DATE: August 7, 2000

FROM: Ronald D. Kriz

TO: A. Habayeb

CC: John Kelso and Fernando das Neves

SUBJECT: NAVCIITI Quarterly Report

RE: - Project 2.0: Visualization HCI and Collaboration
    - Task 2.1:    Command and Control Visualization
    - SOW: 2.1.1   Identify working simulation models used by NUWC

Significant progress has been made on improving the CAVE Collaborative
Console (CCC) with new HCI (Human Computer Interaction) features. 
Specifically a common desktop to CAVE menu interface was designed and
implemented to encourage collaboration across platforms.  The upgraded
CCC was installed and tested on the Immersive-Desk at Dam Neck NAVSEA 
HPC (High Performance Computer Center) as part of the Collaborative
Engineering Environment project. The CCC was used to link DAM Neck's
I-Desk with Virginia Tech's CAVE.  This upgrade was made possible by
incorporating the "X-Wand" software so that CAVE users could function
similar to the desktop user. 

         http://www.sv.vt.edu/future/cave/software/ccc

Significant progress has also been made on the development of the
DIVERSE (Device Independent Virtual Environment: Reconfigurable,
Scalable and Extensible) toolkit and graphics interface to Performer
which will be used for both the NUWC (year-2) and Digital Ship (year-3)
NAVCIITI project.  Presently DIVERSE is being merged with VRPN (a tool
used extensively at the NRL VE Lab) to link an array of devices in a 
distributed-shared collboartive environment. Future work will include 
CCC HCI features, such as participant lists, 2D- and 3D- radars, and 
teleportation, into DIVERSE.  An improved HCI desktop CAVE simulation 
interface called "Persona" is designed to facilitate desktop users of
shared virtual environments.

        http://www.diverse.vt.edu

Under the direction of Dr. Larry Rosenblum we are waiting clarification
of exact sonar simulation models from NUWC (Naval Undersea Weapons 
Center: Contact Ann Silva) to be incorporated into the DIVERSE 
collaborative interface that will connect desktops, Immersive-
Workbenches, Head Mounted Display (HMD), and I-Desks with simulations 
running on remote-site HPC (High Performance Computers).  A working 
Web-based prototype of and wave propagation simulation that could be 
extended to sonar simulation has been developed into a working 
prototype: section "simulation results".  This particular prototype is 
based on a three-tier network architecture that allows remote-site 
users ("client") to access simulation models on a centralized computer 
("server") that submits simulation jobs to supercomputers ("distributed-
HPC-Resource") across the internet.

        http://www.jwave.vt.edu/crcd/kriz/examples/example7/

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