Supporting Scientific Collaboration in
Amplified Collaboration Environments
Kyoung S. Park
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL)
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Established in 1973
Joint Program: Art and Computer Science
First Star Wars film in 1977
Research:
– Visualization
– CAVE Research and Development
– High-speed Optical Networks
– Tele-Immersion
– Amplified Collaboration Environments
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Amplified Collaboration Environment
• Amplified Collaboration Environments (ACEs) are
distributed war rooms which are enhanced with
advanced visualization displays and computation
(Leigh02).
• Goal is to enhance collaboration among distantly
located teams of experts gathered to intensively
solve problems.
• Human Factors study over ACEs is intended to
understand how people work in display-rich
environments, which consist of having every wall
be an active display.
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Motivation: Maximally Co-located War rooms
War rooms (Olson&Olson00)
• Study of 9 project rooms
• Comparison of war room
groups with norm showed
performance of war room group
well above corporate average
(Teasley00)
• Characteristics of war rooms:
– Persistence of information
– Spatiality of human
interaction and deictic
reference
– Group awareness
– Immediacy of access to
information and experts
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
The Continuum : Amplified Collaboration
Environment for Scientific Investigation
• To develop integrated ubiquitous tools and
environments for collaborative scientific research in
which collaborators can visualize, analyze and
solve scientific problems
• EVL’s Continuum consists of the number of
modular technologies:
– Video Conferencing
– Immersion
– Large Scale Data Visualization and Distribution
– Annotation
– Wireless Interaction
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
The Continuum at EVL
Passive stereo
Immersive Display
Plasma
Touch-screen
Access Grid (annotations)
Tiled Display
(LCD tiles for high resolution,
or plasma screens)
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Access Grid
• Multi-sites conferencing – http://www.accessgrid.org/
speakers
cameras
desktop ambient mics
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Passive Stereoscopic Immersive Display
• Tele-Immersion content distribution (Leigh01)
• Widespread adoption by GeoWall Consortium for
research & education in the Geosciences (Nayak02)
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Tiled LCD Display
• Treat tiled display as a large
digital corkboard on which
information can be posted
permanently for long term
collaborative work
• SpaceGlider as a remote
control of all Continuum
displays as if one big screen
(Chowdhry02)
• Switcher to jump between
screens (Leigh02)
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Collaborative Annotation
• Shared persistent whiteboard and flipcharts through
plasma touchscreen
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Continuum Design Study
• Iterative improvement of 2 networked Continuum
spaces (Park03)
• Observe and explore design issues for interaction
of lots of displays and multiple simultaneous
inputs in ACE
• Observe how display-rich environments affect
group awareness and parallelism in distance
collaboration
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Study Methods
• 1 pilot study and 4 iterative design studies with
system configuration variations
• Tiled display was main display used
• 19 students (all subjects participated in two studies)
• A group of 3~4 students performed a set of
collaborative scientific tasks:
– Web-based search and information fusion
– Information visualization of multivariate data
– Collaborative brainstorming and design
• Measures
– Observation; Video recording; Survey; Interview;
Logging
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Initial Use of the Continuum – Pilot Study
(Distributed)
Mini-AG Room
LCD2
LCD1
Tiled Display
Focus Display
projector/screen
LCD3
Whiteboard
mini-AG
LCD4
close-up
camera
close-up
camera
AG Room
Focus Display
projector/screen
AG
Whiteboard
side view
camera
LCD
1
WB view
camera
LCD
2
LCD
3
LCD
4
overview
camera
• Access Grid (full-AG
setting; mini-AG setting)
• Shared Whiteboard
• Focus Display (for group
discussion)
• Distributed Corkboard
Tiled Display with
Switcher
• 1 Input Control per Site
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Initial Use of the Continuum – Pilot Study
(Co-located)
AG Room
Focus Display
projector/screen
Whiteboard
LCD
1
LCD
2
LCD
3
• Shared Whiteboard
• Focus Display with KVM
switcher
• Distributed Corkboard
Tiled Display (1x4
format) with Switcher
• 1 Input Control per User
LCD
4
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Pilot Study Observations
• Sense of ownership for the resources
• Tiled display offered partitioned group workspace
while maintaining necessary awareness between
distributed users
• Tiled display was useful for multiple linked views
and side-by-side comparison
• Flexible tiled display that can project up to single
large high-resolution data visualization
• Treat Continuum’s displays as one big screen
• Need to provide input control per individual
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Evaluation of Seamless Distributed Corkboard
– Study 1
Mini-AG Room
Tiled Display
Users can glide a mouse
from screen to screen
AG Room
mini-AG
Whiteboard
close-up
camera
close-up
camera
Tiled Display
AG
Whiteboard
side view
camera
WB view
camera
overview
camera
• Access Grid (full-AG
setting; mini-AG setting)
• Shared Whiteboard
• Seamless Distributed
Corkboard Tiled Display
using SpaceGlider (to
support the illusion of
one seamless display)
• 1 Input Control per User
• Physical Layout
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Study 1 Observations
• Seamless distributed corkboard tiled display
– Privacy concern (for locking individual workspace)
– Treated as one seamless display; mouse conflicts
– Group shared workspace
– Public visibility helped group focused work
– Casual glancing; but, often checked task progress
– Data transfer between displays (copy-and-paste;
read-and-write collaboration; use of paper)
– Need close-up view
• Shared resource sharing over whiteboard
• Need more microphones and cameras in mini-AG
setting!
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Evaluation of Seamless Distributed Corkboard
with Personal Displays – Study 2
Mini-AG Room
close-up
camera
Tiled Display
mini-AG
Whiteboard
overview
camera
Users can glide a mouse
from screen to screen
AG Room
close-up
camera
Tiled Display
AG
Whiteboard
side view
camera
WB view
camera
overview
camera
• Access Grid (full-AG
setting; improved miniAG setting)
• Shared Whiteboard
• Seamless Distributed
Corkboard Tiled Display
using SpaceGlider
(between tiled display
and whiteboard)
• Tablet w/screen echo (to
support close up view)
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Study 2 Observations
• Seamless distributed corkboard with personal displays
– Mixed: Tablet as individual workspace and Tiled
Display as group workspace
– Less casual glancing; task awareness
– Public visibility helped mixed focus collaboration
– Privacy concern (to focus assigned individual work)
– Treated as one seamless display; mouse conflicts
– Tablet helped proximity but raised size issue
– Users felt no continuity of the workspace
• Use of audio/video for shared resource sharing
• Increased remote interaction; but, video overload
• Read-and-write collaboration over AG
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Evaluation of Discrete Flexible Tiled Display
with Personal Displays – Study 3
Mini-AG Room
One screen can
be maximized
over Tiled
Display
close-up
camera
mini-AG
Flexible Shared
Tiled Display
Whiteboard
overview
camera
AG Room
close-up
camera
AG
Flexible Shared
Tiled Display
side view
camera
Whiteboard
One screen can
be maximized
over Tiled
Display
WB view
camera
overview
camera
• Access Grid (full-AG
setting; improved miniAG setting)
• Shared Whiteboard
• Discrete Flexible Shared
Tiled Display (with
different background
colors) with Switcher
• Tablet w/screen echo
• Layout Changes
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Study 3 Observations
• Discrete flexible tiled display with personal displays
– Full-screen used for group discussion and personal
uses (helped size problem)
– Users can still work on Tablet while full-screen
– Fewer mouse conflicts; no seamless display
– Putting displays together helped copy-and-paste
– Provided less public visibility; less casual glancing
– Privacy concern (for personal thing - email)
– Still copy-and-paste; read-and-write collab.over AG
– Shared resource turn-taking over whiteboard
• Finished faster; More casual interaction with remote
users; Increased WB usages; Higher user satisfaction
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Evaluation of Presentation-model Display with
Personal Displays – Study 4
Mini-AG Room
close-up
camera
mini-AG
Presentation-model
Tiled Display
Whiteboard
overview
camera
AG Room
close-up
camera
AG
WB view
camera
Presentation-model
Tiled Display
side view
camera
Whiteboard
overview
camera
• Access Grid (full-AG
setting; improved mini-AG
setting)
• Shared Whiteboard
• Presentation-model
Display (to provide more
privacy by sharing only
single individual’s
workspace at a time) with
Switcher
• Tablet w/screen echo
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Study 4 Observations
• Presentation-model display with personal displays
– Provided more privacy but no casual glancing
– ‘Show me’ pattern by less visibility
– Wanted distributed corkboard back! to glance
other’s work (i.e. awareness) and to display data
side-by-side (i.e. resolution issue)
– No privacy concern
– No mouse conflict by no control sharing
– Disappeared read-and-write collaboration over AG
• Shared resource sharing over Presentation Display
• Quality degraded; Limited interaction with remote
users; Decreased WB usages; Low user satisfaction
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Discussion: Summary of Study Design
System Configurations
Pilot
Study1
Study2
Study3
Study4
Individual vs.
Group
Group workspace
Group
Mixed
Mixed
Individual
Visibility
Public
Public
Public
Less
Public
More
private
Awareness
Casual
glance
Casual
glance
Less
casual
glance
Less
casual
glance
No glance
Seamless vs.
Discrete display
Discret
e
Seamless
Seamless Discrete
Resolution, size,
proximity & layout
Resource sharing Input
pattern observed
Close up
display
Whiteboard
Discrete
Fullscreen; Reduced
resolution
Layout
WB;
Fullscreen
Presentati
on Display
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Discussion: Communication
• Audio
– Overhearing –> provide microphones next to all
displays
– Collaboration halts by audio fails; but not easily
repaired by using text chat
• Video
– How to position/angle camera?
– Multiple video sources useful?
– Wall-size video display useful?
– How to arrange multiple video sources in the
display?
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Discussion: Shared Workspace
• Multiple users interaction over group workspace
– Ownership pattern –> Need locking
– Turn-taking pattern –> Need identification
• Individual/Group Workspace
– Public workspace provides information fully visible
and supports group awareness
– Presentation-model display (Private->Public)
showed visibility problem
– Individual workspace needed to be visible for
collaborative work!
– Need close up display for individual focus work
– Group co-reference should always be visible
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Discussion: Display-rich Environment
User Interface
• Seamless vs. Discrete Display
– SpaceGlider is good for 1 user; but, many collisions
for multiple users (mainly by accidental intrusion)
– Switcher avoids collisions between multiple users;
but, not scalable to many tiles
• Data Transfer between Displays
– Copy-and-paste (only with search task)
– Move windows between displays (only with
seamless display)
– Used various channels (e.g. tablet, paper, verbal)
– Putting displays closer together helped copy-andpaste
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Discussion: Parallelism/Awareness
• Task Parallelism
– Task types (Mixed-focus vs. Group focused work)
– Group work styles (Divided work vs. Work together)
– Provide individual workspace
– Need awareness when user’s working in parallel
• Group Awareness
– Shared resource sharing awareness –> Need
identification
– Task awareness –> Need group coordination tool
– Awareness by overhearing and casual glancing
– Overhearing and displaying spatiality of human
interaction over AG
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Conclusions
• Lessons learned:
– Provide individual workspace for parallel work
– Maximize visibility to enhance group awareness
and interaction for distributed teams
– Provide close up display for focus work
– Support easy transition between individual work
and group work
– Group co-reference should always be visible
• Improvements:
– Need identification for shared resources sharing
– Need coordination tool
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Future Directions
• Further human factors research on Amplified
Collaboration Environments (ACEs)
– Exploring design issues of shared workspace
– Long distance collaboration – e.g. EVL and
TRECC
– Exploring organizational or social factors
• Research on intensive computing and data mining
over ACE
• Developing advanced visualization and collaboration
technology to support ACE
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Building a Collaborative Bridge – The Continuum @TRECC
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Varrier : Tiled Auto-Stereoscopic LCD Display
•
•
•
Use barrier strip
material in front of
LCD to create
autostereoscopic
image.
4 horizontal pixels to
create 1 stereoscopic
pixel- oversampling
to reduce aliasing.
Use low-latency
tracking to eliminate
pseudo-stereo.
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
References
• Park, K., Renambot, L., Leigh, J., Johnson, A., The Impact of Display-rich
Environments for Enhancing Task Parallelism and Group Awareness in
Advanced Collaborative Environments, In Workshop on Advanced
Collaboration Environments, Seattle, WA, June 22-24, 2003.
• Leigh, J., Johnson, A., Park, K., Nayak, A., Singh, R., Chowdry, V., Amplified
Collaboration Environments, In the proceedings of VR Grid Workshop,
November 26, 2002, Daejun, Korea, pp. 77-85.
• Park, K., Cho, Y., Krishnaprasad, N., Scharver, C., Lewis, M., Leigh, J.,
Johnson, A., CAVERNsoft G2: A Toolkit for High Performance Tele-Immersive
Collaboration, Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software
and Technology 2000, Oct 22-25, 2000, Seoul, Korea, pp. 8-15.
• Park, K., Kapoor, A., Leigh, J., Lessons Learned from Employing Multiple
Perspectives In a Collaborative Virtual Environment for Visualizing Scientific
Data, Proceedings of ACM CVE 2000, San Francisco, CA, 09/10/00-09/12/00,
pp. 73-82.
• Park, K., Kenyon, R., Effects of Network Characteristics on Human
Performance in a Collaborative Virtual Environment, Proceedings of IEEE VR
`99, Houston, TX, 03/13/99 - 03/17/99.
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago
Thank You
• For more information:
– www.evl.uic.edu/cavern/continuum
• This work is supported in part by:
– The National Science Foundation
– The Office of Naval Research through the
Technology Research Education and
Commercialization Center (TRECC)
– Microsoft Corporation
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) University of Illinois at Chicago