Course Syllabus
CS758 Networked Virtual Environments
Spring 2007
Dr. J. Mark Pullen
Revised 1-20-07
Address:
Dept of Computer Science
Fairfax, VA 22030
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.
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 parts of 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 2000 or XP computer with at least 400 MHz processor, 512MB memory, 50MB 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.
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
22
Jan 1
to 3; 22 Jan networked virtual environment
overview:
forms of distributed interaction; example systems;
NVE technologies and challenges; origins of NVE
29 Jan (29 Jan) no
lecture; 29 Jan XJ3D/Java
installation and orientation
5 Feb (12 Feb) 4 to 9; 12 Feb network technology overview:
host-to-network
technologies; internetting;
multicasting; transport
layer; application protocols; communication
architectures
19
Feb (26 Feb) 10 to 15; 26 Feb networked multimedia overview: sound; graphics;
video; priority, rate control, flow control;
middleware
5
Mar 16;
none first
exam
12
Mar GMU
Spring Break
5 Mar (2 Apr) 17 to 22; 2 Apr visualization;
virtual simulation: managing shared
state; stream networking; psychological issues: event
resolution; DoD architectures: DIS and
HLA
9
Apr (23 Apr) 23 to
29; 23 Apr efficiency/performance issues:
approximating reality:
dead reckoning; threads; real-time rendering;
collision
detection; compression and aggregation; area-of-
interest management; server architectures
30
Apr (30 Apr) 30 to
31; 30 Apr online
conferencing/teaching: system requirements &
subtle issues; floor control; recording; integrated
graphics; network performance issues
7
May (7 May) 32;
NVE validation Integrate
individual projects into an NVE
14
May 33;
none second
exam