cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson) (11/28/90)
From: chapin@sunrise.Stanford.EDU (Bill Chapin) Subject: VSIGroup NEWS +++++++++++++++++++++++ VSIG ANNOUNCEMENTS +++++++++++++++++++++++ >>> Word came from the Santa Cruz Cyberspace conference committee last week that the deadline for abstracts for the April 19th event has been extended until December 20th. No other details seem to have changed. If you need a copy of the Call for Abstracts, send an email to virtual@ucscc.ucsc.edu. >>> There was a typographical error on previous forum schedules. The Autodesk presentation will be on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12TH at 7:30pm in Terman Auditorium. >>> There will be an OPTIONAL session to meet at the regular place and time (Terman 583 at 2:15) on Nov. 28th for 3D CAD modeling fundamentals. The session is intended for those who are curious as to how 3D geometry may be created in virtual space, but have never had the opportunity to have it explained or demonstrated. It will VERY briskly examine the process of 3D geometry creation, object heirarchy, and 3D kinematics (a year's course in 50 minutes). See abstract below. >>> For those students attending the forum for credit, there will be 10 total official forum meetings (Intro, Levoy, Bolas, Fisher, Rosen, Panel, Pixar, Habitat, Levit, Autodesk), plus two optional makeup sessions. For credit, one must attend or view videotape of 9 of these 12 opportunities. At the December 5th evening session there will be a sheet to sign to verify this attendance. The sheet will also be in the M.E. Design Division office (Terman 551) during finals week. >>> For those registered students interested in the VSIGroup, there will be a meeting following the Habitat presentation in Terman on Wednesday evening probably around 9pm. >>> All of the remaining forums this quarter will be on Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm in Terman Auditorium. >>> For those coming from off-campus, wishing to find Terman Auditorium: exit I-280 at Alpine Road turning toward Palo Alto. Take a right at the first light onto Junipero Serra. Turn left at the next light onto Campus Drive West. Turn right at the first stop sign onto Santa Teresa. Terman Engineering Center will be across the intersection and to the left at next stop sign on Santa Teresa. There is on-street parking and a parking garage at Panama St. and Via Ortega (two left turns from Santa Teresa). The auditorium is on the first floor. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Stanford University Forum Reminder <<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ME 297 -- Design Theory and Methodology Forum on Virtual Space Next forum (Wed., Nov. 28th, 7:30, Terman Auditorium): Chip Morningstar & Randy Farmer AMIX "The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat" Lucasfilm's Habitat project was arguably one of the first attempts to create a very large scale, commercial, multi-user virtual environment. The system was built on top of an ordinary commercial online service, uses inexpensive home computers to support user interaction, and can support a population of thousands of users in a single, shared cyberspace. Habitat presents its users with a real-time animated view into an online virtual world in which users can communicate, play games, go on adventures, fall in love, get married, get divorced, start businesses, found religions, wage wars, protest against them, and experiment with self government. Its current commercial incarnation in North America, QuantumLink's "Club Caribe" is inhabited by a population of some 15,000 partici- pants. A technically more advanced version has recently begun operation in Japan. Habitat may be the closest approach yet made to the sort of computational alternate universe envisioned in the works of writers such as William Gibson, Vernor Vinge, and others. The Habitat project proved to be a rich source of insights into the nitty-gritty reality of actually implementing a serious, commerci- ally viable cyberspace environment. Our experiences developing the Habitat system, and managing the virtual world that resulted, offer a number of interesting and important lessons for prospective cyberspace architects. Lessons concerning both technical and philosophical issues include: > Why a multi-user environment is central to our vision of cyberspace. > The limitations imposed by scarce communications bandwidth. > The need for an object-oriented data representation. > The relative unimportance of the implementation platform. > The vital role of data communications standards. > The impossibility of detailed central planning. > The limitations of social engineering. > Why you can't trust anyone. The essential lesson abstracted from experiences with Habitat is that a cyberspace is defined more by the interactions among the actors within it than by the technology with which it is implemented. While the presentation will feature many of the critical insights made public at the first International Cyberspace Conference earlier this year, Mr. Farmer and Mr. Morningstar will also share their unique and evolving view of the "VR" world. After an introduction, the presentation will be informal and conducted while online into QuantumLink's "Club Caribe" incarnation of Habitat. Several VSIG members have volunteered to lead the audience into Japan and Fijitsu's Habitat. The auditorium will be open till 10pm for those that wish to stay and explore Habitat first hand. Family and friends are also invited to this fun evening presentation in Terman Engineering Center's auditorium. Randal Farmer and Chip Morningstar were software developers with Lucasfilm, before recently becoming founding members of the American Information Exchange (AMIX) in Palo Alto. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Stanford University Seminar Reminder <<<<<<<<<<<<<< ME 297 -- Design Theory and Methodology Forum on Virtual Space Optional seminar (Wed., Nov. 28th, 2:15, Terman 583): William Chapin Stanford University Product Design 3D Computer Aided Modeling Fundamentals In an attempt to satisfy the curiosity of many students who have expressed interest in knowing a little bit about how a virtual world might be created and in understanding a few of the terms that have been used during the quarter, this seminar will BRISKLY overview concepts in 3D geometry, object creation & heirarchy, representation, and 3D kinematics, with several examples. The seminar will make no assumption of any prior CAD experience and is primarily intended for those wishing to gain some basic insights on these topics. While an engineering graphics research assistant and instructor at the University of Illinois, Mr. Chapin developed a semester grad level course in 3D micro-CAD design. ============== "Green Concrete" DT&M Forum Schedule ============== November 28* Chip Morningstar & Randy Farmer, AMIX Lessons learned from Lucasfilm's Habitat 7:30pm, Terman Auditorium December 5 Creon Levit, NASA Fluid Dynamics in First Person 7:30pm, Terman Auditorium 12 Randal Walser & Chris Allis, Autodesk Cyberia The new second generation Autodesk Cyberspace 7:30pm, Terman Auditorium * Optional 3D modeling seminar at 2:15, Terman 583. All members of the Stanford community, industry affiliates and researchers in design and virtual space applications are invited. sponsored by: the VIRTUAL SPACE INTEREST GROUP of STANFORD E-mail: vsig-request@sunrise.stanford.edu for more information.