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CS340V is a research course on networked
systems for virtual worlds. Virtual worlds are
networked, simulated environments that bring
geographically-diverse users together. They
simulate physical interaction in
three-dimensional spaces and decouple such
interaction from geographic constraints.
People participate in virtual worlds through
their avatars, manipulating objects in the
virtual world and interacting with other
users. The virtual and physical (real) worlds
may be coupled; objects in the virtual world
can be linked to and can cause action in the
physical world, while interfaces and sensors
in the real world can control objects or
provide data in the virtual world.
For all their
benefits and popularity, today's virtual
worlds are characterized by centralized
control and administration. All physical
resources and administrative controls are
managed by a single entity, e.g. Blizzard for
World of Warcraft or Linden Labs for Second
Life. No interaction is possible between
users in these walled garden virtual worlds,
limiting the ``network effect'' of such
technologies, and innovation is constrained by
the system's central operators.
CS340V focuses on researching the networked
systems that underlie virtual worlds. As a
large, shared experience, virtual world
systems must deal with many of the hardest
problems in system design, including
consistency, fault tolerance, load balancing,
distribution, and security. The class focus is
a research project based on a system
implementation, with weekly class meetings to
discuss a selection of relevant papers.
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