西出 亮

Recently, the remarkable advance on mobile terminal technologies has enabled us to develop full-scaled navigation systems for pedestrians. In most systems developed so far, researches have been focused on visualization effect on maps to users to guide pedestrians to their destination smoothly. The authors present a context-adaptable pedestrian navigation system, which provides users with the preferable route, considering the conditions of each area and the objectives of users. A graph-based approach is employed utilizing metadata to represent logical space built over the real space, and a scoring scheme is provided by partitioning target region to its edges, which enables to expand target region. The usability of this system in many environments is examined by numerical simulations. The authors also discuss the possibilities of the system in practical settings in an open area, temporarily built-up sites. © 2005 IEEE.

This paper proposes an incremental algorithm for constructing the Delaunay overlaid network for virtual collaborative space. In our algorithm, every node uses Delaunay triangulation, by using its knowledge of other nodes and cooperatively exchanging information among nodes, which generates and refines overlaid networks. On the resultant Delaunay network, nodes communicate with each other over virtual collaborative space, and employ multihopping communication among distant nodes. This algorithm structure has the following advantages: (1) utilization of only the localized nodes, omitting the use of unnecessary distant nodes for communication, (2) scalability through surveillance of nodes by refining and updating the network continuously, (3) two dimensional space organization which allows construction of super nodes that govern regional areas to process geographical range query, and (4) directional communication through a small routing table. The authors believe that this approach is applicable to large-scale virtual collaborative space and location aware system.

The project team of Kansai University has been working on Digital Campus, which integrates and collaborates real and virtual spaces, taking into consideration of how these dual spaces can be effectively used for the beneficial of users. This brief paper focuses on modeling of dynamic behaviors of collaborative multi-avatars that appear to give awareness of users in the virtual collaborative space, utilizing Digital Campus as a base. Cell modeling has been employed to virtual 3D world with avatars representing their behaviors using local rules. The results of experiments suggest how simulation techniques can interface into Digital Campus to enhance communication and collaboration on real time mode in e-Learning.

This paper presents the lifestyle of a "Dream University" of the future, digitalized out of a real University Campus. This "Dream University" is actually a multipurpose Digital Campus facilitating for a better e-Learning environment as the core of the research. It is an elaborate Digital Campus created with Virtual Collaborative Environment in 3D system in the virtual world where users can learn and experience the campus life of the university while collaborating with other users involved We propose all the available features that the Digital Campus can provide and discuss the points that have been proved to be advantageous for the users. Our goal is to create a dream university on the Web so that anybody can participate anytime, anywhere, depending upon his/her needs, removing all the barriers and solving problems involved in the real university.

Recently, researches using virtual space effectively is drawing attention. We proposed a model to connect real and virtual by constructing an elaborate virtual space. We also experimented the awareness of users by avatars. In this paper, we focus on modeling of dynamic behavior of avatars that appear to give awareness of users, in the virtual collaborative space. We employ cell modeling to represent virtual 3D world, and avatars to represent their behavior using local neighbor rules. Owing to this approach, we embed geometry of virtual 3D world as well as physical factors as natural environment to provide real time simulation field.