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Interactive Web
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Interactive web conferencing solutions for 3-D virtual meetings
October 5, 2005
By: Alice Osborn
Interactive web conferencing allows work teams to share
data and collaborate on projects in real-time while bridging
their distances and increasing their comprehension of the
presentation material. Through 3D technology, meeting
participants can see exactly what actions the other
participants are performing on the applications.
Web conferencing solutions such as
SmartMeeting,
Tixeo,
and
i-Voyager 3D offer conferencing services in a 3-D
virtual environment, along with avatars for live online
collaboration. These avatars, or virtual guides, can be
digital representations of the users, or can resemble a
person, a cartoon, an animal, or another character. Through
these virtual team meetings, participants can more easily
use applications, such as spreadsheets and databases, and
communicate through full duplex VoIP technology and through
streaming video.
A discussion of three fully immersive 3-D web
conferencing solutions
- SmartMeeting -- This solution emphasizes
interactive conferencing in a stress-free and
user-friendly environment that isn't cluttered with
complex features. SmartMeeting states that its solution
offers the lowest cost alongside cutting-edge
functionality. The 3-D workplace environment is fully
interactive with full duplex VoIP that is activated by the
sound of the teams entering the conference. The meeting
avatars conform to the users' specifications, move their
lips while talking, and when silent, have appropriate
facial expressions. Meeting participants can spread out to
multiple rooms to discuss team projects and reconvene at a
set time around a conference table, or in front of a large
projection screen. This web conferencing solution would be
ideal for a medium to large company.
- Tixeo WorkSpace3D -- This French solution
creates an interactive conferencing environment by
recording a vote through a show of hands, by giving the
avatars realistic hand and body expressions, and by
offering high-quality VoIP. It also features interactive
whiteboards for presentations, 3D model viewing for
products and parts, and co-browsing so colleagues can
immediately correspond and critique each other's work.
This conferencing solution requires graphics cards that
support advanced 3D technology so that attendees can view
floating presentation screens through the collaborative
application manager. Cost information for Tixeo
WorkSpace3D has not been publicized.
- i-Voyager 3D -- This is another French
conferencing solution that is the most complex and costly
of these three web conferencing vendors, yet it offers the
most visually appealing meeting room set-ups. i-Voyager's
conferencing service targets enterprises and French-based
companies. It features multiple avatars and the 3D meeting
rooms with full panoramic screens can be viewed from
multiple camera angles. The avatars can be tele-ported
between rooms and of course, this solution also includes
full duplex VoIP, application sharing, polling,
whiteboarding, and co-browsing. i-Voyager 3D is limited to
20 conference attendees, so a large company that could
afford this service may not find it practical for
departmental meeting or new product launch.
All of these 3D web conferencing solutions offer ways to
make remote conferencing more visually appealing,
interactive, and realistic. More can be done in a virtual
meeting if attendees can see each other, while they work
"side by side" on their applications. Interactive 3D web
conferencing is a developing field that will probably become
more accessible and practical for a greater number of
companies within the next few years.
About the Author
Alice Osborn is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Web-Conferencing-Zone.com. Your
definitive guide to
web conferencing services,
online collaboration software and
web meetings for business.
Also See:
[ Interactive
white board capture devices for virtual meetings ]
[ Interactive white
boards -- convert dry erase white boards using eBeam ]
[ Interactive
whiteboards for online data conferencing & collaboration ]
Home Page:
[ Web-Conferencing-Zone.com ]
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