From Your Street Corner to the Dunes of Mars, Virtual Environments in Vertical

Applications

Bruce Damer

USC School of Cinema/TV, Robert Zemeckis CenterJanuary 12, 2005

Itinerary

IntroductionI. Origins of the Visual InterfaceII. Early Applications of Virtual WorldsIII. Evolution of Dimensional and Community CyberspacesIV. Experiments in Early Internet-based Virtual WorldsV. Industrial Applications: NASAVI. Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds: FIT Ratava’s LineVII. Darwin@Home!VIII. Acknowledgements and Resources

Introduction

This tutorial will cover the commercial and educational use of virtual environments from industrial simulations for NASA to collaborative learning to fashion design. A history of the virtual environments field will be given to set today's context where we see some successful application of the medium. Detailed implementations of some vertical applications built using the new Adobe Atmosphere platform will be provided.

I. Origins of the Visual Interface

Bush (Memex), NelsonEngelbart’s visionSRI: NLS1968: Mother of all DemosE&S, Imlacs 60s–1970sXerox PARCCrayOther early hardware

Visual Interfaces – Xerox PARC and elsewhere, 1970s-80s

3D interfaces - evolution

1970s wireframe to solid to ray traced – SIGGRAPH, ’74Maze WarAlvy Ray Smithframe buffer80s SGIReal time renderingImmersive VRCommodity Virtual Worlds/Internet – 90s-2000s

Evolutionary Tree of Visual Computing Systems(DigiBarn Computer Museum)

II. Early Applications of Virtual Worlds

Simulation – weather, aerodynamics, cold war, Shuttle programRender to film – Hollywood and TVExperimental informational interfacesArt/Experience - placeholder

Geographical Information Systems

Geographical Information Systems - GeoFusion textured 3D model of earth with real satellite imagery

Geographical Information Systems

Progressive texturing – Swiss Alps

Artistic and Pedagogical applications

Art/Experience – Placeholder, Osmose, Ars Electronica, SIGGRAPH, KruegerExperimental Pedagogy – cyberfora @ ArtCenter- Vlearn SIG

Artistic and Pedagogical uses

VLearn3D SIG and annual cyberconference

Experimental Frontiers of 3D environments

Evolutionary virtual worlds (Sims, Biota.org)Modeling the large and the small scale (cosmology, quantum dynamics)Tele-immersion

III. Evolution of Dimensional andCommunity Cyberspaces

The original Maze War - ARPANET1970s-80s DOD simulation and training1980s - MUDs, MOOs text-based virtual worlds1990s – Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM2000s Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming

Killer App Driving Evolution - GamesEverQuest

75,000 to 100,000 users online at any one timeFeature film level budget and box office

GamesThe Sims

Design and run your own “soap opera”, households, towns, businesses, in a sort of “puppet theater”

GamesVenture rush into

the virtual worlds medium

There.comLinden Labs “Second Life”Star Wars GalaxiesNever Winter’s Night (DandD)20 other projects in the works3D Chipsets, automatic shaders, real-time rendering, George Lucas: game chip short film project

IV. Experiments in early Internet-based Virtual Worlds (1995-2002)

Contact Consortium: Silicon-Valley based nonprofitDigitalSpace: commons-based for-profit corporationBuilding and community experimentsLearning spacesCollaboration spacesCyber-conferences

1995: Worlds Chat

First net-based real time avatar space (Worlds

Inc.)

1995: Alphaworld cityscape –a public building space on the net

300,000 users as “avatars”

1 Billion objects placed

since 1995

1996: Building and Community experiments

in Alphaworld and Active Worlds

Sherwood Forest Towne

1996: Sherwood Towne construction experiment(featured at Ars Electronica 1997)

Anthropology-driven

experiment in virtual

community construction

1996: User-created emergent social structures &

activities – wedding

Emergent space,

experience, bottom-up

contributions from

community

1997: Generative Virtual SpacesBiota.org Nerve Garden, Siggraph

1998-99: Experimental Learning SpacesVirtual walk on the moon with Apollo IX astronaut

Russell Schweickart

Experimental Learning SpacesVirtual walk on the moon with Apollo IX astronaut

Russell Schweickart

1998: Experimental Collaboration SpacesDatafusion “war room”

1998: Experimental Collaboration Spaces Datafusion “war room”

1998-2003: AVATARS Cyber-conferencesAnnual festival of the avatar commons

“the Burning Man of Bits”

1998-2003: AVATARS Cyber-conferences

Avvy Awards

1998-2003: AVATARS Cyber-conferences

Mixture of physical and virtual venuesCybertradeshow created by database

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Multiple worlds, staging of attendees

Film/Story Reenactment

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2001 a cyberspace odyssey

Case: Avatars2002 a merry cyber party

Novel/Story Reenactment

Case: Avatars2002 a merry cyber party

Drive On Mars (www.driveonmars.com)Mars Planetary Fractal ModelBrahmsVE: FMARS Analogue HabitatPSA Robot aboard a Virtual Space Station

V. Industrial Applications: NASA

Goals:Build on the positive experience from

Pathfinder/1997 and offer a high fidelity yet low bandwidth 3D interactive experience of the MER/2004 surface operations and support a wide range of public outreach goals.

3D virtual terrain modeled from real MER data, simulation of vehicles making traverses, driving the virtual rovers through alternate traverses.

Drive On Mars

Drive On Mars

Inspired by Pathfinder/Sojourner experience in 1997: QTVR and VRML rich mediaVirtual worlds are highly effective outreach tools, much lower bandwidth than video, higher interactivity, full distributability (a la SETI@Home)Based on 4 years of platform development at Ames/RIACS and Digital Space: BrahmsVE platform

Apollonaris Volcano and Gusev Crater

Mars Planetary Fractal Model

View to Gusev and Apollonaris (exaggerated scale)

Mars Planetary Fractal Model

BrahmsVE: FMARS Analogue HabitatA virtual environment for discrete agent work practice

simulation

Collaboration between RIACS and Digital SpaceBegun in 2000, simulates “day in life” aboard FMARS

FMARS, Devon Island, Canada

BrahmsVE: FMARS Analogue Habitat

Planning meeting, water tank filling, EVA prep

BrahmsVE: FMARS Analogue Habitat

PSA Robot aboard a Virtual Space Station

PSA Robot aboard a Virtual Space Station

PSA Robot aboard a Virtual Space Station

VI. Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds: FIT Ratava’s Line

A collaborative cyber-fashion eventand online mystery gameFashion Institute of Technology& Simon Fraser UniversityApril 23, 2003

Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds

Storyboard

Range of environments: 2D, 3D, physical, virtual, live Range of media: Fashion drawings, virtual construction (garments and characters), interactive narrative, game, live performance Distributed international teamInterdisciplinary communicating, thinking, working, negotiating

Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds

Shared Virtual Stage Set in Atmosphere

Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds

Garments modeled on Stage Set

Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds

Physical modeling of garments

Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds

Future Tech DirectionsPoser 5 Cloth Model, with a revolution in 3D Chipset performanceThe tie-in with apparel: Whole Garment Knitting, CAD/CAM comes to fashion?

Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds

Whole Garment KnittingCAD/CAM comes to the apparel business (Shima Seiki)

Team Distance Learning in Virtual Worlds

Merger of Movie

Special FX and online

Virtual Environment

s?

Golem (Serkis) as

the ultimate avatar

Medical Applications

Mental Health: Phobias

Disabilities: prostheses

VIII. Acknowledgements and Resources

DigitalSpace Team Colleagues, Galen Brandt, Alex Grigny de CastroContact Consortium Colleagues, Bonnie DeVarco, Mike HeimDatafusion Inc. Joel Schatz, Chris RatheNASA Ames Research Center, Bill Clancey, Maarten SierhuisActive Worlds Inc. Rick NollAdobe Systems Inc. Michael Kaplan, Bahman DaraGeoFusion, Chuck SteinArlington Institute, John PetersonDaria Dorosh, FIT, Steve DiPaola, SFUDrive On Mars, BrahmsVE, PSA: Dave Rasmussen, Merryn Nielson, Ryan Norkus, Peter Newman, M Sierhuis, W. Clancey, B. BrodskyMars Terrain Modeling: Ken Heidenreich & students, Ruth Fry, Ken Musgrave, Pandromeda, DS team for FMARS habitat, Geoff Briggs for inspirationAndy Serkis, Lord of the RingsKarl Sims, Char Davies, Brenda Laurel, Rob TowDigiBarn Computer Museum & SupportersRon Britvich, Roland VillettRich DiddayVirtual World Studios, Allan Lundell, Sun MacNamee

Acknowledgements and Resources

This presentation is available online as HTML at: http://www.digitalspace.com/presentations/cyberworlds-2003/bruce/Powerpoint version is at: http://www.digitalspace.com/presentations/cyberworlds-2003/bruce/index.pptContact: http://www.digitalspace.com/forms/comment.htmlwww.digitalspace.com The Digital Space CommonsDigital Space Publications: http://www.digitalspace.com/papers/index.htmlDrive on Mars: www.driveonmars.comRATAVA’S LINE Project and Event Pages: http://www.digitalspace.com/content/atmosphere/2003/fitsfu/www.ccon.org Contact Consortiumhttp://www.biota.org Biota Special Interest Groupwww.vlearn3d.org VLearn3D Special Interest GroupDigiBarn Computer Museum: www.digibarn.comAdobe Atmosphere: http://www.adobe.com/products/atmosphereAtmospherians: http://www.atmospherians.com

IX. Bonus!(This has been a vision of cyberspace for a long time)

“Escape” in Finite State Fantasies (1976) by Rich Didday

“Moral of the story”