Intelligent Virtual Worlds

Overview

• Why engage in Virtual Worlds?

• Virtual University of Edinburgh

• I-Room

• Intelligent Virtual Worlds Programme

Why Engage in Virtual Worlds?

• Virtual Worlds like Second Life have transformed public perception of the “3D Internet”

• 80% of active internet users will have a virtual world presence by 2011 [Gartner]

• Collaborative and community-related aspects of these environments will dominate in future [Gartner]

• No longer solely for gaming or geeks!

Vue – Virtual University of Edinburgh

A multi-disciplinary virtual organisationexploring the potential of virtual worlds for

e-Learning, research, collaboration & outreachrelated to the University of Edinburgh

http://vue.ed.ac.uk

The I-Room

• An intelligent collaboration environment which acts as a knowledge aid to support collaborative teleconferences and meetings

Virtual World of Whisky

Virtual Collaboration

Intelligent Virtual Worlds Programme

• Collaborative venture from the School of Informatics– Subscription-based model

– Membership open to all stakeholders investing in Virtual Worlds

– Launching in Autumn 2008!

• Aims to advance and enable intelligent systems in virtual worlds for practical use– Builds on existing Informatics research and expertise

– Industry focussed

Programme Themes

• Virtual Worlds Evaluation Methodology– Industry focused evaluation methodology for assessing VW platforms

– Valuable knowledge for those looking to invest in platforms

• Technology StrandsExamines the application of Informatics technology in Virtual Worlds

• Virtual collaboration• Intelligent environments• Intelligent avatars

• Platform Independence– Experienced in many platforms including: Second Life,

OpenSim, Forterra OLIVE, Twinity, Project Wonderland..

Related Institutes and Areas

School of Informatics• Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute• Centre for Intelligent Systems and Their Applications • Institute for Communicating and Collaborative Systems • Research Consortium in Speckled Computing

Other• Virtual University of Edinburgh• + many more