3D Interactive Technology and Stereoscopic Displays
Dr. Roy C. Davies The Flexible Reality Studio Ltd. Auckland University of Technology.
Virtual Conferencing
Reduce your carbon footprint by being there virtually (and still be effective).
Dr. Roy C. Davies
Why do we travel for business?
Get away for a while.
Stay at nice hotels, have fun, good food,
experience another culture and place.
Meet people and get things done effectively
–network and socialize; –seal deals;
–work together; –develop channels…
Time (on the plane and in hotel)
to get stuff done.
We know that meetings are
important to business…
The importance of meetings
Average U.S. business would forfeit 15% of profit in one year if it eliminated business travel.
Per dollar invested:
– Gives on average $12.50 increased revenue and $3.80 new profits.
– Customer meetings have greatest ROI, between $15 and $20.
– Conferences or tradeshows have ROI between $4 and $6.
40% of prospective customers become new customers through in-person meetings.
85% of corporate executives perceive web and teleconferencing less effective than in-person meetings.
63% believe virtual meetings are less effective than in-person meetings.
Travel is a powerful incentive for the development of Human Capital.
Source: The return on investment of US business travel, Oxford Economics, USA, October, 2009.
But on the other hand…
Carbon Statistics for travel
Flying New York to London = 714 kg CO2/person
Flying Seoul to Auckland = 816 kg CO2/person
Carbon absorption by trees = 14kg CO2/tree/year
New York to London = 51 years for one tree, per passenger, to absorb the carbon produced.
Seoul to Auckland = 58 years for one tree.
Sources:
– http://www.terrapass.com/carbon-footprint-calculator
– http://www.carbon-info.org/
The cost of business travel
The carbon dioxide generated by the average
expense-claiming employee from business travel
(not including commuting) during a year is the
equivalent of them boiling a kettle 105,413 times.
To offset this, it would require six trees to be
planted and grown to maturity (taking about 99
years) per expense-claiming employee per year:
22.5 million additional trees per year for the UK.
New realities – carbon tax
Regulations will soon start to affect
bottom-lines.
Copenhagen Climate Conference, 2009.
Many governments are bringing in
legislation.
Lowering emissions looks good to clients.
OK, so we aim to travel less…
What do we do instead?
Remote meeting tools
Telephone / Speaker phone / FAX
Websites / Bloggs / Forums / Wikis / Email / Letters
Social Networking tools / LinkedIn / Facebook
Skype / MSN / ICQ
Video Conferencing / Video Phone
Goto Meeting / WebEx / Web conferencing
2ndLife / Active Worlds / Collaborative VEs
Virtual Chat rooms / Chat rooms
Specialised Virtual Applications
Virtual Conferencing
Ways of working together
Ways of working together
Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)
Bloggs / Forums / Wikis / Email / Letters
Websites, Social Networking Telephone / Speaker Phone
Skype / MSN
Video Conferencing / Video Phone Goto Meeting / WebEx / Web conferencing 2ndLife / Active Worlds / Collaborative VEs Virtual Chat rooms / Chat rooms
Specialised Virtual Applications
Face-to-face
Face-to-face
An example – video conferencing
Pharmacia & Upjohn installed enterprise-wide
video-conferencing equipment:
–"The ability to interact with others remotely produces huge corporate benefits," says Glen Miller, director of worldwide video and satellite communication.
–Saved more than $6 million in direct travel expenses in one year.
–Freed up about 2000 workdays that managers and executives used to spend in transit.
Source: http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingbasics/meetstate.asp
Due diligence on travel
Yes:
– At critical times in opportunity and relationship development. – To generate new leads. – For large events.
But:
– Be effective and accountable.
No:
– Maintaining client relationships between meetings (learn from social networking).
– Large events when not presenting or displaying. – Short, regular meetings.
But:
– Remote collaboration tools could be better…
Do you really need to travel?
Consider cost, time and carbon.
So, judicious use
of remote meetings
Scientific theory for the use of
Virtual Conferencing.
What’s good about meeting face-to-face and
what are the problems and benefits with
current technologies?
The importance of face-to-face
The immediacy of having to deal with the person in front of you to get things done…
Effective communication
Body language
Working, learning, experiencing together
Getting to know each other
Meeting new people
Shared physical resources
Small and large groups
Opportunity for unplanned activities and discussions
Communities of Practice
The process of sharing information and
experiences to learn from each other, and develop personally and professionally.
Nurturing new knowledge, stimulating innovation, and sharing
existing tacit knowledge.
“For organizations, … learning is an issue of sustaining the
interconnected communities of practice through which an organization knows what it knows and thus becomes effective and valuable as an organisation” (Wenger 1998, p. 8).
Communities can be grown virtually.
Source: Wenger, Etienne (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66363-2.
Presence
The feeling of being there / temporary suspension
of disbelief
What?
–Depends on the technology and –the will of the participants.
Why?
–Higher presence increases learning, recall, performance, communication.
–Lower level of presence detracts and inhibits and requires additional mental effort.
Problems with existing technologies
Often not easy to use
–Setting up, connecting, maintaining connection, collaborating,
communicating, sharing content.
Many don’t support:
–Good visual (or audible) communication –Dynamic sharing of resources
–Spontaneous group and individual activities –Richness of experience
Lessons from Virtual Surgery
Believability is important
Gown up and sterilize as
if for actual surgery.
Puts into the mindset.
For Virtual Meetings – should make as much
effort at going to a face-to-face meeting.
Preparation, a high level of
presence and believability means
more effective remote meetings.
Capabilities and Structure
EONReality Coliseum
Multi-modal communication in a virtual
environment
Scalable, multi-users avatars
Live video streaming
Voice-over-IP
Data connectivity to other software
Virtual Presentation Surface(s)
Interactive 3D content
Scalable to Immersive (stereoscopic 3D)
systems
Demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe30IJBMClU
or search on youtube for EONReality Coliseum
Why is this good?
Sociological
– We meet at a common place and have a shared experience.
Communities of Practice
– We can work together using shared resources, and even go off to small discussions.
Presence and Believability
– As a Virtual Environment, it is easier to ‘think yourself into the space’ than, say, a video conference.
Usability
– All the connectivity is done centrally – you just hook in.
Getting into the mindset
And it can save time,
money and carbon…
NZ Interactive 3D Technology Experts
World-leading VR Solutions Company
Who?
The Flexible Reality Studio
The Flexible Reality Studio provides clear guidance and definitive answers. It is a business technology consultancy, specialising in interactive 3D
solutions to:
– support best practices in interactive 3D solutions; – supply and maintain interactive 3D hardware; and – develop interactive 3D applications.
Effective and efficient use of these tools:
– improves access to information; – makes complex data accessible; – boosts knowledge retention;
– helps gather feedback from stakeholders; – attracts customers; and
– enhances communication and collaboration.
