Bridging the gap between fixed and mobile access to an audio/video-enabled large-scale NVE

Abstract

Networked Virtual Environment technology has pushed the boundaries of a number of currently popular applications on the Internet. On-line virtual communities and large-scale on-line games are representative examples of the commercial appeal of the research in this area. However, these applications have not yet made it into the mobile 'scene'. In general, when analyzing the current market for mobile applications, the type of applications that can be distinguished is twofold. On the one end, existing applications, already in use on wired networks, are being extended to include mobile devices as deployment platform. On the other hand, entirely novel applications, targeted specifically towards some of the peculiar aspects of mobile use, have seen the light of day. Deploying networked virtual environments (NVEs) on mobile devices should be considered an oppurtunity to mix these two application types. In this paper, we will show how NVE technology can be extended towards mobile use while retaining backward compatibility with fixed network Setups.