Two different areas of distributed group work are supported by workflow management systems and real-time collaboration systems. Workflow management systems support work being structured in steps such that each step can be handled with the results of former steps and the expertise of the person working on that step. On the other hand, multimedia collaboration systems are best suited for unstructured group activities. Audiovisual connectivity and shared documents enable flexible group processes. All coordination tasks are left to the conference participants. This paper introduces an integration concept and prototype system which combines the advantages of both types of CSCW-systems. Keywords Workflow Management, Teleconferencing, Conference Assistant, Brokerage, Trading INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION Due to the ongoing globalization many companies are forced to decentralize their organizational structures. This requires an orientation towards business processes derived from an entire vi...

We present a general method for automatic reconstruction of accurate, concise, piecewise smooth surface models from scattered range data. The method can be used in a variety of applications such as reverse engineering—the automatic generation of CAD models from physical objects. Novel aspects of the method are its ability to model surfaces of arbitrary topological type and to recover sharp features such as creases and corners. The method has proven to be effective, as demonstrated by a number of examples using both simulated and real data.