DI5VE
International Virtual Collaboratories for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Research
by Developing Models in & for Distributed Interactive Virtual Environments
Dale C. Alverson, MD
Internet2 Membership Meeting 2003
Presentation Contributors
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Tom Caudell, PhD, UNM EECE
Stan Saiki Jr., MD, UH JABSOM
Stephen Itoga, PhD, UH ICS
Peter Yellowlees, MD, UQ SOM
Kevin Burrage, PhD, UQ CS
Karen Haines, PhD, UWA CS
Presentation Outline
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DI5VE Defined
DI5VE Rationale
DI5VE Concept
SWOT Analysis of Concept
Multi-center Participants
• UQ, Brisbane, AU
• UWA, Perth, AU
• UH
• UNM
• Conclusion
DI5VE defined
• Distributed
• I5 :
Interdisciplinary
Interinstitutional
International
Interactive
Internet2
• Virtual
• Environments
Presentation Outline
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DI5VE Defined
DI5VE Rationale
DI5VE Concept
SWOT Analysis of Concept
Multi-center Participants
• UQ, Brisbane, AU
• UWA, Perth, AU
• UH
• UNM
• Conclusion
Rationale
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Accelerating revolution in IT
Need for more students in CS, IT,
engineering, math and other
related fields to support future
evolving/emerging technology,
research and discovery
Value of interdisciplinary learning,
training and problem solving;
creating “learning families” and
project teams
Leverage scarce specialized
resources through
Interinstitutional/International
collaboration in research,
education, and knowledge sharing
Leverage advanced distributed
learning tools and communication
networks, such as I2, to facilitate
and enable those collaborations
Distributed Learning In Interactive Virtual Reality Environments
via Next Generation Internet2 Grid Technology
Proof of Priniciple
UNM
UH
Project TOUCH
IVEC
(Interactive Virtual Environments Center)
Presentation Outline
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DI5VE Defined
DI5VE Rationale
DI5VE Concept
SWOT Analysis of Concept
Multi-center Participants
• UQ, Brisbane, AU
• UWA, Perth, AU
• UH
• UNM
• Conclusion
DI5VE Concept
• Create virtual international, interinstitutional,
interdisciplinary class rooms and laboratories
• Join multi-institutional and multi-departmental
faculty and students together in learning families
and project teams
• Use problem-based/case-based approach for
developing models for specific projects, making
the learning complimentary and relevant to
several disciplines
• Use I2 and VRE technologies to facilitate
information exchange, interaction, education,
collaboration, and diffusion of new knowledge
Presentation Outline
•
•
•
•
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DI5VE Defined
DI5VE Rationale
DI5VE Concept
SWOT Analysis of Concept
Multi-center Participants
• UQ, Brisbane, AU
• UWA, Perth, AU
• UH
• UNM
• Conclusion
Concept Strengths
• Enables sharing of expertise and provides potential
synergism
• Facilitates collaboration and exchange independent of
distance
• Distributes teaching and research burden
• Avoids unnecessary redundancy
• Links disparate disciplines into complementary
applications in problem solving and project development
• Enhances experiential learning for students and makes
learning relevant and more engaging
• Teaches team process and value of collaboration
• Participating institutions’ prior experience and interest in
the concept
Weaknesses
• Difficulties in management, coordination
and curricular integration across
disciplines and institutions
• Problems with network reliability and QoS
• “Last Mile” connectivity problems
• Time-zone differences challenge real-time
interaction
• Lack of identified resources for
development and sustainability
Opportunities
• Create new collaborations in education, research and
discovery independent of distance barriers (“virtual
collaboratories”)
• Facilitate initiatives addressing global problems
• Create an economy of scale through sharing of expertise
and resources
• Facilitate diffusion of new knowledge and adoption of
best practices
• Enhance ability to obtain funds for productive,
collaborative research and development
• Engage and create a new generation of collaborative
scientists, researchers and educators for future
innovation development and support
Threats
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Politics
Competition
Egos
Cultural Differences
Language Barriers
Lack of Resources and Investment
Failure to Sustain Internet2
Failure to Demonstrate Value and ROI
Presentation Outline
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DI5VE Defined
DI5VE Rationale
DI5VE Concept
SWOT Analysis of Concept
Multi-Center Participants
• UQ, Brisbane, AU
• UWA, Perth, AU
• UH
• UNM
• Conclusion
Multi-center participants
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UQ, Brisbane, AU
UWA, Perth, AU
UNM
UH
HITLab NZ, UC, Christchurch, NZ
University of Queensland
Peter Yellowlees, MD and Kevin Burrage, PhD
The Advanced Computational
Modelling Centre (ACMC):
Located at the University of Queensland has
been created to foster interaction between
science and industry in the use of advanced
technologies such as high performance
computers (HPC), scientific visualisation of
complex data sets, advanced informatics,
computer simulation and modeling, and
parallel numerical algorithms.
Virtual Reality Center
Visualisation and Advanced Computing
(VISAC)
Role is to form partnerships with other groups
that need sophisticated visualisation tools and
to give training and develop educational
material. They undertake a variety of projects
from pure research to collaborative commercial
and noncommercial applications. Our work
covers such diverse areas such as Medical
applications, Mining applications, Architectural
applications and artistic collaborations.
VISAC
The curved screen of the VISAC laboratory
VISAC
(UQ)
Virtual Reality
Psychosis Simulation Environment
University of Western Australia
Karen Haines, PhD
CTEC
Clinical Education and Training Center
UWA
HITLab NZ
University of Canterbury
Mark Billinghurst, PhD
Augmented Reality
Collaborative Mixed Reality
Merging Real and Virtual Worlds
University of New Mexico
Thomas Preston Caudell, Ph.D.
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
“The Homunculus Project:
Virtual Environments for Discovery and Analysis
of Complex Systems”
Motivation
In general, investigating and understanding the content of
multidimensional information is a major impediment in the
application of basic research results. The scientist remains
separated from his/her data, with the computer acting as a
recalcitrant intermediary.
Homunculus Project
Hypothesis: Th e development and use of immersive
virtual reality interfaces to complex high performance
computer simulations will enhance our ability to
advance science.
Goals of Homunculus Project
• Improved human comprehension of
large-scale complex simulations and
data
• Creation of virtual laboratories, tools,
and methods for scientists
• Continuous testing and quantitative
evaluation
Approach
Perception
Concepts
Mental
Model
Mapping
Representations
Reification
Interaction
Learning &
Discovery
Research Projects
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Neural System Modeling (Boeing)
TOUCH Project (HHS)
Scientific Vis (LANL)
Program Vis and Comprehension (HPCERC)
Transactional Graph Vis (SNL)
Parallel Computer Vis (LANL)
Network Intrusion Vis (LANL)
Nondestructive Chip Vis (SNL)
Art & Science (UNM ATC & Rockefeller)
Laproscopic Simulation (Medview)
University of Hawaii
Stan Saiki Jr., MD and Stephen Itoga, PhD
See synergy with current institutional efforts
• Project TOUCH (UH/UNM Joint initiative in advanced
distributed learning using VR over I2 for medical
education and training)
• Bioinformatics thrust in EPSCOR NSF R11 initiative with
UH Hilo, PBRC, HIMB focusing on large biological,
genomic and ecological data sets; visualization of the
information within these sets of interest
• IT Alliance at UH involving ICS, EE, Communications, IT
Management, Ed Tech, Music and Art with effort to
establish IT certificates, major and minor
• Academy of Creative Media (ACM) shaping up to be
system-wide initiative at UH with focus on storytelling
and visualization.
University of Hawaii
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DI VE:
Distributed Interdisciplinary, Interinstitutional, International, Interactive,
Internet-2 Virtual Environments Program
DIVE Hawaii Partners:
John A. Burns, School of Medicine
TOUCH Collaboration
Department of Information and
Computer Sciences
Stanley M. Saiki, Jr., M.D.
Stephen Itoga, PhD
DI5VE: - University of Hawaii Component
Builds on TOUCH Collaboration with University of
New Mexico
• Current TOUCH Project:
– Develop and assess use of Access Grid and shared
virtual environments in medical education
– Develop alliances and distance enabled shared projects
with other institutions
– Test collaborative educational virtual environments
deployed over Internet 2
• DI5VE Concept: Share current development with
Interdisciplinary, Inter-Institutional, International,
partners. Look to international collaboration in future
development.
– Training and education opportunities for students in the
development process and as end users
DI5VE: - University of Hawaii Component
Builds on TOUCH Collaboration with University
of New Mexico
• Current UH Project:
– Multidisciplinary Teams formed in
undergraduate courses integrate students
from, Computer Science, Biologic
Science, Art (Music, Graphic Arts, Film)
Build Virtual Environment
applications for education in
Bioscience
• DI5VE Concept: Interdisciplinary, InterInstitutional, International, Interactive,
Internet-2 Development and Deployment of
VR Educational Tools in Bio-Science,
provides educational opportunities for students
at all levels of training
DI5VE: - University of Hawaii Component
Development at University of Hawaii
brings other potential collaborations
• Developing UH Projects:
– Center for Computational Biology, being developed at UH will
focus on gathering, processing and visualizing large biological,
genomic, and ecological data sets
– Academy of Creative Media, a system wide initiative for UH
with a focus on storytelling and visualization
• DI5VE Concept: Interdisciplinary, Inter-Institutional, International,
Interactive, Internet-2 collaborations in development and
deployment of applications serving above, educating students at all
levels and independent of distance
Presentation Outline
•
•
•
•
•
DI5VE Defined
DI5VE Rationale
DI5VE Concept
SWOT Analysis of Concept
Multi-center Participants
• UQ, Brisbane, AU
• UWA, Perth, AU
• UH
• UNM
• Conclusion
Conclusion
• DI5VE offers a global approach for developing the next
generation of scientists, researchers and educators,
independent of distance
• Provides a multi-center, international approach for
collaboration, information exchange, discovery, and
diffusion of new knowledge
• Engages and facilitates interdisciplinary education and
R&D through use of advanced distributed learning,
applying I2 and VRE technologies (Uses the tools to
teach students how to use those tools effectively in
creating new discoveries)
• Resources needed to implement and demonstrate the
real value of the concept