Avatars to run Altadyn business meetings
Altadyn, a company that specializes in 3D virtual-world creation platforms, announced on Tuesday that it has released a new product that will turn business meetings into a living virtual world.
Dubbed Online Meeting, Altadyn's service aims to bridge the gap between 3D virtual worlds and Web conferencing. The service offers basic conferencing features like shared presentations, instant messaging, and live conversation through Skype, but it believes its main selling point is that it uses the company's 3DXplorer virtual platform to create a virtual world that resembles a conference room.
Companies can even build their own room to tailor it to their preferences. Each participant in the online environment is represented by an avatar that can sit at a table, walk around the room, and interact with other avatars that are close.
(Credit:
Altadyn)
"In our experience, when users have more interactive options, the meeting is more entertaining, inclusive, and personal than the standard (teleconference), which participants might approach more passively," Altadyn President Darius Lahoutifard said in a statement. "Users pay more attention to the proceedings and feel more present in the animated context."
To enhance the experience, Online Meeting displays all user content on the projection screen in the virtual conference space, and presenter avatars can use a virtual laser-beam point to highlight important points during the presentation.
(Credit:
Altadyn)
In order to deploy Online Meeting, companies will first need to use Altadyn's 3DXplorer solution, which powers the conference software. Once subscribed, companies will pay $41 per month for use of Online Meeting.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Maybe for the universities?
How would you truely authenticate who is there? Send the intern to the vitural meeting and have them sign in as the boss.
Why would I use this as opposed to a webmeeting?
As explained by Don Reisinger, being in a virtual world is by far more engaging. elearning professional noticed that most people in a 2D elearning sessions at home, get interrupted, answer the phone, etc...but they don't , when in a 3D session, as they feel they are watched , they feel engaged, they feel they are there!
Maybe for the universities? Education, yes, but also sales, marketing, internal meetings, ...
How would you truly authenticate who is there? Send the intern to the virtual meeting and have them sign in as the boss. Same as any online activity. For 3DXplorer Online Meeting, rooms are password protected and open by invitation. But of course the boss can pass the invitation to the intern, and that's his right.
- by JimHorgan November 20, 2008 2:34 PM PST
- OpenLife requires a 39Meg download client!!! Its NOT an enterprise application. No IT department would allow such a thing. Same thing with SL and other virtual worlds. Webex , gotomeeting, netmeeting, are enterprise friendly. Got approved easily and are used in thousands of companies, but they are sad boring 2D apps. 3DXplorer is filling the gap between these 2 fields. Thin and adaptable inside firewalls, while offering the engagement level of the virtual worlds and other 3D spaces. It does not require any installation. Just a browser on a Mac or PC, and you can use it!
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