The Connection Project: A prototype infrastructure for virtual encounters and meetings

Tom Finholt
Senior Associate Research Scientist
Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work
School of Information
University of Michigan
speaker bio

7:00pm
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
411 West Hall (Ehrlicher Room) directions...

The University of Michigan's School of Information, School of Business Administration, and Media Union propose an experimental facility for the study of virtual co-location that will link multiple sites on the Michigan campus. This effort, called the Connection Project, will span an array of settings, from public video walls to private meeting rooms, connected via a high performance computer network. Users of the environment will include the students, faculty and staff of the University of Michigan and their collaborators located elsewhere.

The principal Connection Project elements include: a) large scale interactive video displays in public places; b) semi-private individual videoconferencing stations near the large scale displays; and c) private meeting rooms with large scale displays. The Connection Project will build on the University's existing experience in the design and evaluation of virtual workplaces, such as collaboratories.In addition, the Connection Project will enable and support a rich array of research, such as elaboration of human-computer interaction paradigms for multi-user applications with life-size interfaces, research in high speed networking, and exploration of the impact of virtual encounters on work relationships and work practices.