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Implementation of a multi-user on-line geometry collaboration tool

Carlos R. Morales, Ronald Glotzbach, Dioselin Gonzalez Purdue University, Knoy Hall, Room 363, West Lafayette, IN, 47907

Abstract While the majority of CAD systems today have the ability to engage in online collaboration, most systems emphasize engineer-to-engineer collaboration and have little features for creating highly polished interactive presentations for general collaboration. Some of the systems do have web centric collaboration tools, which allow general collaboration, but like all browser-based web-systems, they lack the level of interaction that can be achieved with a dedicated interactive multimedia tool. The author presents a methodology for creating fully interactive 3D multi-user collaborative presentations through the extraction of 3D geometrical data from a CAD source. The data is then assembled and scripted using shockwave 3D studio. The end result is an on-line experience with accurate models and engaging multimedia content.

Introduction On-line collaboration is extremely important. Not only is it necessary for engineers to collaborate with each other, but also in most commercial enterprises there is a need for collaboration with personnel who are not engineers such as non-technical management, marketing & financial personnel, and even customers.

In general, engineer-to-engineer collaboration problems have been the focus in the creation of collaboration tools. Most CAD systems today either have a web based collaboration module or can facilitate collaboration from within the software [1][2]. There are even systems that specialize in inter-application collaboration. Alibre Design makes a CAD tool that allows engineers to collaborate using different CAD packages [3].

In non engineer-to-engineer scenarios these tools suffer both from a technical perspective and from a usability perspective. This can be attributed to the fact that these tools have been adapted from engineering tools and do not focus on media presentation and delivery.

Most of these collaboration systems can be placed into one of two categories. In the first category we have web-centric systems. These systems allow users to assign roles, share drawings, use messaging services, etc. While the web centric nature of these tools makes them very accessible, it is also a shortcoming. All of these systems are plagued by the limited interactivity of the browser in which they are displayed. Technologies like client side DHTML, JavaScript, server-side technologies like ASP, JSP, PHP can all be leveraged to create a highly interactive experience. Yet, even at its best these technologies combined cannot provide the level of interactivity that a fully interactive multimedia package can provide.

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Gonzalez, D., & Glotzbach, R., & Morales, C. (2003, June), Implementation Of A Multi User Online Geometry Collaboration Tool Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12254