WYSIWIS revised: early experiences with multiuser interfaces

Vistrates: A Component Model for Ubiquitous Analytics

Visualization tools are often specialized for specific tasks, which turns the user's analytical workflow into a fragmented process performed across many tools. In this paper, we present a component model design for data visualization to promote modular designs of visualization tools that enhance their analytical scope. Rather than fragmenting tasks across tools, the component model supports unification, where components-the building blocks of this model-can be assembled to support a wide range of tasks. Furthermore, the model also provides additional key properties, such as support for collaboration, sharing across multiple devices, and adaptive usage depending on expertise, from creating visualizations using dropdown menus, through instantiating components, to actually modifying components or creating entirely new ones from scratch using JavaScript or Python source code. To realize our model, we introduce VISTRATES, a literate computing platform for developing, assembling, and sharing visualization components. From a visualization perspective, Vistrates features cross-cutting components for visual representations, interaction, collaboration, and device responsiveness maintained in a component repository. From a development perspective, Vistrates offers a collaborative programming environment where novices and experts alike can compose component pipelines for specific analytical activities. Finally, we present several Vistrates use cases that span the full range of the classic "anytime" and "anywhere" motto for ubiquitous analysis: from mobile and on-the-go usage, through office settings, to collaborative smart environments covering a variety of tasks and devices.

Technology for Computer-Supported Meetings

The emerging field of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) encompasses many different aspects of group work, from face-to-face meetings to video-conferences to asynchronous collaboration. Support for meetings as one form of group work has been the object of some important early CSCW research. Several existing facilities have been designed for computer-supported face to face meetings using advanced computer hardware, software and audio/visual equipment. Technology for supporting other aspects of CSCW is also beginning to emerge. Plans for the Collaboration Technology project, a joint venture between Andersen Consulting, The University of Michigan and Steelcase, Inc., include flexible and friendly computer support for meetings and for other aspects of group work.

Munin: A Peer-to-Peer Middleware for Ubiquitous Analytics and Visualization Spaces

We present Munin, a software framework for building ubiquitous analytics environments consisting of multiple input and output surfaces, such as tabletop displays, wall-mounted displays, and mobile devices. Munin utilizes a service-based model where each device provides one or more dynamically loaded services for input, display, or computation. Using a peer-to-peer model for communication, it leverages IP multicast to replicate the shared state among the peers. Input is handled through a shared event channel that lets input and output devices be fully decoupled. It also provides a data-driven scene graph to delegate rendering to peers, thus creating a robust, fault-tolerant, decentralized system. In this paper, we describe Munin's general design and architecture, provide several examples of how we are using the framework for ubiquitous analytics and visualization, and present a case study on building a Munin assembly for multidimensional visualization. We also present performance results and anecdotal user feedback for the framework that suggests that combining a service-oriented, data-driven model with middleware support for data sharing and event handling eases the design and execution of high performance distributed visualizations.

Telematics enabled virtual simulation system for radiation treatment planning

In this paper, GALENOS, a Telematics Enabled Virtual Simulation System for Radiation Treatment Planning (RTP) is described. The design architecture of GALENOS is in accordance with the dual aim of virtual simulation of RTP, i.e. to allow (a) delineation of target volume and critical organs, and (b) placement of irradiation fields. An important feature of GALENOS is the possibility for on-line tele-collaboration between health care professionals under a secure framework. The advantages of GALENOS include elimination of patient transfers between departments and health care institutions as well as availability of patient data at sites different than those of his/her physical presence.

Real-time collaborative environment for radiation treatment planning virtual simulation

A virtual simulation (VS) system is a software system that enables the delineation of anatomical structures, and the placement of irradiation fields for the purpose of radiation treatment planning, making use of patient's tomographic data, instead of the real patient. Since patient's tomographic data can be communicated between distinct radiotherapy departments, collaborative work on VS, connecting remote health care professionals, becomes feasible. In this paper, an environment enabling real-time collaboration on VS is presented. The environment architecture is based on both offline and online communication of data under a secure framework and can be directly integrated into the infrastructure of a radiotherapy department. The online collaboration relies on the simultaneous execution of all actions at both collaborating sites, and prerequisites the offline communication of the data set on which the collaboration will be performed. Analytical description of the custom-made layered service, which supports the offline communication is given, along with a detailed presentation of the secure management of messages, which enables the real-time collaboration. The technical evaluation of the environment highlights the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, since real-time secure collaboration on VS is achieved.

Openness in shared hypermedia workspaces

Group work requires much flexibility regarding both the organization of shared workspaces and the organization of collaborative work. Shared hypermedia workspaces can provide this flexibility. However, this requires the provision of openness with respect to both the hypermedia workspace and the collaboration support offered in such a collaborative open hypermedia system. In this paper we address the issue of how to identify key requirements of open collaborative hypermedia systems. We start with a scenario in order to come up with a preliminary set of requirements. We then apply a regular schema to generate a more comprehensive set of requirements for open collaborative hypermedia systems.

A telemedicine system for remote cooperative medical imaging diagnosis

Telemedicine is changing the classical form of health care delivery, by providing efficient solutions to an increasing number of new situations: here we consider those which require some type of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) between health care professionals located in different clinical sites. This paper presents the design and development of a telemedicine system for remote computer-supported cooperative medical imaging diagnosis. The main and novel component of our system is a new CSCW distributed architecture, comprised by a collaborative toolkit to add audioconferencing, telepointing, window sharing, user's coordination and application synchronization facilities, either to existing or new medical imaging diagnosis applications. In comparison with existing CSCW products, mainly based on centralized architectures, our distributed toolkit is specially designed for telemedicine applications: to allow different levels of sharing between participants, to improve user feedback in highly interactive user interfaces, and to optimize the required communication bandwidth in order to implement a telemedicine CSCW application on almost any telecommunication network. This telemedicine CSCW system has been applied to build a cooperative medical imaging diagnosis application, in which two doctors, located in different hospitals, need to achieve a cooperative diagnosis on haemodynamic studies using cardiac angiography images. The design of the graphical user interface for this kind of telemedicine CSCW systems, a critical component which conforms any telemedicine application, is also addressed with a new methodological approach, to assure the system usability and final user acceptance. The telemedicine cardiac angiography pilot has been implemented, tested and evaluated within the Research Project 'FEST-Framework for European Services in Telemedicine' funded by EU AIM Programme.

An annotated bibliography of computer supported cooperative work

Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) is a new multi-disciplinary field with roots in many disciplines. Due to the area's youth and diversity, few specialized books or journals are available, and articles are scattered amongst diverse journals, proceedings and technical reports. Building a CSCW reference library is particularly demanding, for it is difficult for the new researcher to discover relevant documents. To aid this task, this article compiles, lists and annotates some of the current research in computer supported cooperative work into a bibliography. Over 300 references are included.

Distributed form management

An open architecture for distributed form management is described. The model employs object-orientation in describing organizational units as well as individual users as entities with uniform external interfaces. Each entity is represented by an autonomous user agent which operates on local and migrating forms . The form concept encapsulates data, layout, and rules into a unified object which is the basic unit of presentation, processing, storage, and communication. All functionality of the system appears in rules of form classes and all data in instances of these form classes. This approach applies the techniques of computer supported cooperative work to provide a flexible mechanism for interpersonal, intraoffice, and interoffice procedures. The main challenge is to organize the collaboration without affecting the autonomy of individual user agents. In this respect, the contribution of the model is the mechanism for form migration. The dynamic integration of forms into different agents is solved with the coordinated interchange of form classes. A specific inheritance scheme provides the desired flexibility by separating the interrelated private and public form operations within each agent. The paper first describes the architecture by starting from a single agent and moving progressively towards a set of cooperating agents. Then an agent implementation called PAGES is described, experiences reported, and the open issues discussed. A typical distributed ordering procedure is used as an example throughout the text.

Cooperating knowledge-based assistants for the office

This paper presents an approach to high-level support of office workers by embedding office knowledge in a network of distributed cooperating knowledge-based or expert “assistants” and servers. These knowledge-based systems incorporate both factual and procedural knowledge and are capable of making use of existing conventional office technology. They constitute a form of computer-supported cooperative work. We describe a common architecture for our assistants and servers that incorporates several key features. Our systems are capable of supporting concurrent multiple consultations or tasks and have facilities for the interruption and resumption of consultations as appropriate. The various assistants and servers, which may reside on different machines, cooperate in solving problems or completing tasks by passing messages. We propose a taxonomy of the general office knowledge normally used by office workers, together with a frame and rule-based knowledge representation scheme. We also describe an experimental system, written in PROLOG, that incorporates the above design principles.