The goal of our Advanced Collaborative Environment (ACE) project is to support seamless collaboration by removing these barriers and improving the users' Quality of Experience (QoE). We are developing a QoE-ACE architecture of the future, an architecture that takes into account not only available and emerging technologies, but also the users, their individual needs, and the uniqueness of the tasks they set out to pursue.

The project is working towards providing a suite of tools that allow scientific users to use visualization tools as an integrated part of an advanced collaboration environment. The project is centered around the integration of advanced visualization tools into the collaboration infrastructure that is provided by the AccessGrid Tool Kit. The project has developed a number of shared applications and collaboration services for the AccessGrid, and the tools can be downloaded below.

• Principal Investigator
  • Brian Corrie, Simon Fraser University (bcorrie at sfu dot ca)

• Current and Past Collaborators
  • UBC-Okanagan
    • Todd Zimmerman
  • National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa
    • Andrew Patrick (NRC)
    • Kenneth Emig
    • Janice Singer
    • Bruno Emond
    • Khalil El Khatib
    • Stephen Marsh
    • Siraj Sabihuddin (student programmer)
    • Changhua Wu (student programmer)
  • Communications Research Centre (CRC), Ottawa
    • Sylvie Noel
  • Media LightPath Project
    • Richard Levy, University of Calgary (PI)
    • Jim Bizzocchi, Simon Fraser University
    • Tom Calvert, Simon Fraser University
    • Marek Hatala, Simon Fraser University
    • Ron Wakkary, Simon Fraser University
    • Rob Woodbury, Simon Fraser University
    • Jonathan M. Borwein, Dalhousie University
    • Pierre Boulanger, University of Alberta
    • Gilbert Paquette, Tele-Universite
  • Global Lambda Visualization Facility (GLVF)
    • See the GLVF web site for detailed information on GLVF researchers

   

Funding and support is gratefully acknowledged from the following sources:

• Canadian Foundation for Innovation (equipment and operations)
• BC Knowledge and Development Fund (equipment and operations)
• Silicon Graphics Canada
• National Research Council of Canada
• Communications Research Centre
• CANARIE

• Corrie, B., and Zimmerman, T. (2009) Build It: Will They Come? Media Spaces in the Support of Computational Science, in Media Space: 20+ Years of Mediated Life (ed. S. Harrison), Springer (SpringerLink)

• Corrie, B., and Storey, M.A. (2007) Towards Understanding the Importance of Gesture in Distributed Scientific Collaboration, International Journal of Knowledge and Information Systems, Volume 13, Number 2, October 2007, Springer. (Online paper)

• Leigh, J. et al (2006) The Global Lambda Visualization Facility: An International Ultra-High-Definition Wide Area Visualization Collaboratory, Journal of Future Generation Computer Systems, 22(8), October 2006, Elsevier

• Corrie, B. and Storey, M.A., (2005) Towards Understanding the Importance of Gesture in Distributed Collaborative Environments, Workshop on Multimodal Interaction for the Visualization and Exploration of Scientific Data, October 3, 2005, Trento, Italy.

• Corrie, B., Zimmerman, T., Patrick, A., El-Khatib, K., Singer, J., Noel, S., and Storey, M.A., (2005) Technology, Technology, Everywhere, Workshop on Advanced Collaborative Environments (WACE 05), Sept. 8 - 9, 2005, Redmond, Washington.

• D. Agarwal, B. Corrie, J. Leigh, M. Lorch, J. Myers, R. Olson, M. E. Papka, and M. Thompson, Security Requirements of Advanced Collaborative Environments, Global Grid Forum Informational Memo GFD.43, December 20, 2004

• Swindells, C., Po, B.A., Hajshirmohammadi, I., Corrie, B., Dill, J.C., Fisher, B.D., and Booth, K.S. (2004) Comparing CAVE, Wall, and Desktop Displays for Navigation and Wayfinding in Complex 3D Models. In Proceedings of Computer Graphics International (CGI), IEEE Press. (Movie)

• Patrick, A.S., Singer, J., Corrie, B., Noël, S., El Khatib, K., Emond, B., Zimmerman, T., & Marsh, S. (2004). A QoE Sensitive Architecture for Advanced Collaborative Environments. Paper presented at the First International Conference on Quality of Service in Heterogeneous Wired/Wireless Networks (QSHINE 2004), Oct. 18-20, Dallas, TX.

• Corrie, B., Wong, H., Zimmerman, T., Marsh, S., Patrick, A.S., Singer, J., Emond, B., & Noel, S. (2003). Towards quality of experience in advanced collaborative environments. Paper presented at the Third Annual Workshop on Advanced Collaborative Environments, June 22, Seattle.

• The Social Dynamics of Scientific Collaboration, Presented at the AccessGrid Retreat 2008, May 28-30, 2008, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. (PDF) (PowerPoint Show)

• Lightpaths for advanced visualization and interaction: A demonstration at the Annual BCNet conference, April 2006. Live remote computational steering, visualizaton and remote display on a large screen passive stereo display at the BCNet conference. Remote, collaborative haptic interaction between Dalhousie and the BCNet conference. The demos made use of a dedicated gigabit lightpath from Dalhousie (Halifax) to SFU (Burnaby) and SFU Harbour Centre (Vancouver) where the BCNet conference was held. The demonstration also made use of the WestGrid core network to link the computatio (UoA) to the visualization server (SFU). (Presentation).

• Panel on High Resolution Visualization Tools for AccessGrid Collaboration, SC Global Showcase Track, Supercomputing (SC) 2005, November 12 - 18, 2005, Seattle, USA. Included a live remote multi-pipe visualization demonstaration between Vancouver and Seattle using a dedicated gigabit lightpath (Presentation)

• Towards Understanding the Importance of Gesture in Distributed Collaborative Environments,. Workshop on Multimodal Interaction for the Visualization and Exploration of Scientific Data, October 3, 2005, Trento, Italy.

• The Solutions Server over Media Light Paths: A GLVF Demonstration, iGrid 2005, September 26 - 29, 2005, San Diego, USA. Solutions Server is a suite of tools that couples live computational simulation with visualizations. The Solutions Server, combined with SGI's VizServer software, streams visualizations to computer consoles of distantly located scientists and engineers over the WestGrid dedicated Gigabit network. The Media Lightpaths project seeks to move toward configurable lightpaths to support on-demand visualizations among non-WestGrid collaborators. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate the User Controlled LightPath (UCLP) technology with the Access Grid. At iGrid, we will be demonstrating a live computational steering application, with computataion running at the University of Alberta, live computations being sent to the visualization server at Simon Fraser University, and the visualization being streamed to the iGrid show floor and displayed on a high-resolution passive stereo display. This demonstration utilizes both the WestGrid core network as well as a dedicated light path from Simon Fraser University to CalIT2. Simon Fraser University and the University of Alberta are participants in the Global Lambda Visualization Facility (GLVF).

• Technology, Technology, Everywhere, Workshop on Advanced Collaborative Environments (WACE 05), Sept. 8 - 9, 2005, Redmond, Washington. (Presentation)

• AccessGrid Venue Customizer, Access Grid Retreat, April 26 - 29, 2005, San Francisco, California.

• The Visualization Server Shared Application., Access Grid Retreat, April 26 - 29, 2005, San Francisco, California.

• Collaborative Visualization., Invited talk for the UK Access Grid Support Centre Training Seminars, July 14th, 2005, Manchester, UK (delivered via AccessGrid remotely from SFU). (Presentation)

• AVC - The AccessGrid Venue Customizer, Andrew Patrick, NRC. Presented at the AccessGrid Town Hall Meeting, January 11, 2005

• WestGrid Collaboration and Visualization Network, Brian Corrie, SFU. Presented at the SuperComputing 2004 Conference as part of the SCGlobal conference stream, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 2004

• WestGrid Collaboration and Visualization, Brian Corrie, SFU. Presented at the AccessGrid Retreat, Toronto, Ontario, June 2004

• Towards Quality of Experience in Advanced Collaborative Environments, Brian Corrie, SFU. Presented at the Workshop on Advanced Collaborative Environments, held in conjunction with GGF 9, Seattle Washington, July 7, 2003

• AccessGrid software (used in the Media LightPath project)
  • Shared Desktop Shared Application
  • AccessGrid Venue Customizer Shared Application
  • Visualization Server Shared Application
• Media LightPath deliverables
  • UCLP-AccessGrid Integration Project Documentation
  • BCNet LightPath demonstration, BCNet Conference, April 25-26, 2006
    • Remote computational steering, passive stereo display
    • Collaborative control of haptic device, SFU to Dalhousie
    • Lightpath from UoA -> SFU-HC -> SFU-DT and Dalhousie -> SFU-DT
  • SC2005 demonstration: remote computational steering, UoA -> SFU -> Seattle
    • Lightpath from UoA -> SFU -> Seattle
  • iGrid 2005 LightPath demonstration, September 26-30, 2006, CalIT2
    • Remote computational steering, passive stereo remote display
    • Lightpath from UoA -> SFU -> CalIT2

For more information please contact:

Brian Corrie
Collaboration and Visualization Coordinator
WestGrid/IRMACS
IRMACS Room 10905, Applied Sciences Building
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, B.C., Canada.
V5A 1S6

Email: bcorrie at sfu dot ca
Phone: 778-268-6978
Fax: 778-268-7065