| Development of a Cooperative Integration System for AEC Design | | BIBA | Full-Text | 1-11 | |
| Yuhua Luo; José Miguel Dias | |||
| The paper describes the experience and lessons learned in the development of a cooperative integration system for architecture design in 3D. The developed system is an online cooperative working system to support iterations of composition and decomposition of architecture design with different disciplines such as structural engineering, air conditioning, water and sewage, etc. The system has a 3D design editor which forms the major part of the collaborative 3D distributed virtual environment for online modification and visualization of the design, a project database and a communication tool for synchronous long distance online working meetings. A special geometry error checking module verifies the integrated design in 3D. The system has been evaluated by six life architecture design projects. The evaluation proved that the system is extremely useful and an excellent help for high quality and accuracy control of architecture design projects. The possibility of working in network conference is an advanced feature to facilitate the distance design team work. | |||
| Observing Architectural Design: Improving the Development of Collaborative Design Environments | | BIBA | Full-Text | 12-20 | |
| Matthew Simpson; Stephen Viller | |||
| The physical environments in which design collaborations take place provide many affordances, which enable interactions to occur both seamlessly and (in most cases) successfully. Physical collaboration is also facilitated through many aspects of the design process. Virtual design collaboration on the other hand, while successful at achieving the direct representation of activity around the artefacts being manipulated, lacks many of the physical affordances which make collaboration in the physical realm successful. The aim of this paper is to present the physical affordances of design interaction, isolate those which aid the success of physical design and identify which factors are potentially beneficial to improve the affordances of virtual collaborative design environments. | |||
| Visualisation of Semantic Networks and Ontologies Using AutoCAD | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 21-29 | |
| Marian Mešina; Dieter Roller; Constanza Lampasona | |||
| This paper presents a visualisation of the ASN and ontologies using AutoCAD.
The geometric coordinates of nodes are based on the semantic distances. The
whole semantic network or some selected parts are visualised on the screen,
similar to a cartographic "map". Per mouse click on some node, an application
may be opened, which allows reading and modifying the attributes of the
corresponding objects. Keywords: Semantic Networks; Semantic Distances; Ontologies; Visual Data Retrieval;
Visualisation; AutoCAD; CAD Systems | |||
| Mediating Collaborative Design for Constructing Educational Virtual Reality Environments: A Case Study | | BIBA | Full-Text | 30-37 | |
| Yongjoo Cho; Kyoung S. Park; Thomas Moher; Andrew E. Johnson | |||
| This paper presents a case study of a multidisciplinary team designing a virtual environment and instrument for young children's science inquiry learning. The designers had the course of meetings to collaboratively develop a learning unit using CLOVES, a virtual world builder. The study showed the potential of CLOVES as a collaborative medium. The designers actively participated in decision-making at every stage of the design process and shared knowledge among one another, which helped the establishment of common ground. | |||
| openVisaar: Enriching Cooperative Visualization by Combining Open Technologies | | BIBA | Full-Text | 38-46 | |
| Frank Goetz; Gitta Domik | |||
| In this paper we present a new client-server based visualization framework called openVisaar. For remote visualization encoded video streams are multicast from each cluster client node to the remote application with RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol). At the remote site only an ISO-compliant MPEG-4 video player software is needed to decode the video stream. By supporting remote video streams spatially separated working partners have the possibility of synchronous collaboration with our visualization system. For navigation and interaction at the remote site openVisaar offers different client software. Navigation and collaborative interaction can be enhanced with an additional Augmented Reality support. Only components that can be used freely for non commercial purposes are integrated. | |||
| Multimodal Interaction in a Collaborative Virtual Brainstorming Environment | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 47-60 | |
| Fabian Di Fiore; Peter Vandoren; Frank Van Reeth | |||
| In this paper we present our work in setting up a collaborative virtual
environment (CVE) framework which is built to support collaborative creative
meetings for geographically dispersed participants. Similar to real life, we
rely on the use of quick drawings or sketches as a means of communication to
convey new ideas, thoughts or other meta-data to other individuals.
Furthermore, we concentrate on facilitating the (collaborative) interaction
process through the use of four modalities. The first modality is direct
manipulation, which is suit-able for direct interaction with the networked
environment. Secondly, we look at interaction through gesturing symbols in
order not to distract the user's attention from the meeting. As a third
modality we consider interaction through menu and widget manipulation. A fourth
modality is established by a camera interface. We expect that the combination
of the intuitive interface and the real-time visualisation of the virtual
environment leads to a better understanding and realisation of one's ideas in
an early phase of the cooperation. Keywords: collaborative virtual environment; human-computer interaction; multimodal
interaction; sketching | |||
| Cooperative Visualization Framework Based on Video Streaming and Real-Time Vectorial Information | | BIBA | Full-Text | 61-68 | |
| Jesus Bobadilla; Luis Mengual | |||
| The essential purpose of this paper is to describe a framework, in a simple and complete way, which enables the concurrent visualization of au-dio/video streaming combined with its corresponding synchronous cooperative vectorial information. The architecture presented uses Java JMF API, which offers a simple, robust, extendable, multi-platform solution. It also requires no direct maintenance as regards the incorporation of future video cameras and codecs that come out on the market. Instead of the typical separate presentation of videoconferencing and its corresponding preset additional information, we offer the possibility of combining the video image with real-time vectorial information. All the combined bitmap and vectorial information is shared and can be interactively modified by the clients which are using the cooperative visualization framework. The current prototype RTCIM (Real Time Cooperative Information Manager) offers a complete API to implement cooperative applications based on multiple audio/video sessions. | |||
| Experiences in Product, Process, and Facility Development: A Case of Study | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 69-78 | |
| Joaquín Aca; Arturo Molina; Inés Ferrer; Marta Albertí | |||
| Competitive advantages in the new global economy will belong to enterprises
capable of develop high customized products. In order to compete, companies
require adopting structured process to develop and improve their practices in
Integrated Product, Process and Facility Development (IPPFD). This research
project demonstrates how the methodological use of a Reference Model allows the
companies to create a Particular Model to set-up successful IPPFD Processes
focusing on specific issues of the company. One case study was implemented to
demonstrate how the Reference Model can be used in a company to develop a New
Product Development Program to redesign and improve its products. Keywords: Design product methodology; Product and process modelling; Concurrent
design; cooperative engineering; reference model | |||
| Implementing Collaborative Engineering Environments Through Reference Model-Based Assessment | | BIBA | Full-Text | 79-86 | |
| Carlos Vila; Fernando Romero; Manuel Contero | |||
| This paper presents an assessment methodology based on enterprise reference models that consider next generation manufacturing principles. Because is becoming ever more frequent for companies to design products and work collaboratively within the framework of the Extended Enterprise, the need arises for a methodology for the successful implementation of collaborative practices. The main contribution of this research work lies in the definition of the reengineering process that allows the transition to a collaborative engineering environment and relies heavily on the use of PLM tools, and the definition of the metrics for change management. The proposal includes a readiness assessment procedure that analyzes the development process from a point of view that considers five levels of maturity with the aim of favoring the management of the collaboration process. The development of this collaborative assessment model is important because, on the one hand, the literature on this particular subject is scarce and, on the other, it can provide us with a deeper understanding of the activities associated to product development by defining the collaboration processes. | |||
| A Modularity Framework for Concurrent Design of Reconfigurable Machine Tools | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 87-95 | |
| A Roberto Pérez R.; A Joaquín Aca S.; A Andrés Valverde T.; A Horacio Ahuett G.; A Arturo Molina G.; Carles Riba | |||
| In response to the need for cost-effective systems than can be quickly
adapted to changes in product design and manufacturing processes, the next
generation of machine tools should be reconfigurable and intelligent.
Reconfigurability allows for the reduction of machine design lead time, machine
set-up and ramp-up time. The principal characteristics of the Reconfigurable
and Intelligent Machines are modularity, convertibility, flexibility and
cost-effectiveness. This paper applies a concurrent design reference model to
Reconfigurable Machine Tool development. A methodology for this purpose is
introduced, and the bottlenecks in the process are identified, namely, the
procedure to design modules. In response, a technique for the development of
modules that are consistent with the product portfolio of the machine tool
builder is outlined. Keywords: Modularity; Reconfigurability; Concurrent Design; Machine Tool | |||
| A Cooperative Design Environment Using Multi-Agents and Virtual Reality | | BIBA | Full-Text | 96-103 | |
| Nobuyoshi Yabuki; Jun Kotani; Tomoaki Shitani | |||
| This paper presents a new design environment using Multi-Agents and Virtual Reality (VR). In this research, a design system with a virtual reality function was developed. The virtual world was realized by using GL4Java, liquid crystal shutter glasses, sensor systems, etc. And the Multi-Agent CAD system with product models, which had been developed before, was integrated with the VR design system. A prototype system was developed for highway steel plate girder bridges, and was applied to a design problem. The application verified the effectiveness of the developed system. | |||
| Using Specifications to Build Domain-Independent Collaborative Design Environments | | BIBA | Full-Text | 104-114 | |
| Crescencio Bravo; Jesús Gallardo; Beatriz García-Minguillán; Miguel Á. Redondo | |||
| Nowadays, Collaborative Technologies is an area of growing interest with a great number of developments being carried out. However, most of them deal with specific applications, and building a complete collaborative environment implies a great effort. We have experienced this in the development of DomoSim-TPC, a collaborative environment for the learning of domotical design. To overcome these limitations and difficulties, we outline the application of specification techniques to describe some characteristic elements of CSCW/CSCL systems, such as the approached domain, the problems to solve or the communication mechanisms. Thus, in this paper we first analyze the domain-dependent DomoSim-TPC system to generalize its positions in order to obtain a specification which models a domain of design and the textual communication forms between the users. Then, we present a domain-independent tool that processes this specification to dynamically generate a collaborative system allowing the approach of the specified design domain. | |||
| Fostering Creativity in Cooperative Design | | BIBA | Full-Text | 115-122 | |
| Adriana S. Vivacqua; Jano M. de Souza | |||
| Creativity has become a valuable asset, given the fast paced changes most companies must nowadays deal with. Companies now look for creative, highly adaptive individuals who can explore new solutions and quickly adapt to changes in the environment. Studies of creativity have shown that it has a social aspect and that interdisciplinary groups seem to lead to more innovative ideas being generated. More often than not, complex problems can only be handled by groups of individuals who bring their individual knowledge, experiences and skills to the table. However, this generates difficulties in communication and information exchange, since individuals have different views and understandings of the problem and possible solutions. Design is a field especially well suited for creativity studies, since it is an inherently creative activity, one in which problems are often open and poorly defined. These problems often can only be solved through an iterative, continuous process of learning about the problem through exploration of solutions. In this paper, we present a frame-work to handle wicked problems, supporting problem evolution and idea exploration by an interdisciplinary group of designers. Using problem modeling, and agent technologies, we mean to facilitate information exchange, knowledge management and exploration of ideas during problem solving. | |||
| Design and Manufacturing Assistance Tool for Drawing Sheet Metal Parts | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 123-132 | |
| A Maria Luisa G.-Romeu; Quim de Ciurana | |||
| Sheet metal parts are frequently designed without the systematic
consideration of product development requirements like manufacturability,
process planning, manufacturing optimization and production planning.
Concurrent Product Design and Manufacturing means that the designer has to
consider all the requirements of the product development process and
incorporate these considerations into the product design. Decisions made at
this point, concerning parameters, greatly affect the final cost, utility, and
production time. Currently, there are many different systems and methods to
assist the designer, ranging from simple design rule packages to very
sophisticated expert systems. This paper shows how the developed system can
assist the engineers in order to take into consideration important factors and
facilitate the execution of some calculations during the early stages of
drawing parts design. The tool output is a report which contains checked
drawing process rules and recommendations and initial approximation reckonings
to be added to the part plan. Keywords: Concurrent Engineering Tools; Manufacturing Design; sheet metal processes;
computer manufacturing; DSS | |||
| The Method of Unified Internet-Based Communication for Manufacturing Companies | | BIBA | Full-Text | 133-140 | |
| Martin Ota; Ivan Jelínek | |||
| In manufacturing companies there is a wide spectrum of software systems that operate with product data. It seems obvious that the interoperability and ability of data exchange, based on native formats of each system, is not possible. Fortunately there are a lot of data formats, such as STEP, VRML, XML-based and many others that help to solve the problem. However the communication and the utilization of communication channels are not so much unified and systematically used. We assume that the problem could be solved by the simple and unified communication method, based on the modern internet-based approach. Its development is the aim of our research. This method should enrich the existing methods of communication, not replace them. Our method is based on TCP/IP protocols and XML web services. | |||
| Constructing a Global and Integral Model of Business Management Using a CBR System | | BIBA | Full-Text | 141-147 | |
| Emilio Corchado; Juan M. Corchado; Lourdes Sáiz; Ana Lara | |||
| Knowledge has become the most strategic resource in the new business environment. A case-based reasoning system, which incorporates a novel clustering and retrieval method, has been developed for identifying critical situations in business processes. The proposed method is based on a Cooperative Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning model, which can be used to categorize the necessities for the Acquisition, Transfer and Updating of Knowledge of the different departments of a firm. This technique is used as a tool to develop a part of a Global and Integral Model of business Management, which brings about a global improvement in the firm, adding value, flexibility and competitiveness. From this perspective, the model tries to generalise the hypothesis of organizational survival and competitiveness, so that the organisation that is able to identify, strengthen, and use key knowledge will reach a pole position. | |||
| 'Under Construction': The Potential of a Web Based Application in Managing and Maintaining Large Area Urban Modelling | | BIBA | Full-Text | 148-155 | |
| John Counsell | |||
| Staff in the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of the West of England (UWE) have been engaged in 3D modelling urban areas since 1984. In the UK it will be mandatory that all local planning authorities make much of their data available on-line within the next two or three years. A broader 'VR across the Web' based involvement in this activity has been advocated. Recent exploration of a web based application for collaborative work has enabled analysis of some of the necessary functions of a collaborative on-line repository for managing and maintaining large area urban modelling. Using this as a basis a prototype repository for such urban modelling tasks has been tested with on-line remote access. Interestingly the same web application framework is also proving effective in a broad range of web based collaborative activities from education and learning through to distributed research projects. | |||
| Interest Management for Collaborative Environments Through Dividing Their Shared State | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 156-163 | |
| Michal Masa; Jiri Zara | |||
| Not all participants in a collaborative virtual environment (CVE) need to be
informed of every other participant's activities. The technique used for
filtering irrelevant messages is known as interest management, which has to
minimize network traffic and to reduce the burden of clients. However,
considering the CVE shared state maintenance, interest management is nothing
else than a disruption of the perfect case where every CVE participant
maintains the identical copy of the state. In this paper we present an interest
management technique that organizes the shared state into domains and
sub-domains and enables clients to express their interest in particular
sub-domains only. This approach specifies an interest management in a general
way and it can be used for a wide range of CVE applications. Key ideas are
being implemented as part of General Variables (GV) library and verified in our
testbed CVE system for social interaction called e-Agora. Keywords: 3D graphics; collaborative virtual environments; interest management | |||
| Using Simulation, Collaboration, and 3D Visualization for Design Learning: A Case Study in Domotics | | BIBA | Full-Text | 164-171 | |
| A. I. Molina; M. A. Redondo; C. Bravo; M. Ortega | |||
| Computer-assisted educational environments are an excellent complement to the learning process. However, when domains are complex, the expected learning support objectives may not be achieved. We are interested in the exploration, study and application of new interactive technologies suitable for their use in the classroom. We propose the use of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning combined with Simulation and 3D representation for assisting in learning processes. We believe in the potential of this synergy to support learning in a case study: the teaching of Domotics, i.e., the design of automated control facilities in buildings and housings. | |||
| A Virtual Reality Framework for RC Building Design and Construction Cooperation | | BIBA | Full-Text | 172-179 | |
| J. Wang; S. A. Chou; C. C. Chen; C. S. Wang | |||
| With the advance in computer technology, virtual reality (VR), which allows users to explore and interact within three-dimensional (3D) virtual environment, becomes affordable and begins to play a vital role in various engineering practices. By establishing 3D VR models, engineers are able to sense, examine, simulate and evaluate their design works and identify inconsistency between design and construction to ensure work quality. Building a 3D VR model is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Hence, it is important to develop an effective approach to relax the aforementioned limitation for rapid prototyping VR models. In this paper, we propose a framework that correlates engineering design process and World Wide Web technology to generate Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) models. An information system for the design and construction of reinforced concrete (RC) building structures has been developed to demonstrate the versatility and robustness of the proposed framework. | |||
| Cooperative Design for Artistic Performances | | BIBA | Full-Text | 180-185 | |
| Michal Masa; Jiri Zara; Bohus Ziskal; Pavel Smetana | |||
| ALTERNE (Alternative Realities in Networked Environments) platform aims at providing a high level of integration between various techniques supporting mixed reality, graphics, interaction and behavioral models. This paper focuses on two collaborative aspects the platform provides. First, it contains a virtual object repository, which allows artists to share their ideas and support collaboration on projects based on ALTERNE platform. Second, it enables direct and remote access for public visitors to the artistic installations so that all concurrent visitors can cooperate on the exploration of the installation. | |||
| GEMMA: A Cooperative Control System to Collect Environmental Marine Waste | | BIBA | Full-Text | 186-195 | |
| B. Estrany; M. Mascaró; A. Bibiloni; G. Serra; E. Sideaner; J. Laredo; B. Capo; B. Alcover | |||
| GEMMA is a Cooperative Control System designed with free soft-ware tools. The system was developed through an agreement between the UIB and "Conselleria de Medi Ambient de les Illes Balears". The system was developed to manage and coordinate several mobile resources (boats, planes) dedicated to maintain clean coastal and beach waters in the Balearic Islands. The implemented system, based on a client server architecture, is flexible and accepts several configurations depending on the information magnitude or the localization and dimension servers. The features that cause the flexibility of the system are: modularity (each functionality is independent to the others), cross platform (each module can run independently on Linux, Windows, Mac Os X, ...) and distributed (depending on the requirements it is possible to install modules in different network points). | |||
| Comparison of Real-Time Text Chat and Collaborative Editing Systems | | BIBA | Full-Text | 196-204 | |
| David Chen; Chengzheng Sun | |||
| Online text chat systems are effective group communication tools that have been used for many types of collaborative work. Real-time collaborative editing systems can be used for collaboratively compose documents. These systems can be used for communication and documentation in many tasks, including design and engineering. Until now, the developments of these two types of systems have been independent. This paper points out the close relationship between them: text chat is simply a restricted form of collaborative editing. Two major differences between them have been identified. (1) Standard text chat systems do not maintain some of the consistency properties in collaborative editing systems. (2) The user interface for standard text chat systems is less flexible. It has been shown that collaborative editing systems, when used for text chat, can overcome most of the previously identified problems associated with standard text chat systems. This study serve as a guideline for the de-sign of the new generations of text chat systems. | |||
| Design of Cooperative Agents for Mobile Devices | | BIBA | Full-Text | 205-212 | |
| Juan M. Corchado; Emilio S. Corchado; M. A. Pellicer | |||
| The paper presents an agent-based engineering system developed for mobile devices. The proposed system has been used for constructing a wireless tourist guide application that incorporates cooperative agents with the learning capabilities. It is shown how to construct cooperative agents with a goal driven design using a case-based reasoning methodology. The resulting architecture has been tested by real users during six months and the results obtained are here presented. | |||
| A Building Maintenance Decision Tool for PFI Projects | | BIBA | Full-Text | 213-220 | |
| Farzad Khosrowshahi; Rodney Howes; Ghassan Aouad | |||
| The growth of PFI (private finance initiative) and PPP (private public partnerships) is fundamentally changing the nature of the construction industry from a product and to service base. This involves moving the balance from capital investment to revenue generation. As a consequence the costing and scheduling associated with the maintenance phase has gained significant importance. This paper constitutes part of a broader research work which proposes a holistic model that provides a radical approach to decision making concerning the design, construction and maintenance of buildings and structures. This is in reaction to the need for buildings and structures to provide increased functional performance through their design life at reasonable cost, while including measures aimed at conservation and sustainability of the earth's non-replaceable resources. A model is proposed comprising of three parts namely, data, simulation and presentation. With an associated web-based decision tool that consumes data and generates knowledge, the supply side of data is primarily through facilitating access by product suppliers and manufacturers, as well as data generated through lab-based research work and actual monitoring of material degradation. The knowledge generated by the system will benefit a whole range of stakeholders within and peripheral to construction industry. | |||
| Collaborative Role Management for Sharing Protected Web Resources | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 221-229 | |
| Sylvia Encheva; Sharil Tumin | |||
| In this paper we consider a security framework for sharing protected Web
resources among independent organizations using groups and roles. Very
important components of our model are a collaborative, distributive management
of user membership in a group in one organization, resources management by the
service provider and security enhancement. Each organization manages its own
users and groups independently of others. User authentication and user
authorization on a protected resource in one organization is determined by user
group membership of other organizations. Collaboration is based on mutual
trust, agreed upon common policies. Keywords: Collaborative group; role management | |||
| Envisioning Environmental Futures: Multi-agent Knowledge Generation, Frame Problem, Cognitive Mapping | | BIBA | Full-Text | 230-237 | |
| D. Borri; D. Camarda; A. De Liddo | |||
| In environmental planning, the new communicative approach is replacing the traditional linear cybernetic approach, with a multilogic rationality that challenges the absolute rationality of planning. In this light, a crucial role is played by communication and representation platforms insofar as they support the exchanging and fine-tuning of knowledge, behaviours, emotions lying in each agent. Particularly, this paper explores cognitive mapping as a methodology to support interactive processes aiming at eliciting and sharing knowledge representations. However, cognitive frames in individuals and groups may play intriguing roles, at times fostering or hampering the contribution of knowledge in environmental planning processes. Starting from this standpoint, the present paper explores the abstraction levels of reasoning, as well as the possibility of improving the outputs of cognitive maps. Exploration concerns characters and modifications induced in single and multiple agents when the knowledge representations of agents are exchanged. Such cognitive exploration is carried out by setting up an experimental session oriented at building collaborative future visions in the environmental domain for the city of Bari, Italy. | |||
| A Hierarchical Visualization Tool to Analyse the Thermal Evolution of Construction Materials | | BIBA | Full-Text | 238-245 | |
| Emilio Corchado; Pedro Burgos; María del Mar Rodríguez; Verónica Tricio | |||
| This paper proposes a new visualization tool based on feature selection and the identification of underlying factors. The goal of this method is to visualize and extract information from complex and high dimensional data sets. The model proposed is an extension of Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning based on a family of cost functions, which maximizes the likelihood of identifying a specific distribution in the data while minimizing the effect of outliers. We present and demonstrate a hierarchical extension method which provides an interactive method for visualizing and identifying possibly hidden structure in the dataset. We have applied this method to investigate and visualize the thermal evolution of several frequent construction materials under different thermal and humidity environmental conditions. | |||