A distributed architecture for large collaborative virtual environments

The development of virtual environments that can support cooperative work between large numbers of simultaneous users distributed over computer networks, is discussed. Work within the COMIC project has developed and prototyped a `spatial model of interaction´ where people use the properties of virtual space to control their interactions with other objects. Developments in distributed processing have also produced mechanisms for interaction between objects in distributed systems; one of the most significant of these is the notion of `trading´ as a means of brokering services and interfaces between objects. The author proposes key extensions to the trading model and also proposes a generalised architecture where the trader co-operates with a set of collision managers to provide a general and flexible platform for building distributed virtual environments