In this study, a remote presentation system that can be used in the shared immersive virtual world was developed This system consists of several elemental technologies, such as the video avatar, a shared database, shared visualization tools and an i-mode interface, and can be used for both meeting-style and demonstration-style presentations. This system was applied to a presentation of collaborative research in the field of fluid dynamics analysis, and the effectiveness was evaluated.

When a 3D object is designed in a virtual world, it is essential that the designer can observe and manipulate the object directly in 3D space. The aim of our study is to develop a virtual workplace in which 3D virtual objects can be observed from various directions and can be touched directly by utilising force feedback. In this paper, we propose a 3D modelling system that consists of an inclined three-screen display and a force feedback device. Using this system, we propose a force feedback grid that extends the concept of 2D CAD manipulation to a grid that can be used in a 3D space, and which integrates with force feedback in order to support modelling in the 3D space. Finally, we report the results of an experiment that we conducted in order to verify the effectiveness of the force feedback grid.

Immersive projection displays such as CABIN and COSMOS have been connected through a broadband network. This kind of network environment is expected to be used as a multimedia virtual laboratory. In particular, video avatar technology has been developed in order to realize high-presence communication in this multimedia virtual laboratory. A video avatar is a computer-synthesized 3D image created using live video. This method has the characteristics of being a natural, accurate and convenient communication tool. In this study, the communication capabilities of the video avatar were experimentally evaluated. In addition, the video avatar technology was applied to several communications applications, such as that of guiding colleagues and undertaking design work in networked immersive projection displays.

The immersive projection display, CABIN was connected to several similar displays via an ATM network. In order to share the virtual world with a high quality of presence, transmitting the user's figure is a key technology. In this study, a 2.5 D video avatar method was developed. The user's figure is captured by stereo cameras and it is superimposed on the shared virtual world as the 2.5 D video avatar. In addition, the pointing accuracy using the 2.5 D video avatar was experimentally evaluated.