The OpenVCE OpenSim Archive (OAR) file provides a collaboration and meeting area. It can be loaded onto any OpenSim region to provide a range of useful facilities for a group or community. The OpenVCE virtual world assets were originally provided by Clever Zebra working with the OpenVCE project at AIAI, University of Edinburgh for an international project in 2009. An improved OAR file has been provided at 27-Feb-2022 via http://openvce.net/downloads/2022/.
OpenVCE and I-Room Assets
The OpenVCE OAR provides a ready to load open source virtual collaboration environment with a range of formal and informal meeting spaces, instrumented meeting rooms, exposition facilities, etc.
The “I-Room” is a simplified version of the “Virtual Space for Intelligent Interaction” with some AI task support connected facilities not enabled.
A demonstration of the OpenVCE region is available on OSGrid via hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OMI/124/128/23
Collaboration Spaces
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Central Plaza – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/124/128/23
Map Board – Teleporters – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/150/100/23
I-Room – Clickers – Virtual Space for Intelligent Interaction hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/128/88/23
Classroom – Clickers – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/82/128/23
Expo Pavilion A – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/100/185/23
Expo Pavilion B – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/156/185/23
Dome – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/50/50/23
Amphitheatre – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/34/222/23
Breakout Rooms – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80OpenVCE/42/214/23
Project Space 1 – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/172/214/23
Project Space 2 – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/235/214/23
Group Suite Yellow – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/245/200/24
Group Suite Blue – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/245/178/24
Hilltop Viewpoint- hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/178/75/44
Cavern Campfire – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/191/65/21
Picnic Tables – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/46/70/22
Offshore Canyon – hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/OpenVCE/240/110/22
Media and Presentation Screens
There are a number of media and presentation screens available.
- The “Clever Zebra Presentation System” in the Amphitheatre can have multiple screens operating on separate channels and uses a laptop to control the slides sent to any screen via the selected channel. The slides are loaded into the laptop and presented in alphabetical order. A slide named “logo” is used for the “off” texture. Control is possible by any avatar that has the selected group active with the default scripts.
- The Freeview Screen can show any slide for textures added into the screen on a manual basis or loop through them. It can also be set to show a wide range of media, web pages, movies, etc. using the single “media texture” of the land plot it is on (set via the “Parcel Details”/”About Land” Media tab for those with appropriate permission). Control is possible by any avatar that has the selected group active with the default scripts.
- The OpenVCE SlideShow screen can present any texture loaded into it, with thumbnails displayed along its bottom edge. This screen is usually open to any user. Control is possible by any avatar that has the selected group active with the default scripts.
- OpenVCE Presenter is a screen which can show media set up within the screen or via URLs from web sites, such as PowerPoint presentations. It requires a web service to operate, so may not be available in all setups.
- Media on a Prim (MOAP) screens can show the contents of a URL including embedded video, etc, useful for YouTube videos including live streams. Usually any user can set the URL though group or social arrangements may be in place to ask you to avoid changing URLs being shared. For web sites where a login is required you usually see your own view personal of the content.
- GraffitiBoard is a simple mechanism for displaying text messages.
Clickers
Voting or acknowledgement “clickers” are available in two of the meeting spaces, in the I-Room and the Classroom. A control button clears the clickers in the specific space.
Voice
If you have a suitable Vivox account, all spaces can be enabled for Vivox 3D positional voice, which will drop off depending on distance from avatar camera. At present on the OSGrid OpenVCE demonstration region, to keep things simple, the spaces are not given boundaries to separate voice channels for different meetings areas, though that can be done if it becomes useful.
Permissions and Land Zones
OpenSim allows for a wide range of permissions for building on regions, controlling objects in world, taking copies of items, etc. These can be on an individual avatar basis, or for members of groups, etc. The object group settings and permissions may need to be adjusted to allow for specific group members or those with specific roles within the group to be given access to screens, etc. Areas of land on a region can be made into separate land plots ort zones to control the propagation of voice and allow for different access and functionality.
Sources and Downloads
The OpenSimulator Archive (OAR) file that allows the entire region and its resources to be duplicated on other OpenSim grids or elsewhere is available via:
Licencing and Attribution
The OpenVCE region models, originally for Second Life and OpenSimulator, are openly and freely available and openly licenced using the permissive GNU Lesser General Public License (Version 3, 29 June 2007). But an alternative licence for those that may prefer it is Creative Commons By-Attribution (CC BY 4.0).
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Attribution:
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Design and Development: Clever Zebra (http://cleverzebra.com)
Inputs from AIAI, University of Edinburgh (Austin Tate, Stephen Potter)
The development of these resources was supported by a grant from the OpenVCE project (http://openvce.net).
The OpenVCE approach makes use of modular components from many other open source contributors and communities, and are available under their respective licences. Most parts are available from their normal open source download site.
