to a relevant academic journal. These will be subject to ongoing update and revision.

   • An online repository and mail-group, intended to facilitate the development and sharing of ideas, component definitions and implementations within this framework.

2. "Combining CVE's and Other Real-Time Communication Media"
   Samuli Pekkola, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
   Mike Robinson, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
   

   This workshop has been cancelled

3. "Voltage in the Milky Night: The Future of CVEs"
   Alan Munro, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
   Andrew McGrath, BT Adastral Park, Suffolk, UK
   Elaine Raybourn, Sandia National Labs, New Mexico, USA
   

   Contact: a.munro@dcs.napier.ac.uk

   Abstract: The aim of this workshop is to try to look forward to the future of CVEs. We have already seen in the past 5 years, a move from basic theorising about CVEs to experience in design, building and interacting within these environments. Where does this experience point us? We wish to look at future possibilities/scenarios in a number of domains:

   Size and scalability: Most experiences of graphical CVEs have suggested that they have in large worked well with small communities, but we are generally aiming for them to support large ones. Should we perhaps concentrate on smaller communities rather than aiming for large, scalable VEs? Is less more in terms of virtual community? Should we only be able to go into a CVE as one person: what about groups around an inhabited TV?

   Beyond the desktop: What will happen if CVEs move out of the desktop computer where they have traditionally resided and are embodied in different interfaces and network technologies ? We have seen the conceptual development in terms of ideas of mixed reality: CVEs existing alongside real spaces and technology. Perhaps the CVE itself may evolve beyond the desktop and be instantiated in many different devices, e.g. wireless technologies. What happens if we interact moving in space and in a virtual environment? We wish to look at possible domains from the perspectives of users in this space, and from designers. How will this impinge on our experience of virtuality?

   Mutability: Is the current way of building virtual environments wrong? That they are instantiated in a top-down fashion and are limited in any mutability. Do we need to "build in" the possibility for mutability in these spaces? In a large space, it may be economically ruinous to have intensive upkeep of the VE considering the ratios of developers to users as indicated from present experience. Perhaps users themselves have to be enabledS perhaps the environment changes itself, through artificial life, virtual ecosystems, climate, ecosystems etc.

   We wise to reflect on these themes in terms of both development and experience of use.

Note to workshop presenters: overhead projectors will be available for presentations; however, no data projectors will be available for connecting to laptops. Presenters are encouraged to use transparencies for their sessions.