Abstract
(English)
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Project DescriptionThe AVATAR-Conference project aims to develop a toolkit for the set-up and administration of virtual online conferences in which users are represented as avatars, i.e. as animated 3D figures. The system will be designed as a scalable, modular application, offering a large number of supportive functions. It will also provide the means for spontaneous, intuitive and intense communication between companies and private persons. The system will especially be characterised by its high usability and intuitive usage.The AVATAR-Conference project, which started in January 2001 and will last until the end of 2002, is funded by the European Commission under the Information Society Technologies (IST) framework.Project ObjectivesThe coordination of appointments and meetings is quite often a problem not to add the time and costs of travel. The AVATAR-Conference system offers enterprises and business partners a considerable and cost effective alternative to real meetings. They have the possibility to have multi-media meetings, conferences and presentations via the internet with no additional equipment than their PC. Avatar technologies in combination with a multi-user platform allow the users to meet personally ion real-time and exchange knowledge and information with various multimedial support technologies despite of large distance. ScenariosBased on the AVATAR-Conference toolkit different pilot scenarios will be set up to show the diversity of the system:§ a product presentation scenario, linear communication, 3-50 participants§ a management meeting scenario, for spontaneous communication, interactive, 3-10 participants § and an integrated teamwork scenario for technical meetings, interactive, 3-10 participants AVATAR-Conference offers a scalable multi-user, multi-media real-time communication application with reality-like avatars running on PC- and other multimedia-platforms.Function and FeaturesSeveral functions and features necessary for a conference will be integrated in the system and support the participants during a meeting. For example:§ Text chat with online translation function§ Real-time audio communication§ Connection to B-to-B E-commerce enterprise data§ Multi-user 3D manipulation, whiteboard, and application sharing facilities§ Conference management system§ Interactive 3D product presentationIt is possible to choose between the multiple features and functions and individually arrange each conference and customize it for specific requirements. Advantages of AVATAR-ConferenceSince AVATAR-Conference will not be a proprietary system, it is a suitable option for research centres and large enterprises with branches in different parts of the world (e.g. the automobile industry) moreover, its low costs make it attractive for small and medium enterprises, especially for companies in the service sector, e.g. advertising agencies. Companies that acquire and use AVATAR-Conference will benefit from reduced personnel costs: the meetings will be arranged and held in a far less time-consuming manner and no travel costs will have to be met. Additionally no expensive equipment is needed. Companies will also profit from a more effective work organization: the use of AVATAR-Conference leads to a more intense communication between the participants, and can involve easily of a larger number of people according to the discussed problem. In consequence, time and work power will be used more effectively.Related with the former, the motivation and satisfaction of the employees using AVATAR-Conference will rise due to the improvement in communication and the better individual involvement into the work processes.
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