Course Syllabus
CS758 Networked Virtual Environments
Spring 2009
Dr. J. Mark Pullen
(revised
2-1-09)
Address:
Dept
of
Telephone: 703-993-1538
FAX: 703-993-3692
email: mpullen@gmu.edu
Office hours: Mondays 16:00 to 18:00 online
Class meets: Mondays 19:20 to 22:00 (attend in person, online, or by recording)
Course Description
Topics covered in lecture are: networked virtual environment overview, networking technology, network multimedia concepts, virtual simulation concepts, efficiency/performance issues, and online conferencing/virtual classrooms. The project consists of four segments, each covering one aspect of networked virtual environments, plus a final session where one- or two-person teams create a minimally functional networked virtual environment over the Internet using overlay multicast software. The course consists of 31 fifty-minute sessions plus a multi-part Java programming project, which will be presented/discussed in class, and two ninety-minute examinations. Lectures are recorded in Network EducationWare (NEW) format (see below) and are available for playback on a flexible schedule, which is necessary since the course is shared among institutions having different academic calendars.
Pre-requisites
CS555 or other introductory computer networks course, plus the ability to write simple programs in Java.
Textbook
Sandeep Singhal and Michael Zyda, Networked
Virtual Environments, Addison-Wesley, 1999
(this book is out of print; you can get it, used, from Amazon.com; also I have
arranged to reproduce
it as needed, by permission of Zyda)
Computer and Network Requirements
We will communicate mostly by NEW and email. All software required for the course will run on a Windows XP or Vista computer with at least 1 GHz processor, 512MB memory, 100MB free disk space, and modem or Ethernet interface. All software is available for free download. To try NEW, go to http://netlab.gmu.edu/NEW, click on Demo Portal, load and test the software (both LIVE and PLAY). Links to project software will be provided in lectures. NEW will be used with the Xj3D virtual world viewer.
Grading
Individual
project assignments (6; 10% each) 60%
(Projects due by 19:30; late projects
lose 20% per week)
Exams (2; 20% each) 40%
(Missed exams must be coordinated before the exam date with the
instructor)
Schedule (subject to revision)
|
Start (End) Week
Of |
Lectures;
Discussion Date |
Topics |
|
Project
Assignment |
|
26 Jan |
1 to 3 |
networked virtual environment overview: forms of distributed
interaction; example systems; NVE technologies and challenges; origins of NVE |
text ch |
load and test NEW & software |
|
2 Feb |
4 to 9; |
network technology overview: host-to-network
technologies; internetting; multicasting; transport
layer; application protocols; communication architectures |
text ch |
load and test Java software |
|
16 Feb |
10 to 15; |
networked multimedia overview: sound; graphics;
video; priority, rate control, flow control; middleware; exam review |
to be provided |
part 2: |
|
2 Mar |
16; none |
first exam |
text ch |
none |
|
9 Mar |
|
GMU Spring Break |
|
|
|
16 Mar |
17 to 22; |
Visualization; virtual simulation: managing shared state;
stream networking; psychological issues: event resolution; DoD architectures: DIS and HLA |
text ch |
part 3: visualization using VRML |
|
6 Apr |
|
No class – work on project |
|
|
|
13 Apr |
23 to 28; |
efficiency/performance issues: approximating reality:
dead reckoning; threads; real-time rendering; collision detection;
compression and aggregation; area-of-interest management; server architectures |
text ch 6 & 7 |
part 4: linking visualization to received DIS PDUs |
|
27 Apr |
30 to 31; |
online conferencing/teaching: system requirements
& subtle issues; floor control; recording; integrated graphics; network
performance issues |
to be provided |
part 5: collision detection |
|
4 May |
32; |
Integrate individual projects into an NVE; exam
review (group activity) |
N/A |
part 6: multi-avatars and multicast; |
|
11 May |
33; none |
second exam |
text ch |
|