OUTLINE



Virtual Voyager

(a field trip without leaving the classroom)

Final Report

Rapid Prototyping, Spring 1999

Carnegie Mellon University

7 May 1999

Contents

Figures and Tables Index 4

Introduction 5

User Manual 6

Manual Introduction 6

Setup, Wiring, and Startup 8

Screen 8

Computers and Cabling 9

Starting the System Components 11

Curriculum Configuration 15

Administration Terminal device 15

Pilot Station 17

Screen 17

Throttles 18

Wheel 18

Gauges 19

Navigation Station 20

Porthole 20

Paper Map 21

E-Map 21

Altimeter 24

Conceptualization 25

Conceptualization Introduction 25

The Client 25

The Charge 25

Baseline 26

Baseline Introduction 26

Field Research 26

Scenario 26

Enabling Technologies 31

Enabling Technologies Introduction 31

Boat Simulation 31

Communication (With Real Voyager) 32

Computer-Simulated Conversation 32

Database Software 33

Digital Video Cameras 34

Distance Learning Sites 35

Force-Feedback Input Devices 36

Handheld Computing Devices 37

Instrument Panels 38

Microcontrollers 38

Motion Tracking 39

Screen—Frame 40

Screen—Lighting Bar 40

Screen—Parabolic Mirror 40

Screen—Projector 40

Screen—Material 40

Server Hardware 41

Smart/Interactive Rooms 41

Software Communications 42

Streaming Internet Video 43

“Virtual Map” Platforms 44

“Virtual Porthole” Platforms 44

Virtual Reality 45

Virtual Reality Headgear 47

Visionary Solution 49

Visionary Solution Introduction 49

Participant Definition 50

Design Principles 50

State Curriculum Requirements 51

Scenario 52

Device Realization 60

Device Realization Introduction 60

Supporting Technologies 60

Virtual Voyager Computers 60

Headsets 62

Administration Terminal 63

Alice World 64

Sound 66

Global State Server 68

Boat Simulator 71

Piloting Station Overview 72

Screen and Projection 73

Wheel and Throttles 76

Gauges 77

Navigation Station Overview 82

Paper Map 83

E-Map 86

Porthole 90

Altimeter 99

Credits 101

Figures and Tables

Figures 1a, 1b – Screen Setup 8

Figure 2 – Cabling Diagram 10

Table 1 – Cabling List 10-11

Various device photos and screenshots 15-24

Table 2 – Boat Simulation Software 31

Table 3 – CDPD Modems 32

Table 4 – CDPD Providers 32

Table 5 – Computer Simulated Conversation Technology 33

Table 6 – Database Software 33

Table 7 – Digital Video Cameras 34

Table 8 – Existing Distance Learning (DL) Programs 35-36

Table 9 – General Force-Feedback Input Devices 36

Table 10 – Throttle-Style Force-Feedback Input Devices 37

Table 11 – Handheld Computing Devices 37

Table 12 – General Input Devices 38

Table 13 – Microcontroller Devices 39

Table 14 – Motion Tracking Systems 39

Table 15 – LCD Projectors 40

Table 16 – Server Hardware 41

Table 17 – Software Communication Technologies 43

Table 18 – Streaming Internet Video Technologies 43

Table 19 – Commercial Mapping Software 44

Table 20 – Virtual Porthole Platforms 45

Table 21 – Virtual Reality Software 46

Table 22 – Virtual Reality Headgear 47-49

Table 23 – Pennsylvania State Science Curriculum Requirements 52

Figure 3 – Listing of sound_infile.txt 68

Figure 4 – Listing of sound_wavfile.txt 68

Figure 5 – Sound System Setup 68

Table 24 – GSS Source Files 71

Figure 6 – Sample Gauge 77

Figure 7 – Gague Architecture 78

Figure 8 - KC-161 Microcontroller Board 79

Table 25 – Sample Microcontroller Messages 81

Table 26 – Sample Server Messages 81

Figure 9 – Possible Configurations for Fully Digital E-Map Solution 83

Table 27 – Advantages/Disadvantages of Fully-Digital E-Map Configuration 1 83

Table 28 – Advantages/Disadvantages of Fully-Digital E-Map Configuration 2 84

Table 29 – General Advantages/Disadvantages of Fully-Digital E-Map 84

Table 30 – Advantages/Disadvantages of Hybrid E-Map 84-85

Table 31 – Advantages/Disadvantages of Paper/E-Map Combination 85

Table 32 – Comparison of Three E-Map Options 86

Figure 10 – E-Map Layered Architecture 88

Figure 11 – Altimeter Circuit Diagram 99

Virtual Voyager

Final Report

Introduction

Welcome to the comprehensive report for Virtual Voyager, the Carnegie Mellon University Rapid Prototyping course project for Spring 1999.

This report is divided into three main sections.

• The User Manual is a reference which explains the setup and operation of the Virtual Voyager prototype developed by the class.

• The Conceptualization section details the first six weeks of the class, during which the Voyager program was studied and a new Virtual Voyager system proposed. It is bracketed by two narrative scenarios which illustrate the current Voyager system and a visionary new system. Between these scenarios are more than twenty enabling technology studies which were undertaken by the class to explore available technologies.

• The Device Realization section details the final eight weeks of the class, in which functional teams worked to design and build the more than ten devices and major software programs which comprise Virtual Voyager.

The Rapid Prototyping class has been offered at Carnegie Mellon for years. Its intention is to allow senior- and graduate-level students from different engineering disciplines—software engineering, electrical engineering (“hardware”) and mechanical engineering—to work together on a real-world problem, with specialized wearable computing devices often resulting. With the creation of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in 1995, HCI engineering (user-centered design and evaluation techniques) became a fourth explicit disciplinary set.

Students from these four disciplines worked on smaller, sub-disciplinary teams during the Conceptualization segment (phase I) to study the client and the problem, prepare baseline and visionary scenarios, and identify and study possibly useful enabling technologies. For Device Realization (phase II, design, and phase III, implementation), the students regrouped into functional teams. Work was still done along disciplinary lines, with the most obvious being the software team’s efforts to create and maintain the backbone of the system which allowed all of the devices to interoperate.

The three phases ended with presentations and demonstrations for Voyager (the client) and the general public. A paper was also prepared and distributed. This final phase report encompasses the first two and reorganizes the information from a phase-centric approach to a device-centric one.

This report begins with a new section that treats the final prototype as if it were a consumer product—the User Manual.

User Manual

Manual Introduction

The User Manual section is designed to make the setup and use of the Virtual Voyager prototype as easy as possible.

The next page depicts a stylized view of all the components and their configuration. The introductory graphics for each User Manual chapter continue this motif to show exactly what devices comprise each station. Within the manual itself, device photographs and program screen shots illustrate each device or program.

The first part of the User Manual discusses the physical setup, cabling, and power-up of all the components in Virtual Voyager. Note that this information is based on the computers and devices demonstrated in the final prototype presentation; a subset of these components may be used as well.

The rest of the User Manual is a section-by-section and device-by-device discussion of each of the components. Each device has step-by-step instructions for use as well as a list of troubleshooting suggestions to solve potential problems.

[pic]

Setup, Wiring, and Startup

Screen

Start by setting up the large front screen as follows:

• Lay out the two pipes with a T-section parallel to each other, about 10' apart: The T should be facing up. (See figure 1a for a top view.)

• Take the two, straight, 5' pipes and join them together (if they aren't already joined). Use this 10' pipe to join the two parallel T pipes (see figure 1b.)

• Take the two 8' pipes and make sure they each have one wood piece in the end. Place the chromoly in the wood pieces. Make sure the screen is already tied to the chromoly.

• Insert the free ends of the 8’ pipes into the T's of the base, and stand up the 8' pipes with the chromoly. Hook the tensile wire into the eye-loops on the upright 8' pipes. Tighten the tensile wires. The screen is set up.

[pic]

Computers and Cabling

The Virtual Voyager system uses four computers. The cabling diagram in figure 2 shows the connections between these computers and the other devices in the system, as follows.

• Pilot house computer - Used to show the front view of virtual world on the large projection screen. Pentium II - 300 Mhz, Windows 95, 128 MB RAM, Ethernet, Sound Blaster compatible built-in sound card, Diamond Voodoo2 3D Graphics Accelerator & built-in graphics card.

• Porthole computer - Used to display the virtual world as seen through the porthole. Pentium II - 300 Mhz, Windows 95, 128 MB RAM, Ethernet, Diamond Voodoo2 3D Graphics Accelerator & built-in graphics card

• Navigation computer - Used to display the electronic map and all the hot spots therein. Dual Pentium II - 450 Mhz, Windows NT, 512 MB RAM, Ethernet, Intense 3D Pro Graphics Accelerator

• Network server computer - Used to run GSS and other simulation components. Pentium II - 300 Mhz, Windows 95, 256 MB RAM, Ethernet, Graphics Accelerator

All computers used have a monitor, keyboard and mouse and are connected to the network via 10-Base-T hub.

[pic]

Figure 2 – Cabling Diagram

The following table describes what each of the wires are, and what each one connects to. Please refer to the above wiring diagram for each wire number.

|Cable |Connects |

|1 |D-sub cable connecting Projection and Pilot house computer (A) - Diamond Graphic Accelerator output |

|2 |Speaker cable connecting Audio Mixer/Amplifier and Pilot house computer (A) - Sound Out |

|3 |Keyboard cable (for A) |

|4 |Mouse cable (for A) |

|5 |Game port cable connecting Porthole buttons (fixed) and Porthole Computer (B) gameport |

|6 |D-sub cable connecting Porthole LCD screen and Porthole Computer (B) - Diamond Graphic Accelerator output |

|7 |Serial cable connecting Porthole Tilt sensor (fixed) and Porthole Computer (B) - COM1 serial port |

|8 |Keyboard cable (for B) |

|9 |Mouse cable (for B) |

|10 |D-sub cable connecting Navigation monitor and Navigation Computer (C) - video/monitor output |

|11 |Serial Cable connecting Altimeter (fixed) and Navigation Computer (C) - COM1 serial port |

|12 |Keyboard cable (for C) |

|13 |Mouse cable (for C) |

|14 |Speaker cable connecting Audio Mixer/Amplifier and Server Computer (D) - Sound Out |

|15 |D-sub cable connecting Server monitor and Server Computer (D) - video/monitor output |

|16 |Serial cable connecting Gauge box and Server Computer (D) - COM1 serial port |

|17 |Gameport cable connecting Throttle (fixed) and Server Computer (D) - Gameport; Wheel is daisy chained to throttle |

|18 |Keyboard cable (for D) |

|19 |Mouse cable (for D) |

|20 |10-Base-T Ethernet cable connecting Pilot house computer (A) and Ethernet hub |

|21 |10-Base-T Ethernet cable connecting Port hole computer (B) and Ethernet hub |

|22 |10-Base-T Ethernet cable connecting Navigation computer (C) and Ethernet hub |

|23 |10-Base-T Ethernet cable connecting Server computer (D) and Ethernet hub |

|24 |10-Base-T cable connecting Ethernet hub and Campus/External network |

|25 |D-sub cable connecting Pilot house monitor and Pilot house Computer (A) - built-in video/monitor output |

|26 |D-sub cable connecting Porthole monitor and Porthole Computer (B) - built-in video/monitor output |

Table 1 – Cabling List

The following contains the details for setting everything up, in reference to the cabling diagram (figure 2):

• Projector - Connected to Pilot house computer (A) via standard D-sub monitor cable.

• Porthole - LCD screen with tilt sensor and joystick buttons, connected to Porthole computer (B) via D-sub monitor cable (LCD screen), gameport (buttons) and serial port (COM1 - tilt sensor).

• Gauge Box - Connected to Network Server computer (D) via serial port (COM1)

• Wheel & Throttle - Connected to Network Server computer (D) via game port with wheel daisy chained to throttle.

• Altimeter - Connected to Navigation computer (C) via serial port (COM1).

• Amplifier & Audio Mixer - Connected to Pilot house computer (A) and Network Server (D) via Audio/Sound out.

Starting the System Components

Administration Terminal

To run the administration terminal, you must first make the following two settings:

• Guarantee that the path can point to the global init file

• CLASSPATH points to the classes directory

Next, you will run admin.bat -- this takes care of starting up the java AdminTerminal program. After about 5 seconds, the main window will open. There will be a list of components and their working status (alive, or dead).

To the bottom, there will be buttons for start, stop, pause, and quit. These buttons control the entire simulation, allowing the teacher to have full control over the running of Virtual Voyager.

To the right will be buttons for viewing the hierarchy of variables. Pressing these buttons will open up a new window with variables and their values, and buttons to the right for opening a sub-tree of variables. Variables that can be controlled by the administrator will have sliders below the variable name in these sub windows.

Global State Server (GSS)

To run the Global State Server, follow these steps:

• Go into the directory that has the file startup_variables.txt. This file is needed to initialize the list of available states.

• Type rmiregistry

• Type java GlobalStateServer

To run a client of the Global State Server, follow these steps:

• If the client requires any files defined relatively in its code, go into a directory that has those files.

• Type java

For example, if the client is named MyClient and the Global State Server is running on unix10.andrew.cmu.edu, you would type:

java MyClient unix10.andrew.cmu.edu

Virtual World Software (Alice)

• Copy the network directory onto the machine running Alice.

• Load it up in Alice.

• Type javac AliceDemo.java in the directory with the java code.

• Type java AliceDemo in the directory with the java code. You can specify host address of GSS and port for Alice as command line arguments if you wish. If not, it uses default values that can be found in the first constructor.

• In Alice, go to the script (the tab at the top) and modify the "HOST" variable to be the IP that AliceDemo is running on.

• In Alice, click "Perform Script"

• Back in the Java window, you can type in Alice commands and the Alice world will reflect the changes and perform the commands.

• The return values (values read back in after Java sends the command to Alice) indicate if the command executed properly. See the print statements for clarifications.

• Once the demo is finished, type exit in the java window. This stops the Alice world.

Sound

To get sound running for the full virtual voyager experience, follow these steps:

• Unzip the file sound.zip

• Place the sound files (these will all end in .wav) in your C:\ directory.

• Run the boatsound.exe -- this file is automatically configured to play the sounds at the appropriate times.

Running any of the remaining components

To run a particular component/device, type:

java

In cases when the application requires some initialization file that has been coded using relative paths (e.g. current version of the Electronic Map), you need to be in the directory that contains those files before running the application in the above manner. Ideally, such initialization files should be placed in the corresponding source directory so that the application can be run from its corresponding source directory.

For example, to run the Electronic Map, you should go into the

$(PROTODIR)/java/src/emap

directory where all the map images and other initialization files reside, then type:

java EMap

Gauges

The gauge box is connected to the system via the serial port (as per 16 in the wiring diagram figure). A special device driver has been written exclusively for these gauges.

To run the device drivers, execute the batch file ‘driver.bat’ on the server computer. This batch file will automatically set the necessary class paths and run the device driver in the background. Without this device driver running, the gauges will not display proper values.

To start up the system, plug the 7.5V power supply into the microcontroller board, which will immediately give the board power as shown by the lit LED. Press the reset button on the microcontroller board to start the gauges program, as indicated by the flashing LED. Next connect the 12V power supply to the microcontroller board at its respective socket. This will immediately turn on the power for the primary gauge panel. The secondary gauge panel is enabled by connecting the serial cable between the primary and secondary gauge panels.

Projector

The projector also relies on the AliceLink discussed earlier this section. To run the projector’s Alice script, be sure that the AliceLink is already running. Only one copy of AliceLink is required for both the Porthole and the projector. Load up Alice with the correct script and press ‘Perform Script and Connect’.

E-Map

Follow the general application running as noted in the remaining components section above to run the e-map.

Altimeter

Follow the general application running as noted in the remaining components section above to run the E-Map.

The altimeter should be connected to the Navigator (C) computer via the serial port.

Curriculum Configuration

Administration Terminal device

The Administration Terminal is currently used for two purposes.

The more important use is to start, stop, and pause Virtual Voyager. The start and stop are used to begin the simulation and end it as appropriate. The pause button could come in handy if a general announcement to the class needs to be made by the teacher or a Voyager staff member about something the kids found or did while in the simulation.

It is also used simply as a display showing all numerical data about Virtual Voyager. This can be used to monitor where the boat is, how fast it is going, all the engine parameters, and so forth.

Instructions

Start / Stop / Pause buttons

• Once Virtual Voyager is set up, the teacher will push the "Start" button on the screen.

• Any time during the excursion, the teacher may press the "Pause" button if he/she feels something needs to be discussed surrounding the Virtual Voyager.

• Once the students have arrived at their destination, the teacher may press the "Stop" button which will end the trip.

[pic]

All the displays

There is no interaction with these displays. They are simply there as read outs meant to provide an overview to the teacher of everything that the students are controlling on the Voyager.

These displays are simply numerical. They are organized in related groups, showing general environment values, values for the boat, and values for each engine.

Troubleshooting

• If the Start button does not function, please check the setup of the rest of the Voyager computers.

• If the displays do not display (do not show anything), please check the Global State Server.

• If a display does not change, please check the corresponding device.

Pilot Station

Screen

The screen is meant as an immersive view into the virtual world. It is only a view from the bow (front) of the boat.

The picture is displayed from behind the screen to prevent kids from walking in the way of the display.

Instructions

The projector should be set up behind the screen for rear-projection. If there is enough throw space (around twenty-five feet), the projector should be able to throw an image which fills the screen (roughly 10’ x 7’). Set the projector to throw a reversed image in this case.

With less space behind the screen (roughly fifteen feet), position the mirror at fifteen feet. Place the projector to be about five feet behind the screen and pointed back at the mirror. Set the projector to throw a non-reversed image, and adjust the positions of the mirror and projector to throw the full-size image on the screen.

Throttles

There are two throttles, one of which controls the left engine, the other of which controls the right engine. These simply control the speed of the boat; however, by applying separate acceleration on each throttle, the student will be able to turn the boat.

Instructions

In the off position, the throttle will be closest to the student. As the student pushes the throttle away himself or herself, the engines will pick up speed. The further the throttle is moved away from the student, the faster the boat will go.

The student will ideally need to move both throttles equally to maintain a straight heading. Most likely, the student will learn how much control each engine has on the boat by watching the boat turn.

Troubleshooting

• If the throttle doesn't seem to be affecting the speed of the boat, please check the wire connection into the computer.

• The throttles also rely on the engines working. If the boat has not been started, the throttles cannot function.

Wheel

This device is ideally what should be used for navigating through the river. This is how the student turns the boat to port (left) or starboard (right).

Instructions

It will be used as any wheel (such as a car wheel). Moving the wheel left will slowly move the boat to the left, and moving the wheel right will slowly move the boat to the right.

Troubleshooting

• As with the throttle, if the wheel seems to have no effect on the boat's movement, please check the wire connection into the computer.

• It will also not be usable if the boat's engines are not started.

Gauges

The last visual devices are the engine status gauges. These gauges provide feedback on how the engines are operating and their current status/ conditions.

There are two gauge boxes, one for each engine read out. They each have their own red button for on/off control for the engines.

Instructions

In order to start the engines, the student must press the red button on each of the gauge boxes. Think of the red button as turning the ignition key in a car. The needles will start to move to indicate that the engines have been turned on.

These are meant as a read out for how the engine is operating. The students will read the gauges to gather information such as speed of the boat and fuel level. This tool is important for students to learn how to read off of an analog gauge by watching where the needle is pointing.

This information is especially useful to the students for determining how far they can go on a given gas level and speed using the fuel chart, described later in the Navigation Station.

When the students are done with the Virtual Voyager, a student will press both red buttons to shut both engines off.

Troubleshooting

• If turning the engines on does not work, please check the wiring to make sure it is plugged in properly to the computer.

• If the gauges do not change, please check both the wiring to the computers as well as the Global State Server.

Navigation Station

Porthole

The virtual porthole is used as a surround-view into the virtual world. This frees students from the limitations of only seeing out the front of the boat. They can use this device to see the sky, the landscape around the boat, the water, or anything surrounding the Virtual Voyager.

In this manner, the students can search around the boat for any interesting objects, ranging from animal life to water debris or anything else the student may wish to see.

The virtual porthole may also be used to determine the depth of the water currently below the Virtual Voyager.

Instructions

A student will hold the screen (about the size of a laptop computer screen) and can move it around the pole, up and down, and tilt the screen to any angle they wish to view.

In order to view certain items better, there are handy zoom in and zoom out buttons located at the left of the device. This allows the student to get the effect of binoculars on the surrounding area.

If the student wishes to get a depth reading, he or she will place the virtual porthole horizontally (as if looking straight down into the water), push a button, and the water depth will appear.

Troubleshooting

• If the screen fails to show anything or move, please check the wire connection to the computer.

Paper Map

The paper map is used to provide a hands-on approach to manually plotting the course as the boat moves. It is needed to compare pre-plotted and actual course to figure out how far off course the current boat is and what the course correction (if any) should be.

Instructions

Before the students visit the Virtual Voyager setup, they will decide upon a course which the boat is to take. They will use a paper map to pre-plot their course in black pencil and the cross-hairs to plot each point.

Once the students are using the Virtual Voyager, the actual course will be plotted using a red pencil and the cross-hairs to plot each point.

When the student (or teacher) decides the Virtual Voyager is too far off course, the student will use a protractor to find the angle difference between where the boat currently is and where it ideally should be. This angle difference, along with Port or Starboard is then relayed to the Executive Officer to make the appropriate course change.

Troubleshooting

• If the pencils break during use, a pencil sharpener will be provided.

• If the map should rip during use, another one may be printed out from the electronic map.

E-Map

A computer display which is used for multiple purposes. These include:

• Electronic version of the paper map. This will show the actual boat movement as it happens.

• Plotting a course. It is possible to input the entire pre-plotted course so it is possible to let the computer decide on course corrections if necessary. This course will the route that the students wish the boat to take, serving as a guide for the Navigation team.

• Gathering information. The students can click on "hot spots" of the map to find out more specific information. Such information includes details about the Pittsburgh bridges, any important buildings, and any other sort of information the teacher finds useful. Such information may be relayed to the student as text, pictures, movies, or any other media format.

• Bridge height calculations. By using the altimeter (described shortly), the student will see information about the height of a selected bridge, the boat height, and the water depth. This is to be used to determine if the boat can safely pass under the boat by doing subtractions of the given information.

Instructions

[pic]Course Plotting

Course plotting is generally only done at the setup of the Virtual Voyager. This involves the student typing in the pre-plotted course from the paper map. Specifically, the student will take each of the specific latitude and longitude points from the paper map and type in each number (to 5 decimal points of precision). When one set of points is typed in, the student will press the Add button. This will draw a line from the last point to the point the student just entered.

At any time, the student may press Undo to remove the last entered point. The student can continuously press Undo in case they mistyped a coordinate at the beginning of the course.

Once the student is finished entering the points, the Done button should be pressed to indicate this.

Electronic Map

To gather interesting points on the map, to see the current boat position and heading, please click on the TrackLayer tab. This information will be updated constantly.

If you wish to see more or less of the map, we have provided Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons, located above the electronic map. Please click on these to see more or less detail as desired.

[pic]Information Gathering

Information gathering allows the student to find interesting information from the electronic version of the map. The interesting locations are represented by little check marks over each appropriate location. When the student clicks on one of these check marks, the right side of the screen changes to display the appropriate information. The student will then look at the picture, read the text, or view whatever is available for the selected hot spot.

The teacher will decide ahead of time what type of information (and specifically even what information in each type) the students should be able to find out about. For example, the teacher may decide to only let the students view information about bridges and certain locations. This selection process takes place at the administration terminal.

Altimeter Information

See Altimeter, below.

Troubleshooting

• If there are course lines drawn all over the screen…

Make sure you are on the Plotting tab. Press the Undo button until all unwanted lines go away. Please be sure to enter the course in the order which you wish to get to each point.

• If you can't find out information about a building/boat/whatever...

Unfortunately, you are limited to hot spots that have a check mark picture on top of them. Please be sure to only click hot spots with the check marks. Furthermore, please make sure you are clicking on the check mark itself.

• If you don't know the exact current position of the Virtual Voyager…

Click on the TrackLayer tab to see this information.

Altimeter

The altimeter is a device used to measure the height of bridges. This information is used to determine if the boat can fit underneath the bridge.

Currently, the altimeter only has a single button which is used to display information about the upcoming bridge on the electronic map.

It can therefore be considered an extension of the electronic map.

Instructions

The student should look through the altimeter view scope to find the upcoming bridge. When the student sees the bridge, they should click the button on top of the altimeter.

Once the button has been clicked, the student should look on the electronic map screen to view the bridge height, boat height, and boat draft. The student will need to do a few calculations(subtract the boat height from the bridge height) to determine whether or not the boat will fit under the bridge.

If the student wishes to find out more information about the bridge, the More Info button may be clicked to bring up specific information about the bridge.

Troubleshooting

• If the altimeter click does not cause the electronic map display to change, please be sure the altimeter is properly plugged into the computer.

Conceptualization

Conceptualization Introduction

From 15 January to 26 February 1999, the students concentrated on problem definition and conceptual design. The human-computer interaction (HCI) disciplinary team spoke to the Voyager staff on board the boats and talked to curriculum designers and teachers. From this field work, they were able to create both a baseline scenario which details the existing Voyager experience and a visionary scenario which describes a wide range of possible computer-aided classroom experiences, called collectively the “Virtual Voyager.”

During this time, the other disciplinary teams (software, hardware, and mechanical engineering/industrial design) identified potential enabling technologies based on the forming visionary scenario. Subteams were created to investigate specific technologies. In most cases, these investigations progressed as far as product feature matrices, which list and contrast available commercial solutions.

The Client

The Voyager program was created to teach students about the process of scientific inquiry by allowing a closer look at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers. Participants are taught about chemical and biological properties of the rivers (checking river quality to see how well the water can sustain life), engineering (using navigation aids to find where they are on a map and following various gauges to see how the boat works), and physics (calculating bridge loads and watching locks and dams in action).

Voyager currently splits these activities into two educational trips, each with its own separate curriculum. The more established Environmental Science program contains activities such as plankton and macroinvertebrate identification, river charts and maps, bird-watching, and water chemistry testing. The newer Boats, Bridges and Water (or BBW) program is targeted towards slightly older kids and teaches physics and mathematics, using activities such as navigation and bridge height calculation.

Running both programs, the current throughput of the Voyager program is 5,000 students per year. This experience is limited by the physical capacity of the two boats currently in use and by the range which students can travel in a school day.

The Charge

The Voyager program wishes to expand the learning experience they offer to those students who are outside the geographical range of the Voyager dock and to those who cannot participate due to space limitations. The goal was to be able to reach up to 10 times the current capacity of students under similar economic constraints as the boat-based program. These constraints force any proposal to have a low annual maintenance cost and to have initial capital costs of less than $20,000 - $30,000.

Baseline

Baseline Introduction

As a starting point, the HCI disciplinary team defined the participants in the current Voyager program and studied the current flow of the program. As an aid to the entire design team, they created a document called a “baseline scenario.” The baseline scenario section details what kids do in each of the two programs through the use of a narrative which imagines a pair of field trips to the existing Voyager.

Field Research

In order to create the baseline, HCI field evaluations were conducted which gathered requirement data by studying the existing Voyager system and conducting initial contextual interviews with Voyager staff, curriculum designers (both involved with Voyager curriculum design and not), and teachers who are familiar with the Voyager experience. Two trips were taken to the boat itself, one led by our customer contact Beth O'Toole and the other mimicking a student visit in which Environmental Science program activities were demonstrated. In addition, base research was conducted into existing distance learning solutions, Pennsylvania state educational requirements for our target age group, and other available voyage experiences.

From the boat visits and interviews with Voyager staff, the baseline scenario was created. A list of the artifacts, or all of the physical objects which are used as part of the Voyager curriculum, was created in an attempt to better understand the kinds of interactions the students have. And the HCI group also created an affinity diagram to elicit and capture elements of both the existing Voyager and desired elements of a new in-class Voyager experience.

Scenario

| |Environmental Science |

|Identified artifacts in both |At the grade school parking lot in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, Ray and the other kids in his 5th |

|the baseline scenario and the |grade science class board a yellow school bus. They are going to Pittsburgh for the Voyager |

|visionary scenario below have |field trip. Their teacher, Mr. Fields, got to go to the boat himself several months ago, and |

|been called out in boldface. |last week he brought back a box full of equipment, posters, and other stuff called a Captain’s |

| |Chest. Ray and his friends have been working for a week, learning about all the activities they |

| |are about to participate in. |

| |After a 30-minute trip, the bus arrives at the Carnegie Science Center parking lot. All the |

| |students grab their gear and head to the Voyager dock where they are divided into three groups |

| |of eleven, named the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates. Ray is part of the Penguins group. |

| |Shirelle is assigned to be the team leader of the Penguins and the Voyager instructor gives her |

| |a set of rotation cards so that she can guide her group through the series of onboard |

| |activities. |

| |All the kids board the boat. Before they break into groups, they gather on deck and meet the |

| |Voyager crew (the Captain and deck hands) and the three Voyager instructors. The get a safety |

| |lecture, including a demonstration of how to put on a life jacket, and are also given |

| |instructions in using the “head” (toilet). |

|Both of the Voyager programs |The boat launches and heads down the Ohio River. Ray’s first mini-station is to visit the upper |

|are divided into three shorter |deck for bird-watching. Students identify particular birds with binoculars and bird |

|“mini-stations” and three |identification books and log the bird name, quantity, bird activity, location, and river. The |

|longer “stations”. By beginning|data is entered into the computer by the Penguin team captain. The students spend 20 minutes |

|with the mini-stations, the |observing birds and then move on. |

|students get a chance to get |Next is the River Charts mini-station. On their way there, Ray’s group passes the Steelers who |

|comfortable with the boat and |are heading to the Fish Lab. Space is tight on deck and they have to squeeze by. Once in the |

|meet the staff. |bow, Ray’s team works together to identify the location of the boat on the river and name the |

| |recent bridge they have passed. The team uses river map booklets which are provided on-board for|

| |resource material. The Voyager teacher helps them with any questions they have with the |

| |material. The Penguins spend 20 minutes at this activity and then move onto the next |

| |mini-station. |

| |The Penguins go from the outside deck, through the main classroom, and to a small vertical |

| |stairway which leads them down into a classroom called the Fish Lab in the stern of the boat. |

| |This room contains a 90-gallon aquarium with live indigenous fish, mature preserved fish |

| |specimens in jars, a “Treasure Chest” of various objects related to fish, fish identification |

| |charts and cards, a life-sized plastic fish model, and a viewplate in the floor through which |

| |the students can see the transmission shaft for the boat motor. Ray is most impressed by the |

| |whirring transmission shaft—he’s never seen one in his life! Ray and his teammate Nikki check |

| |the temperature and pH of the water in the fish tank and feed the fish. The group also does fish|

| |identification on the preserved specimens. The teacher reviews the contents of the Treasure |

| |Chest and tells stories to the students about the objects in the box. |

| |After all the groups have rotated through the three mini-stations, it’s time to begin the main |

| |stations. Each main station takes about 45 minutes to complete and is based around the same |

| |sequence of sample collection, sample analysis, and data entry. |

| |The Penguins head upstairs to the deck of the boat. As they step outside, the cool fresh air |

| |which blows in their faces is a pleasant change from the smell of diesel fuel they had been |

| |breathing in the cramped quarters below deck. Ray is looking forward to the next activity which |

| |is a main station called Macroinvertebrates. Ray and his class at school have spent the last |

| |three weeks learning about macroinvertebrates and he eagerly awaits the chance to touch the |

| |equipment and perform real science experiments. |

| |By this point, the boat is heading up the Monongehela River. The boat moves close to shore and |

| |idles its motor so that the students, who are standing on the front deck, can collect a river |

| |bottom mud samples with a petite ponar. The sample is dumped into the filter bucket, washed and |

| |dumped into a tray. Two students take the specimen tray into the cabin classroom and the |

| |Penguins look for macroinvertebrate specimens to observe and identify. Specimens are collected |

| |into petri dishes and viewed under a specimen scope for identification. Identification data is |

| |collected and logged into the computer. Ray is excited! He found and identified a spider mite. |

| |After forty-five minutes, they have completed the Macroinvertebrate main station and move on. |

| |The Penguins begin the Plankton main station activities by first performing a plankton specimen |

| |collection off the rear deck of the boat. They drop and drag a plankton net and let it drag on |

| |the surface of the water as the boat is moving. The net is brought back aboard the boat and the |

| |plankton specimen is bottled and brought to the Plankton Lab which is in the lower aft section |

| |of the boat. To get to the lab they must go down a narrow vertical staircase in ex-crew |

| |quarters. They walk through the classroom and squeeze by the Steelers group who is busy with |

| |their water quality tests. |

| |Down in the Plankton Lab each student views their wet mounted slide under a microscope and |

| |performs an identification of living specimens with the help of identification cards. The video |

| |microscope is used by the teacher to display a rare plankton specimen to the entire class. Ray |

| |logs his data on his paper worksheet and hands it off to Shirelle, his team captain, who logs |

| |all the team data into the computer. The teacher announces the Plankton lab is complete and asks|

| |the team captain to lead the way to the next destination. |

| |The Penguins climb up the stairs, out of the hull of the boat, and move on to the Water Quality |

| |main station where they will spend the last forty-five minutes of the trip. The team gathers on |

| |the deck and performs four activities: |

| |temperature measurement with a thermometer |

| |dissolved oxygen level, water temperature, water pH level with a dissolved oxygen meter |

| |water turbidity with a secchi disk |

| |water collection with a kemmerer |

| |The water specimen collected from the kemmerer is bottled and brought inside the classroom for |

| |further testing for temperature, titration, dissolved oxygen and water pH. Ray and his partner |

| |Alice write down all the data on their work sheets and hand it off to Shirelle, who enters the |

| |data into the computer. Ray and Alice can’t believe the results of the day! The water quality on|

| |all the rivers is very clean and they are sure they will impress their parents with this news at|

| |dinner. |

| |Ray looks out the window and notices that the Captain’s assistant is tying up the boat to the |

| |dock. Have four and a half hours really gone by? Is it really time to go home? He grabs his data|

| |sheets from the mini-stations and main stations and stuffs them in his pack to take home as |

| |souvenirs. |

| |The students disembark and pose for a class picture in the parking lot. Ray is looking forward |

| |to putting the photo in his scrapbook since this was the best day of school he’s ever had. He |

| |boards the bus, exhausted but thrilled. That night he dreams of becoming an Environmental |

| |Scientist who will study ways to keep rivers clean for plants, animals and people. |

| |Boats, Bridges, and Water |

| |The next week, Ray’s older sister Linda is going with her high school physics class on the |

| |Voyager’s BBW program. Her teacher Mr. Samuels has also been on the Voyager and has brought back|

| |a Captain’s Chest, but this one is filled with different kinds of equipment. Linda’s class |

| |spends three weeks’ worth of their physics period talking about the activities they’re going to |

| |do today on the Voyager. |

| |Once they’ve boarded and met the boat crew, Linda’s classmates have several different activities|

| |they must perform before Voyager can get underway. One group collects safety data and checks |

| |levels of fuel, water, and other fluids. Another makes weather observations, while another |

| |measures current and water depth. Still other students raise the American and Pennsylvania |

| |Commonwealth flags, while other spell out their school name in signal flags to be flown onboard |

| |that day. But Linda has the coolest assignment of all—her group gets to actually start the |

| |boat’s engines and collect engine data. |

| |The BBW program also has three mini- and three main stations. Linda’s group moves to the Geology|

| |mini-station, where she gets to study a geologic cross-section and sample rocks and compare them|

| |to rocks which can be seen in the hillside they are passing. The Voyager instructor shows them a|

| |tube of sediment and explains how the location of the rivers relates to the geology of the area |

| |and how the landscape has changed over time. They also get to see a core sample which was taken |

| |from a lock wall. |

| |In the Meteorology mini-station, the students learn about the importance of weather observation |

| |and why the weather is observed onboard Voyager. Linda gets to use a compass, wind meter, |

| |thermometer, weather radio, and weather station to collect meteorlogic data for that day and |

| |record her findings on the weather board. Then, the group turns the weather data into a ship |

| |code which can be interpreted by other ships. The instructor also explains why the river is a |

| |different temperature than the air, and explains how fog and floods occur. |

| |The final mini-station, Lock and Dam, is Linda’s favorite. She and her teammates actually help |

| |the Voyager crew navigate through a lock and dam, making measurements in the lock of volume and |

| |flow of water and recording the actual gate openings based on the gate opening number from the |

| |pre-voyage data collection. They also discuss the dam on the other side of Neville Island, the |

| |reasons for specific gates being open more or less, and the flow through the dam. |

| |Linda’s group gets to do the Boat Crew main station first, where she and her classmates become |

| |full-fledged members of the Voyager crew. Each student gets a radio headset so that they can |

| |communicate with each other. They take different roles: some students act as lookouts, |

| |monitoring river traffic, landmarks passed and debris in the river, and communicating this |

| |information to fellow crew. Some use compasses to take bearings of landmarks passed. They also |

| |talk about how the throttle and steering mechanisms work, watch the shaft in action (through the|

| |same viewplate which Ray saw), and trace cables from the pilot house to the engines and rudder. |

| |Most excitingly, each student gets to actually steer the Voyager, following the captain’s |

| |instructions and using the rudder angle indicator. During the station, some students monitor |

| |gauges in the engine room and pilot house, comparing the readings they take with worksheets |

| |they’ve prepared back at school to make sure the readings are within acceptable limits. |

| |At the Hydrology station, Linda uses a current meter to measure the current at various places on|

| |the river and a depth sounder to measure the depth of the channel. The data she collects is |

| |compared to river charts and bottom profiles of the river. Then, the students are led into a |

| |room at the top of the boat and the shades are drawn. Using only the radar, Linda figures out |

| |where Voyager is on a river chart. When the shades are raised, Linda is relieved to see that she|

| |wasn’t very far off! |

| |At the final station, Bridges, the Voyager instructor asks Linda and her friends to determine if|

| |Voyager can fit under the local bridges. They have to measure the boat and also look up each |

| |bridge in the river charts to find the answer. Then, they count the number and types of vehicles|

| |crossing a bridge up ahead and use this information to calculate the total bridge load. As they |

| |approach the bridge, they use an altimeter to determine its vertical clearance, and check their |

| |finding in the river chart. And, when they are right under the bridge, they get to study the |

| |materials which were used in its construction. Finally, they use a bridge-building computer |

| |program to see if they can construct a basic bridge. |

| |During the entire day, Josh and Ann in Linda’s group were collecting data based on all of the |

| |activities. At the end of the day, the data is collected on a large poster with a diagram of the|

| |rivers on it. As they board the bus to leave, they take the poster with them to study and talk |

| |about later in class. |

Enabling Technologies

Enabling Technologies Introduction

The baseline scenario and the various iterations of the visionary scenario were presented to all of the functional teams as they were created. As the entire class discussed the scenarios, the concept of a computer-aided classroom trip—a “Virtual Voyager”—began to emerge. Aided by this vision, members of the various teams identified technology categories which might be needed to enable portions of the scenarios being proposed.

The following technology studies were submitted. In many cases, product feature matrices were constructed which distinguish the various options from each other based on categories determined by the functional team. Where possible, price quotes were gathered to allow the team to begin preliminary budgeting.

The study subjects are listed below in alphabetical order.

Boat Simulation

One of the most important elements in the early software architecture proposals was the boat simulator, software which would help drive virtual reality software (q.v.) based on input data from various boat controls. Currently, there are several commercial simulation packages on the market.

|Company |Product |Price |Platform |Available |Comments |

|Mathworks |SIMULINK 2.2 |Requesting |Windows 95/NT |Yes |Full-featured simulation engine providing |

| | | | | |quick turnaround time for |

| | | | | |design/test/simulate. |

|Visual Thinking |Simul8 |$495 |Windows 95/NT |Yes |Simulation engine geared towards simulating |

|International | | | | |manufacturing/production environments |

| | | | | |(business applications). |

|Powersim |Powersim Engine |Requesting |Windows 95/NT |Yes |Geared for computationally expensive |

| | | | | |applications and provides the ability to |

| | | | | |design UI in other languages such as VB. |

|Experimental |COVERS 3.1 |Free |Windows 95/NT |Yes |Fine print: FREE for personal use; need to |

|Objects Technology| | | | |purchase license for educational |

| | | | | |institutions. |

|CMU |--- |Free |--- |Develop |A simple behavioral model of the boat |

| | | | | |simulation is currently being developed. |

Table 2 – Boat Simulation Software

However, after carefully weighing in the cost/return factor for these packages, it was deemed preferable to design a simulator to suit Virtual Voyager’s specific needs. The inputs for the simulator may include, but are not limited to: a captain’s wheel, throttle, engine on/off, dock/undock, add fuel, add coolant, and add oil. Based on these input parameters and the boat’s current state, the simulator translates them into the next state of the boat. It produces a set of outputs such as speed, RPM, direction, location, temperature reading, fuel reading, and oil pressure reading. The boat simulator is the primary interface between the physical input devices and the virtual reality rendering engine. Input devices feed the simulator and the virtual reality rendering engine receives the simulator’s calculated results.

Communication (With Real Voyager)

For possible future inter-Voyager communication, an on-board CDPD (cellular digital packet data) modem could be connected to an on-board computer that would collect data (locational and operational) and transmit it to an ISP (internet service provider)

From the ISP, the data will be transferred to the central repeater station where it may be used for comparison against other Virtual Voyager simulations.

|Name |Data Rate |Platform |Price |Notes |

|AlphaCom InSat Wireless Modem |~30-40 Kbps |Windows 95/98 |$500 modem + $170 |Data rate is due to the use of |

| | | |software |compression software |

|Motorola Personal Messenger |~10-11 Kbps |Windows 95/98, | |Immediate availability |

|100C & 100D | |Macintosh | | |

|Sierra Wireless MP 210 CDPD & |~10-11 Kbps |Win 95/98/NT |$1,110 |Immediate availability |

|Cellular Data | | | | |

Table 3 – CDPD Modems

The purpose of choosing CDPD modems over radio modems or other forms of wireless communication was ease of implementation. CDPD modems allow users to connect to the internet within an area of coverage without any additional equipment. (Note that for intra-Virtual Voyager communication, wireless headsets would be used to replicate the scenario on the real boat.)

Although communication between the real Voyager and the Virtual Voyagers was dropped from later versions of the visionary scenario, these options were investigated for possible reintroduction at a future date.

Computer-Simulated Conversation

Another identified technology of interest was computer-simulated conversation or CSC. CSC provides the ability for students access a wide range of questions and answers interactively, as opposed to having to read a frequently asked questions (FAQ) list. There are a couple of existing commercial packages that implement this technology.

|Company |Product |Price |# of Q&A max |Available |System |Input |Output Type |

| | | | | | |Type | |

|Grand Illusion |Synthetic |Variable |4,000 |Yes |266 MHz Pentium |Voice, |Video & Audio |

|Studios |Interview | | | |32 MB RAM (128 MB |Typed | |

| | | | | |recommended) | | |

|Interactive |Virtual |Not specified |No maximum |Yes |100 MHz Pentium |Voice |Video & Audio |

|Drama, Inc. |Conversations | |specified | |16 MB RAM (32 MB | | |

| | | | | |recommended) | | |

| | | | | |10 MB of hard drive | | |

| | | | | |space | | |

|CMU |Synthetic |Most likely |4,000 |Develop |266 MHz Pentium |Voice, |Video & Audio |

| |Interview |free | | |32 MB RAM (128 MB |Typed | |

| | | | | |recommended) | | |

Table 5 – Computer Simulated Conversation Technology

During investigation, contact was established with Don Marinelli (CMU researcher and part-owner of Grand Illusion Studios) and Roy Maxion of the School of Computer Science, who offered to provide any support we may need in incorporating this technology into our project. The feature was thus considered as a possible add-on to the overall software architecture, provided there were sufficient resources/funds for this functionality. Due to the modularity of the initial software architecture design, minimal changes are required to support this added functionality. In the worst case, a traditional non-interactive FAQ list can serve the same purpose.

Database Software

In both the baseline an visionary scenarios, the entry and the storage of scientific data takes place. The software group determined that using a third party database program, as opposed to custom software, is the most efficient and reliable way to implement this feature.

There were several key features that were used in evaluating the options. Although price was not the biggest issue (especially as compared to the rather expensive hardware system), it was taken into consideration since a copy would have to be purchased for each running Virtual Voyager program.

|Product Name |Company |Price |Web interaction |Standalone apps? |Mac? |Forms |

|FileMaker Pro |FileMaker |$199 (retail) |dynamic |Yes |Yes |Yes |

|Excel |Microsoft |$339 (academic $109) |static views |No |Yes |No |

|Access |Microsoft |$339 (academic $109) |static views |Yes |No |Yes |

|Visual FoxPro |Microsoft |$549 |dynamic |Yes |No |Yes |

|Paradox 8 |Corel |$129 ($299 w/runtime) |dynamic |Yes ($299) |No |Yes |

Table 6 – Database Software

One major issue was how the information could be disseminated after collection, so it was natural to consider how the software can interact with the web. All software in consideration can show static views of data, but some can allow users to interact, query the database, and see different views of data dynamically via the web.

Another issue was whether the database could allow creation of stand-alone applications. Since the primary users of the system will be children, who can potentially make hazardous mistakes to the stored data (erasing entries), the software group decided to limit the access to the database to an interface that will be defined during system implementation. By creating a stand-alone application, this interface can not be overridden. System administrators can use the original database software to have full access.

The Voyager program currently stores its data in a database program running on the Macintosh operating system. The software group determined that it is important for the staff of the Voyager program to be easily acquainted with the Virtual Voyager system being developed. So, another issue was if the database software is available on the Macintosh platform, the environment with which the staff is already familiar.

Another feature being investigated is having form based data entry. Forms will allow data to be entered in separated text and numerical fields, in a new window, as opposed to being entered in spreadsheet, in one monolithic window. Forms allow for a better interface, and will lessen the chance of entering data incorrectly. This is especially important since children will be the primary users of the system.

Digital Video Cameras

Early versions of the visionary scenario focused on ways to collect data from an actual Voyager trip to use as part of the Virtual Voyager experience. Live video feeds, or captured and stored video for later playback, was a highly desirable feature.

|Company |Product |Interface |Resolution |Features |Sys. Requirements |Retail |

|Logitech |QuickCam Pro |Parallel; USB |640x480 |Optional lens pack; |PC: Pentium (>100 MHz); |$149.95 |

| | | | |Tilt/swivel base |Win95/98; Parallel or USB | |

| | | | | |port; 16 MB RAM | |

| | | | | |Mac: USB port | |

|Kodak |DVC323 |USB |640x480 still image; |Detachable from base (with |PC: Pentium; Win95 | |

| | | |320x240 video |3m of cable); 30 fps |OSR2/Win98; USB port; 16 MB| |

| | | | | |RAM | |

|Super Circuits |PPL-1-1200 |FM (wireless) |Standard NTSC Video |Wireless audio/video | | |

| | | | |transmitter & receiver; 3 | | |

| | | | |mile range | | |

|Sony |CCD-Z1 |NTSC |270,000 pixels |Built in mic; Adjustable | |$150.00 |

| | | | |stand; rotating camera head| | |

|Cybertronix |Picture Perfection|PAL; NTSC; CCIR; |PAL (720x576); NTSC |External trigger, or motion| | |

| | |Composite Video |(720x488) |detector trigger | | |

| | |In/Out; S-Video | | | | |

| | |In/Out | | | | |

Table 7 – Digital Video Cameras

Unfortunately, all video possibilities were eventually eliminated from the design due to bandwidth considerations. The introduction of an environment based on virtual reality software (q.v.) also made this possible by removing the need for an actual photo-based environment.

Distance Learning Sites

Many institutions and other organizations have begun offering various forms of distance learning (DL) options, and many software companies have products which support them. The most popular of these sites were examined to determine the kinds of techniques used by each.

They were found to rely predominately on chat clients, newsgroups or bulletin boards, and streaming video or audio lectures viewable via technologies like RealNetworks’ RealPlayer. The highest levels of graphical interaction with a site were enabled with Macromedia’s ShockWave; many sites offered much lower levels of interaction.

|Organization |Type |Technologies |Comments |

|Western Governors University |Online university |Traditional, Web |Brings together distance learning classes offered already by |

| | | |various schools, classes “designed by corporations and |

| | | |publishers”, and certification for existing competencies. Faculty |

| | | |is made up of people from partner universities, tech schools, |

| | | |companies. |

|California Virtual University |Online university |Video, Web |Acts as a clearinghouse for all the DL courses available in |

| | | |California; however, they don’t handle enrollment, grant the |

| | | |degrees, or answer questions about the courses themselves—just |

| | | |pointers to where to go to sign up |

|Knowledge University |Online university |Web, |Can’t find any reference to “Knowledge University”; however, |

| | | |LearningSpace, the technology they are supposedly using, is a |

| | | |product of Lotus-- a full suite of tools to allow instructors to |

| | | |author courses, deploy them on the web, and manage and grade |

| | | |students. |

|Colorado University Online |Online university |Web, Java, |Over 100 courses of Colorado U. offered over the web; uses |

| | |RealPlayer |RealEducation product (turnkey system for developing courses (RES |

| | | |3.0); also a “teaching methodology”) |

|Stanford Online |Distance learning |Video, Web, NetShow |Mostly a supplement to a trad. educational experience—lets |

| |center | |students pick up a class they otherwise might not have had time |

| | | |for, or take a class which conflicts with another one (watching |

| | | |the lectures they’d miss on demand.) Doesn’t let instructors |

| | | |completely can a class. |

|University of Phoenix Online Campus |Distance learning |Internet: AlexWare |Looks just like a “commuters” program but solicits all over the |

| |center | |world. Emphasizes interaction in small groups; uses Convene’s |

| | | |AlexWare. |

|University of Illinois Online |Distance learning |Web, Java, |U of I has a longstanding distance education commitment using |

| |center |JavaScript |traditional media (videotape, closed circuit/satellite). UI-Online|

| | | |is the internet extension of this. Still completely traditional U |

| | | |of I program, requiring normal admission procedure; not intended |

| | | |for on-campus students (unlike Stanford program) but for |

| | | |“underserved” Illinois population. |

|Gartner Group Internet Learning Center |Online university |Web, ShockWave |The only interaction is through ShockWave. Other than that very |

| | | |basic Web interaction: reading, click-on navigation. User cannot |

| | | |enter any info. |

|Learning Web by Interchange Techies |Online university |Web, JScript, |Uses chats and bboards as means of communication. |

| | |ShockWave |Uses LearningWeb product—integrated chat, bulletin board and |

| | | |transaction services all on separate servers. |

|IMG University Online |Online university |Web |Students have their own homepages on this site; allows scheduled |

| | | |chats, discussion groups |

|Michigan State University |Distance learning |Web, RealPlayer |Streaming video shows video-based lecture material; allows chats, |

| |center |Video, Audio |web-talk |

|NJIT Continued Professional Education |Distance learning |Video, I-net, |Video lectures sent to students via regular mail or viewed via |

| |center |RealPlayer |RealPlayer; has “Virtual Classroom” conferencing system (couldn’t |

| | | |find more info about this). |

|Independent Study Program, UC Boulder |Distance learning |Web | |

| |center | | |

Table 8 – Existing Distance Learning (DL) Programs

Force-Feedback Input Devices

A simulation environment such as Virtual Voyager needs to include realistic input devices. Some devices, such as steering wheels or throttles, must act not only as inputs but as physical feedback devices—in other words, they need to move realistically based on conditions. A steering wheel in a driving simulation, to take one example, must vibrate with the speed of the vehicle and become more difficult to control on certain simulated surfaces.

|Company |Type |Product |Cost |Features |Interfaces |

|Immersion Corporation |Mouse |FeelIt Mouse |??? | |Win95 |

|Immersion Corporation |Joystick |Impulse Engine 2000 |$4,395 |2 degrees of freedom for motion/tracking and |PC interface card |

| | | | |force feedback; 6" x 6" | |

|ACT Labs |Wheel/Pedal |Force RS |$69.99 |7 buttons on wheel face; 4-way D-pad; F1 |PC (Win95/DOS) |

| | | | |style gear shifter; 270 degree turning | |

| | | | |radius; Effective clamping system | |

|AVB Tech |Wheel/Pedal |GCFBW1 |$119.98 |220 degree steering wheel; 3 lbs. of force |PC USB |

| | | | |output; 8 programmable buttons; integrated | |

| | | | |shift lever | |

|CH Products |Joystick |Force FX |$100 |Six built-in force-feedback effects; Two |Win95 |

| | | | |4-way switches, 5 buttons | |

|Logitech |Joystick |Wingman Force |$129.95 |9 programmable buttons |PC USB |

|Logitech |Wheel/Pedal |Formula Force |$179.95 | |PC USB |

|SC&T International |Wheel/Pedal |Per4mer Force Feedback | |15 programmable buttons; 280 degree rotation |PC Serial (Win95) |

| | |Wheel | | | |

|Microsoft |Wheel/Pedal |Sidewinder Force |$154.95 | |PC |

| | |Feedback Wheel | | | |

Table 9 – General Force-Feedback Input Devices

There are various kinds of wheels and throttles for vehicle simulation games available. However, many of them are shaped like fighter plane throttles rather than a boat throttle, or as race car wheels rather than ship wheels. Throttles often come with extra buttons for additional capabilities.

For the input devices, electronic wheels and throttles used for racing games on computers were considered. The wheels looked at were the ones that can be secured on a table or platform, and can provide force-feedback to make the boat control simulation more realistic. For almost all of the force-feedback wheels, the force-feedback engine implemented came from Immersion Corporation, and comes with software to write custom force feedback response. The interfaces for the wheels are either through the game port, or USB port. The device from Microsoft was deemed the best candidate because of above-average reviews.

|Company |Product |Cost |Features |Interfaces |

|CH Products |CH Throttle |$40 |One 4-way switch, one 2-way switch, 6 push buttons, all |PC AT & PS/2 Keyboard |

| | | |programmable; single key and macro programming |connectors |

|CH Products |Pro Throttle |$90 |Four 4-way switches and four push buttons, all |PC AT & PS/2 Keyboard |

| | | |programmable; analog and digital throttle modes |connectors |

|Thrustmaster |Attack Throttle |$59.95 |4 buttons, one 3-way switch; includes ThrustMapper software|PC/Win95 game port |

| | | |for programming the Throttle | |

|Thrustmaster |F16 TQS Throttle |$139.95 |2 dials and two 3-position switches; 4-way radio switch; |PC/Win95 game port |

| | | |completely user programmable | |

Table 10 – Throttle-Style Force-Feedback Input Devices

Among the throttles, the CH Throttle from CH Products was chosen as the best candidate because it doesn’t have too many buttons on the throttle and uses an AT keyboard connector. The use of a keyboard connector, not needed for other functions within a boat simulation, would leave the game port free for the use of a wheel.

Handheld Computing Devices

In the early visionary scenarios, many small electronic devices—both for data input and for instrument readouts—were proposed. In one possible architecture, these devices would all be autonomous and would each contain some computing power. Although this was ultimately dropped in favor of centrally controlled display devices, one hardware team did investigate possible low-cost computing platforms. These devices all needed to be handheld and had to have enough power to accept input and drive a display.

|Company |Computer |CPU type/speed |OS |Communications |Price |

| | | | |Options | |

|Compaq |Itsy |StrongARM SA-1100 59-206|Linux 2.0.30 |IrDA; Serial port |Not commercially |

| | |MHz | | |available |

|3Com |PalmPilot |Motorola DragonBall 16 |PalmOS |IrDA; Serial port, |$200-$300 |

| | |MHz | |cellular modem | |

|Nintendo |GameBoy |Zilog Z80 clone 4 MHz |GameBoyOS |Serial port |$50 |

|Vadem |Clio |NEC VR4111 MIPS 4000 |WindowsCE |IrDA, Serial port |$1,000 |

Table 11 – Handheld Computing Devices

Ultimately, the poor cost-to-power ratio of these available devices helped drive a decision to centralize the processing. Although the cheapest option found, the GameBoy, could have been modified to create several useful and realistic devices, the time needed to design and build many different cases and displays was deemed prohibitive. Then, too, a strategy for linking these devices and sharing their data would still have to have been found.

Instrument Panels

To create realistic-looking instrument panels for the boat simulation, the hardware team had to investigate pre-built individual gauges, buttons, and other user controls.

The proposed gauge cluster required electrical gauges which can be found at a number of different locations. This electrical requirement is essentially the only restriction for this technology. Initial research immediately showed that Pep Boys, a consumer automotive parts chain store, carried many of the gauges needed (oil pressure, water temperature, water pressure, tachometer, and others) All had common voltage requirements (+12V) and common interfaces for sending to and reading from the dial.

Input components were chosen to show the price range of the intended technology. The team felt that it would be better to use recycled equipment for a more authentic look and feel.

The assumption in this investigation was that the actual engine control would done in a software simulation. The researched instrument panel components thus needed only to interface with the simulation application.

Microcontrollers

The electronics team considered microcontrollers which were small in size and as efficient as possible given the requirements of specialized peripherals. Since early visionary scenarios were concerned with gathering live data from the electrically operated gauges on the boat, A/D (analog to digital) converters on the microcontrollers were deemed necessary. After some research, the PIC16C7x microcontroller family was determined to offer the best options. The PIC16C77 offers the maximum number of A/D converters per microcontroller, as well as on-chip EPROM and RAM. Also desirable was the included I2C protocol which can be used for networking between the various chips and the asynchronous serial port to interface with an on-board computer that would receive the data.

Under early visionary scenarios, it was undecided if the information about the boat will be read in real-time or if it will be entirely virtual (canned) data. However, with the final visionary scenario, gathering real-time data was decided to not be a feasible option. In any case, to display data on the physical gauges, digital data needs to converted into analog signals to be sent to the gauge cluster. This will be accomplished through D/A converters. Since microcontrollers were not found to have sufficient numbers of D/A converters on-chip, stand-alone DAC chips were also considered.

The gauge displays also require communications capabilities which will be covered with I2C networking for inter-controller communication and an asynchronous serial port to communicate with the server computer.

Motion Tracking

The virtual porthole device, as described in the visionary scenario, was untethered and handheld, and yet could understand its position in space relative to the room. In order to implement such a device, various solutions for motion tracking were studied.

|Model |Company |Method |Freq. |DOF |Latency |#Rcvrs |Range |Accuracy |Price |Comments |

|InsideTrak |Polhemus |Magnetic |30Hz |6 |12ms |2 |5ft |0.5in, |$999 |for gaming |

| | | | | | | | |2.0deg | | |

|IsoTrak II |Polhemus |Magnetic |30Hz |6 |20ms |2 |5ft |0.1in, |$2875 |range more like 3 ft |

| | | | | | | | |0.75deg | | |

|FasTrak |Polhemus |Magnetic |30Hz |6 |4ms |4 |10ft |0.03in, |$6050 |range more like 5 ft |

| | | | | | | | |0.15deg | | |

|Flock Of Birds |Ascension |Magnetic |144Hz |6 |N/A |30 |3ft |0.1in, |$2695 |$2200/rcvr |

| | | | | | | | |0.5deg | | |

|FOB/10 |Ascension |Magnetic |144Hz |6 |N/A |30 |10ft |0.1in, |$8090 |$2200/rcvr |

| | | | | | | | |0.5deg | | |

|VR-360 |Angularis |Inertial |500Hz |3 |2ms |1 |20ft |N/A |$9200 |unseen |

|V-scope |Eshed Science &|Ultrasonic |100Hz |3 |2ms |1 |12ft |N/A |$2800 |unseen |

| |Technology | | | | | | | | | |

|Cyber Track |General Reality|Inertial |30Hz |3 | ................
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