A chatspace was developed that allows conversation with 3D sound using networked streaming in a shared virtual environment. The system provides an interface to advanced audio features, such as a "whisper function" for conveying a confided audio stream. This study explores the use of spatial audio to enhance a user's experience in multiuser virtual environments.
Mobile live video streaming is becoming an increasingly popular form of interaction both in social media and remote collaboration scenarios. However, in most cases the streamed video does not take mobile devices' spatial data into account (e.g., the viewers do not know the spatial orientation of a streamer), or use such data only in specific scenarios (e.g., to navigate around a spherical video stream).
Education at the University of Aizu is focussed upon computer science. Besides being the subject matter of many courses, however, the computer also plays a vital role in the educational process itself, both in the distribution of instructional media, and in providing students with valuable practical experience. All students have unlimited access (24-hours-a-day) to individual networked workstations, most of which are multimedia-capable (even video capture is possible in two exercise rooms). Without software and content tailored for computer-aided instruction, the hardware becomes an expensive decoration. In any case, there is a need to better educate the instructors and students in the use of the equipment. In the interest of facilitating effective, collaborative use of network-based computers in teaching, this article explores the impact that a network environment can have on such activities. First, as a general overview, and to examine the motivation for the use of a network environment in teaching, this article reviews a range of different styles of collaboration. Then the article shows what kind of tools are available for use, within the context of what has come to be called Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).