CINE is a new type of networked computing environment that exists in an immersive dynamic space instead of in a PC box. Its displays fill entire walls instead of being confined to small, isolating screens.

It is our belief that the mouse and 2D desktop are dated and inadequate. CINE's full-body interfaces will allow richer modes of expression and creative 3D data organization will engage users, inspiring a sense of magic while also making information retrieval and collaboration more efficient.

Similar to the futuristic vision of the *Holodeck, CINE is envisioned as an immersive visualization platform and advanced collaboration space equipped with an intuitive multi-user gesture interface. CINE, however, is not merely an illusionary virtual space, it is a mixed-reality space that augments group experiences by linking people in virtual spaces to people in real spaces.

The above image demonstrates how images flow from real spaces into the virtual space, then allowing users to creatively place these images and compose music in real-time. The image below shows a CAVE environment, and illustrates the shell display system of CINE (though it does not show the gesture interface or dynamic graphics).

The below images show the CAVE and CINE as immersive spaces of varying degrees. Both immersive environments allow collaboration within the computing space.

Goals:

1. To find and study existing immersive systems for group collaboration in the context of entertainment, education, and marketing

2. To identify and evaluate the current problems and benefits inherent in these systems

3. To offer feasible user-centric solutions as well as to suggest future trends

4. To encourage “deeper learning” through more engaging group experiences

5. To stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration and cultural exchange across borders

6. To spark dialog and to create augmented spaces that allow for representation of a greater diversity of views

8. To foster the introduction of new modes of group expression that inspire a sense of magic

9. To offer an open forum for interdisciplinary innovation and the formation of new communities

Test Application

Though it has many applications, we are focusing on CINE's immense potential to enhance group experiences in the context of entertainment and education. More specifically, the first software application we will build to test and demonstrate the functionality of CINE is an artwork and a game called Infinite City II. It is a multi-user game that people can participate in while in the streets, on the Web, or in the actual immersive Holodeck environment.

Inside the environment, Infinite City II is represented as a futuristic city-scape that is meant to suggest new paradigms for 3D desktops and the image database searching. As in other projects like the MIT research project, City of News, CINE uses the city as a metaphor for information organization. For example, in CINE, a group of similar documents could be found in the same building or neighborhood. Yet it is up to the users must play along and decide how to organize the incoming imagery. There are three types of users. "Street Users" explore Manhattan and send cell phone pictures of landmarks or of their favorite parts of the city. "Web Users" monitor the status of incoming image content from webcams and email and can play a role in organizing the content. And "Insiders" operate inside the environment, sorting through the incoming imagery, navigating the virtual city-scape and trying to find the appropriate parts of Manhattan to post their image in (as if plastering billboards and signs).

Those inside the environment find themselves in a flying taxi cab and they are told at the outset that they have been given the responsibility of organizing the images on this new futuristic urban desktop while navigating the space and composing music in real time.

Not only can this application inspire creativity and collaboration, it can also be educational. Another layer of this urban infoscape might take them outside of the game, allowing them to explore various architectural landmarks around Manhattan.

Scenario: When you step into CINE, you are confronted with an immersive installation depicting a futuristic city reminiscent ofManhattant. In approaching a crystal ball at the center of the room, you immediately notice that your body has initiated certain sounds and that, in unison with the person next to you, you can compose music and begin to fly through a 3D memory space filled with photographs sent from people with camera phones in the outside world. A third user then joins you and puts his/her hands near the walls of the environment only to find that these gestures control the scrolling and choosing of certain imagery. Immersive 3D Visualizations with Virtual Physics and Multi-Channel Sound augment the collaborative experience while you place Images on the Walls of Virtual Buildings and Compose Music in Real-Time.

Other Applications for CINE :

1. Collaborative Expression- Immersive Networked Performance Spaces

2. Collaborative Education- Immersive Networked Classrooms & Museum Installations/Environments

3. Collaborative Entertainment- Immersive Marking Techniques & Large-scale games

4. Collaborative Exploration- Research Data Visualization

5. Other Collaborative Endeavors

*See early interactive demos of our virtual city prototype here (larger version- use arrows to navigate) and here (more detailed version- use arrows to navigate and z and x keys to zoom). And see an interactive demo of the CAVE-like display setup for CINE here (use the arrows to rotate around the environment and 1, 2, 3 and 4 keys to change the contents of the environment).

See our current interactive demo here.

Requirements: Mac or PC with Internet Explorer and Virtools Web Player (download here for free).

Here is the original soundtrack we created in Reason and then took samples from for the environment. The music is original with the exception of several voice samples taken from Drum n Bass and regae songs by Aphrodite, Dom & Roland, Buju Banton and others.

See Video Footage of CINE at the IMCexpo at the Chelsea Art Museum.