The COVE Infrastructure Project is the sub-project within the COVE  Project that is tasked with performing research into the technologies used  by collaborative virtual environments. Unlike the MoVE and the HMVE projects, it is somewhat application independent. That is, there is not a specific single application that is driving the research. Instead, the hardware, software, and networking infrastructure that is required for a variety of application areas (including those required by the MoVE and HMVE projects) will be investigated, acquired and/or developed, and deployed.

The Collaborators

The ultimate goal for the use of virtual environments is the seamless sharing of a virtual space across large distances. This collaborative sharing has enormous potential in a wide variety of application areas in science, industry, and education. To this end, the ACSys COVE project is working with groups within ANU, within Australia, and overseas. A list of our collaborators can be found below:

• ANU Supercomputing Facility (ANUSF)Visualization Lab
• ANU Plasma Research Lab (PRL)
• University of Sydney's Visualization Lab
• Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) at UIC

Exploring CAVERNsoft Tele-Immersive Collaboratories at SC'98

The COVE project is interested in the issues involved in effectively using collaborative VE environments, primarily in the field of scientific visualization. We have recently worked with researchers at EVL, ANUSF, and the ANU PRL to demonstrate a collaborative visualization environment for Plasma Fusion Studies at the SC'98 conference in Orlando, Florida.