Collaborative virtual reality space for analyzing numerical simulation results

One of the most practical objectives for the use of virtual reality (VR) systems in science is facilitating an intuitive understanding of complex physical phenomena. We developed a VR system, called CompleXcope, which can represent a 'real' three-dimensional visual and aural environment. However, communication with other researchers at a remote site (VR space) regarding simulation results is difficult, since this system is very large and is not portable. Therefore, it is important to construct a multilateral communication network system, in which researchers at any remote site are equally able to observe simulation results from any point and take initiative in controlling the display of the image in a virtual environment (VE), and in which the control is simultaneously transmitted to all of the remote sites. In the present paper, we describe a collaborative virtual environment and an example in which the simulation results are applied.