**2. Defining the collaborative virtual workspace landscape**

Over the past few decades, computing sciences has grappled with different approaches to presenting digitally generated content. In recent years the field of virtual reality (VR) has become one of the most intriguing technologies in the area of content presentation. Although most people tend to relate virtual reality to its use in more common entertainment arenas like gaming, the real impacts are in the broader areas of the, "arts, business, communication, design, education, engineering, medicine and many other fields" (Briggs, 1996). Over the last 15 years, John Brigg's prediction has proven to be correct--the biggest impacts of virtual reality technology use are now being felt especially in the business, communication and medical fields (Briggs, 1996). While the virtual world technology is still evolving and developing, it has finally matured to a level where we are routinely implementing it in whole or part in educational and business settings. The issue for businesses seems to be less one of will they implement VR technology in workspaces, but rather more one of how it will be done and in what sequence investment in the requisite technology will be made. This includes considering not just current VR technology but also requires understanding the likely evolution and trajectory of the technology development in the future. Additionally, savvy users should ask themselves now what other technologies are being or might be co-implemented to supplement the virtual environments along the way.

Appropriate planning and scaling of implementation of VR technologies based on knowing your industry goals, your company's historical and future growth patterns, your immediate real needs and your tolerance for risk are all crucial to planning implementation of VR platforms and workspaces. Poor planning for implementation of VR workspaces or any new technology may result in unnecessary risk exposure, cost overruns and simple ineffective use of costly infrastructure that is both unnecessary and/or inefficient. While there are many studies of the implementation of virtual, mixed and augmented reality spaces most or many of those have been focused on education and medical uses (Caudell & Mizell, 1992)(Steuer, 1992) (Barfield & Caudell, 2001) (van Krevelen & Poelman, 2010). Before considering the available studies and their place in the ROTATOR model though it's important to understand exactly what virtual reality is and how it is affected by other technologies like augmented reality. Additionally as cloud computing becomes more widely used in industry we will consider how that storage process along with some other most common storage processes may affect the implementation plan for VR workspaces in a

virtual world implementation is needed to achieve desired business outcomes; and (3) create a practical framework that represents the varying levels of both functionality and capability for establishing and maintaining virtual workspaces. In this chapter the authors propose the ROTATOR model to establish a series of incremental stages that form the foundation for a

As a foundation for this analysis, the concepts, history and use of the terms virtual collaboration and virtual workspaces are also discussed in this article to clarify their import and use in industry. These discussions include a description of the recent evolution of virtual collaborative environments with a focus on the most important online global workforce drivers. The impact of other key technologies with respect to the ROTATOR Model within the virtual workspace arena including cloud computing, semantic web, and

Over the past few decades, computing sciences has grappled with different approaches to presenting digitally generated content. In recent years the field of virtual reality (VR) has become one of the most intriguing technologies in the area of content presentation. Although most people tend to relate virtual reality to its use in more common entertainment arenas like gaming, the real impacts are in the broader areas of the, "arts, business, communication, design, education, engineering, medicine and many other fields" (Briggs, 1996). Over the last 15 years, John Brigg's prediction has proven to be correct--the biggest impacts of virtual reality technology use are now being felt especially in the business, communication and medical fields (Briggs, 1996). While the virtual world technology is still evolving and developing, it has finally matured to a level where we are routinely implementing it in whole or part in educational and business settings. The issue for businesses seems to be less one of will they implement VR technology in workspaces, but rather more one of how it will be done and in what sequence investment in the requisite technology will be made. This includes considering not just current VR technology but also requires understanding the likely evolution and trajectory of the technology development in the future. Additionally, savvy users should ask themselves now what other technologies are being or

**2. Defining the collaborative virtual workspace landscape** 

might be co-implemented to supplement the virtual environments along the way.

Appropriate planning and scaling of implementation of VR technologies based on knowing your industry goals, your company's historical and future growth patterns, your immediate real needs and your tolerance for risk are all crucial to planning implementation of VR platforms and workspaces. Poor planning for implementation of VR workspaces or any new technology may result in unnecessary risk exposure, cost overruns and simple ineffective use of costly infrastructure that is both unnecessary and/or inefficient. While there are many studies of the implementation of virtual, mixed and augmented reality spaces most or many of those have been focused on education and medical uses (Caudell & Mizell, 1992)(Steuer, 1992) (Barfield & Caudell, 2001) (van Krevelen & Poelman, 2010). Before considering the available studies and their place in the ROTATOR model though it's important to understand exactly what virtual reality is and how it is affected by other technologies like augmented reality. Additionally as cloud computing becomes more widely used in industry we will consider how that storage process along with some other most common storage processes may affect the implementation plan for VR workspaces in a

virtual workspace framework.

web 3-D are also discussed.

business setting. Often people mix up virtual reality and augmented reality so let's begin first with clear definitions of those concepts as used in this chapter and for purposes the ROTATOR model of virtual reality and augmented reality implementation.

One expert defines virtual reality as a "three-dimensional, computer generated simulation in which one can navigate around, interact with and be immersed in another environment" (Briggs, 1996). While this definition has been expanded over time to include spaces that are less real in terms of mimicking the real world for business purposes, these business spaces almost always mirror closely in some way a real world setting. Virtual reality, (Milgram & Kishino, 1994) takes a computer-generated world and begins to immerse the user through varying levels of "real" content (Hampshire, Seichter, Grasset, & Billinghurst, 2006) (Haller, Billinghurst, & Thomas, 2007) (Ritsos, Ritsos, & Gougoulis, 2011).

As for augmented reality, various technologies have and continue to be developed that seek to enhance a user's current perception of real world reality in varying degrees. Where virtual reality attempts to replace the entire real world perception with a simulated one the concept of augmented reality takes the user's unmodified or actual reality and begins to infuse computer-generated elements into that real world reality (Alem & Huang, 2011). The computer-generated elements in this environment then in effect 'augment' what the user senses in their real world environment (Kroeker, 2010). So, for example someone working in a design environment and as a support the person might see computer-generated materials that are overlaid by computer projection into the client's landscape environment so the client can see what it would look like if there were palm trees in the west corner of the garden. The most common example of simple augmentation in fact is in TV sports casting where the viewer of an American football game might see lines and graphics depicting the ball placement or movement overlaid on the live TV feed from the game.

As computer graphics and generations become more sophisticated these augmentations are becoming more and more sophisticated as well and are drifting closer to merging with the virtual reality environment in a natural way. For example, as applications become mobile there are new and more challenging options for the use of augmented reality. Some recent examples of mobile applications that augment one's reality include Layar, a 'reality browser' that retrieves point-of-interest data on the basis of GPS, compass, and camera view (Alem & Huang, 2011). GraffittiGeo is another augmented reality application that lets users read and write virtual Twitter-style comments on the walls of restaurants, movies and cafes (Kroeker, 2010). There are additional advanced uses of augmented reality being employed in design and urban renewal work as well; allowing designers to literally sit together at a table and manipulate and overlay computer generated materials and design drawings on say a real world table in front of them using programs like ARUDesigner (Wang, 2009).

Additionally, the concepts of augmentation coincide with real-time presentation that is in semantic context with the real world. So if we had a sliding scale viewpoint of these concepts, we would see the real world reality on one end of the continuum—say to the left with full immersive virtual reality worlds (we have not yet reached the capability to use practically fully immersive virtual reality technologies) on the far other end of the scale say to the far right. Augmented reality would of course fall on that scale somewhere in between but close to real world reality and relatively far away from the virtual reality side of the scale at the other end. However, as augmentation develops it trends closer and closer to the VR side of the equation. One challenge for planning implementation of VR worlds

ROTATOR Model:

A Framework for Building Collaborative Virtual Workspaces 99

expression in communication thereby facilitating increasingly effective communication processes like training programs and client communications, users are finding that they are often costly to implement and fraught with more risk factors than the earlier technologies like Skype and instant messaging (IM). For example, there is a steeper learning curve for use in VR technologies and there are risks associated with storage of information that may be considered meeting or business communications required by law to be housed and accessible. Additionally there may be significant upfront costs for software development or implementation that businesses don't anticipate. This does not mean that use of VR technologies should be avoided by businesses as effective implementation can have far more

advantages then disadvantages when they are properly planned and implemented.

planned and appropriate implementation policies and procedures.

construct and share knowledge (Ghaoui, 2003).

these solutions providing for:

**2.2 Collaborative virtual workspaces: What they are and why we use them** 

Collaboration itself is a recursive process where two or more co-workers, groups or organizations bring their knowledge and experience together by interacting toward a common goal in the best interests of their customers and to improve their organization's success (Martinez-Moyano, 2006) (Wagner, 2005). A virtual synchronous collaboration involves interaction within a virtual space wherein all colleagues, without respect to time or geographic separation, are able to negotiate, discuss, brainstorm, share knowledge, and generally work together to carry out a given work task. These environments aim to provide technology-based solutions where participants can cooperatively work as a group to

Virtual collaborative workspaces provide a common working environment where employees can not only collaborate systematically with corporate computing resources but also communicate with other co-workers and customers. Many of the virtual collaborative environments are 3D virtual environments that allow for multiple users. Recent evolution of virtual collaborative environments has focused heavily on online digital solutions, with

1. **Shifts in training and instruction for business and academia**. Business organizations have begun to shift their training practices using distributed teams in blended approaches (Alavi & Gallupe, 2003) (Simeon, 2003) with the use of online and webbased networking contributing to a boost in what is often referred to as e-Learning. The

We are now beginning to see more extensive adoption by Universities, hospitals and medical companies as well as industry of these VR environments and augmented reality technologies. However, there seems to be little consideration given to the actual choice and implementation of the technologies with regard to their place on the continuum, their longterm viability and evolution, and the requisite return on investment (ROI) of implementation and use. By placing technologies on the proposed ROTATOR continuum and evaluating the goals and needs of an organization, companies can better plan and more efficiently use limited resources for implementation and adoption of VR and augmented technologies in business applications. Additionally, use of the ROTATOR model should aid in illuminating any potential risks associated with their implementation depending on the company and application. Use of the ROTATOR model can also shed light on possible risks associated with use and maintenance of VR and should help minimize risks based on

and/or augmented reality use then is to better understand the characteristics between the two extremes of 3D virtual reality and real world reality with augmented reality spanning the spectrum in between.
