PRess Release: Introducing the Open Virtual Collaboration Environment

Open Source Virtual Worlds Assets Released

AIAI at the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Clever Zebra, is pleased to announce the release today of open source virtual worlds assets for the Open Virtual Collaboration Environment (OpenVCE). The OpenVCE project is an open source initiative that seeks to bring together the benefits of both 3D virtual worlds and Web 2.0 social networking to provide the next generation of collaborative workspaces.

While OpenVCE is initially targeted at helping crisis responders to provide better assistance during emergencies and to support the emerging Whole of Society Crises Response (WoSCR) community, it can be used for a variety of professional, educational and social purposes. Its development has been supported by USJFCOM/Alion, The University of Edinburgh and open source contributors worldwide.

The initial resources released today make available a set of 3D models and other assets within the Second Life^TM virtual world suitable for creating all manner of collaborative environments. The associated social networking website, built on the popular Drupal^TM platform, includes community tools such as blogs, event calendars and forums. The coupling of website and virtual world allows, amongst other things, the easy delivery of presentations in the collaborative space.

“Since launching the Zebra Corporate back in April 2008 we’ve been just itching for a chance to upgrade it,” said Nick Wilson, CEO Clever Zebra. “Working with Austin Tate and the University of Edinburgh has given us an excellent opportunity to take open source collaborative spaces to the next level.”

Professor Austin Tate, director of AIAI, commented “working with like-minded open source developers like Clever Zebra, who share our aim of providing the next generation of intelligent collaborative virtual workspaces, has given the OpenVCE project an early and significant boost. Much more is to come, and we welcome all to join us in the OpenVCE initiative.”

More information and availability of assets: http://openvce.net

Points of Contact:

Nick Wilson, Clever Zebra, http://cleverzebra.com
Austin Tate, AIAI, University of Edinburgh, http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk

Media Coverage

Emergency workers to use 'virtual world' software, The Scotsman,  27 August 2009