Agora E-Collaboration tool/framework Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science Miguel Gonzalez...
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AgoraAgoraE-Collaboration tool/framework
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science
Miguel Gonzalez Losa
Adrian Fish
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Who we are• We work for the Centre for e-Science (LUCeS) at Lancaster University
in the UK• We are currently funded, by the JISC, to develop an e-Research
environment for UK scientists using Sakai• We have been focusing on developing advanced collaboration tools that
extend and complement the standard ‘out of the box’ tool set that comes with Sakai
Manchester
London
Lancaster
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
E-Collaboration• Definition
– “Electronic collaboration (e-collaboration): collaboration using electronic technologies among different individuals to accomplish a common task”
– “Any activity performed by means of/supported by electronic tools or infrastructure, aimed at reaching a goal and possibly involving human iteration”
– “Working together using electronic means: collaboration among people or organizations made possible by means of electronic technologies such as the Internet, video conferencing and wireless devices”
– Audio/video conferencing
– Instant messaging
– Whiteboard
– Shared-desktop
– Movie-casting
– Recording
People Collaboration Communication
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
What is Agora
• Software application – Ready to use software with basic e-Collaboration features
• Software framework– Software like Agora is not easy to develop– Existing software frameworks are not easy to use– Agora provides high abstraction level for developing
new applications or developing new features– Agora makes it possible to develop specific
solutions for your institution.
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
What is Agora (II)
• The Agora was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural centre, and the seat of justice.
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora as application
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Aims• Useful: we want to provide tools which enhance
the communication experience between people covering the most common cases.
• Simple: we want to provide simple tools ready to be used by non technical people.– Use– Requirements– Configuration– Installation & updates
• Extendable
• A powerful ………• The most complete .......
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Inside Agora: General view
Agora Server. Sakai service:• Light weight multicasting and messaging broker
Agora Applet:• Conference room. Agora tools
Agora Web site. Sakai Tool:• Login, Sites and Users admin • Agora Web Site Conference Management
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Inside Agora: General view (II)
Agora Web Site (Sakai tool)
Agora Applet
Agora Server(Sakai service)
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Web Site
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Web Site
• Currently:– Create conferences– View existing conferences where I am invited– Join a conference where I am invited– Destroy conferences created by me
• Coming soon:– Managing exiting conferences– Different conference configurations
• Scheduling• Floor control• Etc.
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Web Site. Main page
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Web Site. Creating a conference
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Applet
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Applet
• Conference room - This is where everything happens.
• The Agora Applet gives access to the tools:– Audio/video conferencing– Instant messaging– Whiteboard– Shared-desktop– Movie-casting– Recording– Playback. Also in off-line mode!
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Applet (II)
• Menu
• Status bar
• Multiscreen panel with individuals screens
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Applet. Automatic layout
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora Applet. Individual screen
• Detach button
• Context menu button
• Status panel
• Projection area
• Icon
Audio/video Whiteboard Shared Desktop Chat
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Video-audio conference
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Video-audio conference (II)
• Many to many. The number of concurrent participants depends of the bandwidth and the capacity of processing of the computers.
• If one participant does not have webcam he/she will be able to transmit audio and watch others.
• As reference, a user with a normal PC (Pentium IV, 2 GHz, 512 Mb) with ADSL (512kb/s) will be able to participate in conferences with 4 participants.
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
• RTP Protocol• Video
– H.263– Frames per second: Not all cameras allow you to change it.– Video quality = compression rate. More compression implies worse quality but
less bandwidth use– Video size: 176x144 or 352x288– TIP: Not all webcams are the same. Colour, sharpness, performance in low light
environment. Frame rate and Resolution is not the most important feature!
• Audio– DVI at 8000, 11025 or 22050 Hz, 4 bits and 1 channel (mono)– TIP: To avoid echo it is highly recommended to use headphones with integrated
microphone
Video-audio conference. Technical Notes
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Video-audio conference. Technical Note (II)
The echo problemHello!
The sound from the speakers goes through the microphone
Hello!
• The echo is one of the biggest audio problems for users
• Echo cancelling hardware for video conference is very expensive (thousands of dollars)
• Some webcams have echo cancelling software
• Note: normal telephones and freehand telephones have very cheap echo cancelling hardware!
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Shared Desktop
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Shared Desktop (II)
• Allows broadcast images of one participant’s desktop to the rest of participants.
• Network friendly. Only the area of screen has changed is sent.
• Allows collaborative document editing or guidance in software use.– A participant can broadcast an Word document and the rest of
participants can give opinions.– A participant can explain how to use a program broadcasting images
of it.
• Only the participant that is transmitting needs to have the shown software installed. The rest are receiving an image.
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Chat & Whiteboard
• The whiteboard allows participants to collaboratively draw and manipulate shapes on a canvas.• The whiteboard used with a digital tablet is the perfect medium to communicate mathematical formulas
• The Chat is a very simple Instant messaging tool. It is perfect to pass information like URL, numbers, foreign words, names…
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Movie casting
• Movie casting allows broadcast movie files to the participants in a conference.• So far, few formats supported. • Synchronization when paused, forwarding and rewinding is an issue.
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Recording / Playing back
• Agora is able to record all the information in a conference keeping the sequence and times
• Agora Applet can work off-line, so you can reproduce any recorded conference
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Requirements Installation & Updating
Configuration
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
• Agora Client– Java & JMF: Windows, Linux and Mac OS (*)– Webcam and microphone: $35– Graphic tablet (Optional): $70– Broadband
Requirements• Agora Server
– No special requirements in the equipment– The most important requirement is the Network connection
Number of participants
Upload bandwidth
Download bandwidth
2 160 kb/s 160kb/s
3 160 kb/s 320kb/s
4 160 kb/s 480kb/s
5 160 kb/s 640kb/s
In UK the most of the Internet Providers offer only 256 Kb/s in Upload bandwidth. Download bandwidth varies between 2 and 8 Mb/s(12-24 participants max )
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Technical Note . P2P vs. Multicasting
Number of participants
Upload bandwidth
Download bandwidth
2 160 kb/s 160kb/s
3 160 kb/s 320kb/s
4 160 kb/s 480kb/s
5 160 kb/s 640kb/s
Upload: 256 Kb/s, 512 Kb/s if you are lucky Download: 2Mb/s - 8 Mb/s
Number of participants
Upload bandwidth
Download bandwidth
2 160 kb/s 160kb/s
3 320kb/s 320kb/s
4 480kb/s 480kb/s
5 640kb/s 640kb/s
100 Mb/s ≈ 300 users
Any number of users
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Technical Note . P2P vs. Multicasting (II)
Performance & Load balancing
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Technical Note . Java, JMF & Webcams
Platform independent client
Java
Webcams
Drivers (Platform specific)
• Windows
• Linux
• Mac (Limited)
• Nice extensible architecture
• RTP
• Only maintenance
• Windows
• Mac
• New formats
Quick Time For Java(Apple)
Java Media Framework(Sun Microsystems)
Bridge
?
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Installation & updating• Agora Client
– Install webcam– Install base software. Simple Windows Installer (JMF or JRE+JMF). – Automatic and transparent updating. It is a web page and an
Applet!
• Agora Server– Sakai tool– Sakai service
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Configuration
• Agora Client Checklist– Audio and video working– Firewall– Pop-up blockers!– Allow applets!
• Agora Server– Firewall (5 UDP ports in the current version)– Agora is NAT friendly
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora vs. Other applicationsAgora Skype Msn
Messenger *Access Grid **
Participants in audio
Unlimited 5 2 Unlimited
Participants in video
Unlimited 2 2 Unlimited
Calls to phones No Yes Yes No (Commercial version has voice IP)
E-Collaboration tools
Whiteboard, Shared desktop, chat, movie caster, Sakai
Chat Chat
Shared files
In commercial version: Whiteboard, file transfer, chat, Data sharing
Open source Yes No No Yes
Recording/
playback
Yes No No Yes
* Microsoft has a tool called Live Meeting with e-collaboration tools. Also there is a product called ConferenceXP, open source, with a very complete set of e-collaboration tools. Developed in .Net** Access Grid works with multiples cameras
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Future of Agora• New Features
– Conference managing– Conference configurations (Floor control, time control, scheduling…)– Whispering mode– Interaction between existing tools
• Whiteboard – Shared desktop• Whiteboard – Movie caster
– Tray system alert application
• Full Mac Support
• Performance & Load balancing• Security and encryption• Agora available in more open source projects (Moodle, JSR-168,…)
• SIP compliant (Compatible with other applications, Telephone calls,…)
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora as Framework
Lancaster University (UK). Centre for e-Science. Miguel Gonzalez Losa & Adrian Fish. Agora (2006) Agora
Agora as Framework
• Not all the institutions have the same necessities• Developing an application like Agora is not easy
– JMF and QTJ don’t have good documentation
– JMF is tricky
• Agora has high level abstractions that makes much easier to develop new features– JMF: DataSource, Processor, Player, RTPManager, RTPConfig…
– Agora: Camera, Microphone, Participant, Conference…
• Agora framework: Skeleton, classes, solutions and DOCUMENTATION