Time, needed to copy and convert video from vic process to graphics rendering process, was relatively long resulting in skipping a considerable amount of incoming video frames. We see the solution of this problem in optimization of the video updating procedure. The system was designed for engineers located at geographically remote sites to interact with their models in the three dimensions in real time and to communicate design information to each other. The system supports collaborative design review and will support interactive redesign in future. Integrated real-time video transmissions let engineers to see each other in a shared virtual environment.
Audio transmissions provide natural voice communication.
The current version of the DVR system may be considered as a prototype for future engineering development tools. Transatlantic trials of the DVR system have shown some problems with IP multicasting. Additional tests of the system over an ATM network, which natively supports multicast, are required in order to better understand this problem. Therefore one of our next goals is to install and test the system between 3 remote sites in the US over the vBNS network. Special thanks to Rachael Brady for her help in preparation of this abstract.