ICT Solutions for Meetings

Text – levet 1 • Text – level 2

• Text – level 3

Ghodrat Moghadampour, PhDMichael Aro

Victor Abedi-LarteyVAMK, University of Applied Sciences

Vaasa, Finland

Outline

How a creative space can be completed with ICT tools?• ICT Tools

How a creative space can be translated to virtual spaces?• Virtual environments

• SecondLife

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Creative Spaces

Creative spaces require careful design. Many factors should be taken into account in order to prepare them so that they promote activity. The general atmosphere, furnishings, decoration and available facilities all affect the nature of the creative space. Creative activity requires easy and fast access to available information.

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Creative Spaces

There are many ways to access needed information and some of them might require a lot of time and effort. Provided that the infrastructure is ready, ICT tools offer a fast and easy way to access needed information. The information can be obtained through search in Internet or by accessing experts, who are not present in the same place. ICT

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Creative Spaces

tools provide a quick and comfortable gateway to access the huge source of information available on Internet and make it possible to meet other people virtually just in time.ICT tools and virtual environments also provide interesting technology for designing different types of environments and testing ideas.

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Videoconferencing

“Video conferencing is a live connection between people in separate locations for the purpose of communication, usually involving audio and often text as well as video.”

http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/videoconference

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Telepresence

“A virtual meeting experience unlike any other, telepresence creates the illusion that remote participants are in the same room together.”

http://www.ivci.com/telepresence-index.html

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Audio conferencing

“Audio conferencing is an audio communications session among three

or more people who are geographically dispersed.”

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=audioconferencing&i=38177,00.asp

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Conferencing ComponentsCameras (to capture and send video from your local endpoint)

Video displays (to display video received from remote endpoints)

Microphones (to capture and send audio from your local endpoint)

Speakers (to play audio received from remote endpoints)

Softwares

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In Addition, Two Additional Requirements:

Codec - "compressor/de-compressor“ - makes the audio/video data "small enough" to be practical for sending over expensive network connections. A codec takes analog signals, compresses and digitizes them, and transmits the signals over digital phone lines.The Supporting System and the Network Connection

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H.323

Standard for interoperability in audio, video and data transmissions as well as Internet phone and voice-over-IP (VoIP)Originally defined for multimedia communications and perfectly fits the videoconferencing applicationIt has mechanisms for audio and video call setup as well as capability exchange setup

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SIP

Similar in many ways to H.323. It can be used to setup audio and video calls.A generic protocol that can setup any kind of session, not just audio and video, for example, SIP can be used for instant messaging, data transfer and so on.

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CONNECTING H.323 AND SIP NETWORKS

Dual-Stack Endpoints14

CONNECTING H.323 AND SIP NETWORKS

Multiprotocol Conference Servers15

CONNECTING H.323 AND SIP NETWORKS

Signalling gateway16

Polycom

Polycom is one of the market leaders in endpoint voice and video communications.

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Polycom Videoconferencing Units

Large conference room units:• Polycom VSX 8000 Series

Medium conference room units:• Polycom VSX 7000s System

Personal units: • Polycom® VVX™ 1500 Series

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Polycom Audio conferencing Units

Large conference room units:• Polycom SoundStation IP 7000

Medium conference room units:• Polycom SoundStation IP 6000

Small conference units: • Polycom VoiceStation 500

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Show Me The Money

Medium / Large Room Systems• Polycom VSX 8000 - $8,000 –$10,000

Small Room Systems• Polycom VSX 7000s - $4,000 - $6,000

Desktop Systems• Polycom® VVX™ 1500 - $600 - $1,000

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Show Me The Money

Large Room Systems• SoundStation IP 7000 - $900 –$1,200

Medium Room Systems• SoundStation IP 6000 - $400 - $900

Small Meeting Spaces• VoiceStation 500 - $200 - $300

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Cisco

Cisco is one of the market leaders in unified communications.

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Cisco Telepresence Units

Large Team Meetings:• Cisco Telepresence System 3000

Small Team Meetings:• Cisco Telepresence System 1000

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Show Me The Money

Large Team Meetings• Cisco Telepresence System 3000

$300,000

Small Team Meetings• Cisco Telepresence System 1000

$80,000

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Point-to-point Conferences

Point-to-point – A conference solution that connects two locations. Each site sees and hears the other sites at all times

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Multipoint Conferences

Point-to-multipoint – A conference solution that connects to more than two sites through the use of a multi-point control unit, or MCU.Participants at all sites can hear one another at all times and see the site that is currently speaking.• Voice activated switching

Multi-point conferencing can be effective although the scheduling, technical, and logistical dimensions of MCU conferences can be imposing.

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Web ConferencingHosting meetings on a web browser Dimdim: http://www.dimdim.com/

Google Wave, Open meeting Bigbluebutton, MEETECHO

Cisco WebEx, Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, GoToTraining Mikogo, LogMeIn, Glance:

http://www.glance.net/

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Streaming

Youtube

Vimeo

Metacafe

Livestream: http://www.livestream.com/ghodrat

Ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/

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Virtual World Conferencing

“Virtual world is a 3D immersive virtual meeting platform where colleagues meet, collaborate, share and present information.”

http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2010/03/venuegen-launches-browser-based-3d-business-meeting-platform/

• Second Life• OpenSimulator• VenueGen• Blue Mars• 3D Explorer

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http://www.youtube.com/secondlife

Second Life in Youtube

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OpenSimulator

“OpenSimulator, often referred to as OpenSim is an open source server platform for hosting virtual worlds.”

http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page

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VenueGen

“VenueGen is a browser-based 3D business meeting platform.”

http://www.venuegen.com

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Blue Mars

“Blue Mars is a 3D world and gaming platform.”

http://www.bluemars.com

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3D Explorer

“3D Explorer is a Web3D platform that allows users to browse virtual spaces and interact with people right from within their Web browser.”

http://www.3dxplorer.com

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Augmented Reality Solutions for Architecture, Interior Design and Video conferencing

Augmented reality (AR) mixes virtual objects with view of real world.”

http://virtual.vtt.fi/virtual/proj2/multimedia/

AR-Architecture: Augmenting a virtual building in the view of a real location

AR-interiors: Augmenting virtual furniture in digital camera images taken of the room to be furnished

AR-conferencing: Teleconference between real people and avatars as well as collaboration with virtual objects on conference table

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More Mixed Reality Events

Multi-platform eventsAudio/video streamingMany ways to participate

•Weekly webinar broadcasts into Second Life

•Streaming Monthly Online Community MeetUps

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Various Uses:

Presentations Virtual meetingsVideoconference-based learningJIT (just in time) eventsRecruitment/search committeesGeneral meetings Project coordination Informal work sessions Question and answer sessions

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Benefits of conferencing

Can improve work qualityIncrease productivityReduce costsImproves communicationGroups can meet more frequentlyCritical meetings can be convened in less time

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Thank You!

Demonstration

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