Status ReportSponsor: Rockwell Collins and Emerging Media Initiative

Ben JohnstonWayne ZageDolores Zage

LifeWerx Goal:

Develop a functional and secure 3-D virtual collaboration environment to enhance the everyday professional work experience

Project Themes:

•In-house•Secure•Full internal control

History of LifeWerx:

•Originally funded as a SERC project by Rockwell Collins•Based on Project Wonderland, a Sun Labs open source virtual world•Began with work on version 0.4.•Summer internship at Rockwell Collins•Change to version 0.5 required a new evaluation of project priorities

Comparison between versions :

Some of the changes in 0.5 :

•Java3d -> jMonkeyEngine•MTGame multi-threading engine•Module system allowing for extensions to the virtual world in a clean manner•Automatic deployment control via JNLP / modular builds •Web-based administrative interface•More robust experience

Features we didn’t need to make in 0.5:

•Enhanced avatar customization•Real-time security module

The unspoken killer app: Desktop Sharing

•What is desktop sharing?•In 0.4 we built LifeShare, a standalone program to allow for desktop sharing•Complex system involving VNC server, VNC->RDP bridge (via xrdp ported to Windows) and RDP clients•Maintenance was difficult and it did not integrate well•With 0.5 we had to start over

The new LifeShare:

•Embedded VNC server to share to the X11 App Share•Built-in proxies for network configuration and security concerns•Wonderland’s Sun Application Sharing engine, to display and allow interaction in-world•Custom plug-in to handle communication and synchronization issues

Architecture Diagram:

A screenshot of the new Lifeshare:

Future Steps:

•Finish work on Lifeshare including proper shutdown hooks and proxies•User testing for usability and performance concerns•Future funding?

Questions and Comments?