This article explains the principles and tools used in arivis Pro VR to set up collaboration sessions that can be shared by multiple users.
Setting up a collaboration session in arivis Pro VR
Principles of collaborative VR
Collaboration sessions in arivis Pro VR work through a combination of tools and methods.
First, an image set is shared with all the users invited to a session and downloaded to each user's machine. When the session is started different users can be either presenters or attendees. Presenters are active handlers of the data and their actions are relayed by the collaboration server to all the other users so that when the presenter moves the dataset it then also moves in the virtual world of all the other participants. A participant can then request to become the presenter and if granted those privileges by the presenter or organizer, this user then becomes the presenter until he relinquishes the presenter role to another user. Users can join and leave a session at will.
Setting up a session
Setting up a collaborative session involves setting up three specific aspects of the session: the dataset to be used and how it will be made available; settings concerning audio communications; and the participants and access.
Logging into the VR Collaboration panel
Login to the Collaboration panel. You'll see a list of sessions you have access to.
Click Add Session (green + sign) to create a new session.
In the session configuration window, you can start by entering a session topic and schedule a date/time for the session. For sessions that don't need a specific time, you can simply select Session starts immediately and the session will be ready as soon as all the other parameters are put in place.
Specifying a dataset
Any SIS file that can be used in arivis Pro VR can be used in a collaborative session.
The collaboration server works by providing a download link to a zipped folder of the SIS file and its dependencies to the clients. This file is then downloaded and unzipped automatically upon login by any user invited to the session.
There are 3 ways to make datasets available for a collaborative session:
- Publish a local image to the collaboration server
Using this method is the simplest in some ways. Just select the SIS file you wish to use and the file will be automatically zipped and uploaded to the server ready to be downloaded as users log in to the collaboration panel. However, this method limits the total zipped file size to 1GB. This includes the SIS and objects file. To use this option, simply click the Browse button to navigate to the SIS file you want to use. - Publish a local image to a shared folder
This method is similar to the first, except that the zipped file is published in a shared folder, typically on a network drive. The advantage of this method is that we are not limited to a maximum zipped file size of 1GB, however, it means that the shared folder must be accessible to all users of the session. To use this option, first, select the file you SIS file you want to use, then select the shared folder you want it uploaded to. - Link a remote image
With this method, you must have already uploaded the images you want to use as a ZIP file to a file-sharing system that offers direct download link options. For example, if using Dropbox, you can right-click on the ZIP file in the Windows Explorer if Dropbox is installed, or go to your Dropbox account in a web browser and select the option to generate a download link. When a download link is generated this way, the link may terminate in …dl=0. Changing the “0” to a “1” will enable direct downloads. Different file-sharing services work differently. Please check support pages for your preferred system to find out more about generating direct download links.
Note that this method will not work if the download requires a login or password.
Participants
The final step in configuring a collaborative session is the selection of participants.
Anyone can be invited to join a collaborative session as long as they have:
- a computer capable of running the software
- arivis Pro VR installed on their computer with an active license (contact support by creating a support ticket at the top of this page to get a download link)
- been set up as a user on the collaboration server (Contact support to have an account created)
- a compatible VR headset
Note that it is possible to join a VR collaborative session if you do not have a VR headset, though the experience will be inherently limited.
Also, while you do not need the Collaboration module on your license to join a session, you do need one to create and host a session.
To add a user to the session, simply type their user name in the first box in the Participants section then click Invite User. If the user account exists the invitation will be sent once the session creation is complete and it will appear automatically when they login to the Collaboration panel. Add more users one-by-one as above. If you then want to remove a user you can do so by selecting them in the invited user field and then click Uninvite Selected User .
Click Save when all participants have been added and all other details of the session have been confirmed.
Editing a session
If any parameters of a session need to be modified for whatever reason, you can do so at any time before the start of the session. To do so, start by selecting the session you want to edit in the Collaboration panel and then click Edit (blue pencil icon).
You will then have the possibility of editing any of the session parameters as above.
The session parameters will then updated on each participant's machine the next time they log on to the Collaboration panel on their system.
Note that changing the session dataset parameters will mean that the dataset will need to be downloaded again by the participants when they log in. Avoid making changes at the last minute to ensure there is enough time for participants to download the data prior to joining the session.