EAGER: Intelligent Interfaces for Managing User Experience in Hypermedia-Enabled Virtual Workspaces

该项目将结合设计原则和技术进步，以便能够部署和评价新的界面范例，以管理超链接的三维虚拟工作空间之间的连贯性，并管理虚拟工作空间内二维和三维信息资源的用户导向。在构建了开源3D协作系统(Open Cobalt)以实现超链接虚拟工作区的部署后，研究小组将利用Open Cobalt图形用户界面(GUI)框架的模块化和灵活性来探索最佳用户界面方法，以实现：(1)定义虚拟工作区作者和最终用户的最佳负担，以管理启用超媒体的虚拟工作区内3D门户(链接)的配置和功能，以及(2)管理虚拟工作区内显示的2D和3D组件之间的感知关系，其中包括多个交互化身以及聚合的2D和3D内容。这项研究将在涉及科学合作和教育的两个示范实施的背景下，评估多个图形用户界面方法在每个领域的有效性。这项工作将提供对管理虚拟工作空间中的内容和连接的最佳图形用户界面方法的关键见解。它还将：(1)进一步提高软件基础设施内的可用性，旨在支持具有成本效益的、大规模部署互联的和能力很强的虚拟工作空间；(2)促进通用和可扩展的软件框架，支持跨分布式和超链接虚拟工作空间环境的大量人员之间的同步通信和协作；以及(3)提供可作为未来研究实验基础的开放源码软件产品。该项目在推进用于管理虚拟场所和空间的有效3D图形用户界面方面具有巨大的潜力，以便人们能够更好地管理对超链接虚拟工作空间内的社会和信息资源的访问。这将直接影响使用虚拟工作空间支持教育、研究、商业、社交和娱乐的效果。Open Cobalt的最终功能将：(1)提供一个功能强大的开源平台，以支持对虚拟世界的进一步研究；(2)进一步推进促进科学推广和教育的强大媒介；以及(3)作为一个强大的‘力量倍增器’，通过支持多用户虚拟世界空间的互联网络，能够利用全国和世界各地的个人和重组的智力社区。

This project will combine design principles and technology advancements to enable the deployment and evaluation of new interface paradigms for managing continuities between hyperlinked 3D virtual workspaces and for managing user orientation with respect to 2D and 3D information resources within virtual workspaces. Having built the open source 3D collaboration system (Open Cobalt) as a means of enabling the deployment of hyperlinked virtual workspaces, the research group will leverage the modularity and flexibility of Open Cobalt's graphical user interface (GUI) framework to explore optimal user interface approaches for: (1) defining optimal affordances for virtual workspace authors and end-users to manage the configuration and functionality of 3D portals (links) within hypermedia-enabled virtual workspaces, and (2) managing the perceptual relationships among 2D and 3D components displayed within virtual workspaces, which include multiple interacting avatars and aggregated 2D and 3D content. The research will assess the effectiveness of multiple GUI approaches in each of these areas in the context of two exemplar implementations involving scientific collaboration and education. This work will provide key insights into optimal GUI approaches for managing content and connectivity within virtual workspaces. It will also: (1) further advance usability within a software infrastructure designed to support the cost-effective, large-scale deployment of interconnected and deeply capable virtual workspaces, (2) advance a common and extensible software framework supporting synchronized communication and collaboration among large numbers of people across distributed and hyperlinked virtual workspace contexts, and (3) provide open source software products that can serve as the basis for future research experimentation. This project has great potential in advancing an effective 3D GUI for managing virtual place and space so that people are better able to manage access to social and informational resources within hyperlinked virtual workspaces. This will have direct impact on the efficacy of using virtual workspaces in support of education, research, business, social interaction, and entertainment. The resulting functionality of Open Cobalt will; (1) provide a highly capable open source platform in support of further research on virtual worlds; (2) further advance a powerful medium for enabling scientific outreach and education; and (3) serve as a powerful 'force multiplier' that by supporting an interlinked network of multi-user virtual world spaces, can leverage individual and recombined intellectual communities across the nation and beyond.