Academic Media Production Services
Facilities
Access Grid
- What is the Access Grid?
- In simple terms, it is an internet videoconferencing system with several large, high resolution displays and multiple simultaneous camera angles, or views, at each site.
- Each of the views, including those from the local site, appears in its own window on the large screens. Additionally, data windows from any participants' computers can be integrated into the meeting to display images, movies, presentations, etc. (See pictures below)
- In more detail, the Access Grid is an integrated presentation environment which supports large-scale collaborations from distributed meetings, seminars, lectures, to tutorials and training. It provides high-quality, real-time audio and video over high speed networks to facilitate group to group communications, both formal and informal, and interfaces with grid middleware and visualization environments.
- Access Grid Nodes are located throughout the world, primarily at research universities, national laboratories, and corporate research divisions. Some of the key sites of Access Grid include, but not limited to the following::
- What are the details of our access Grid Node?
- Our node had been integrated with the Ford Motor Company Virtual Design Studio, building 9 room 152, located here.This 25 seat classroom was designed for broadcast quality multi-camera recording of both local presentations and Distance Education sessions. In addition to the Access Grid conferencing system, it has a standard H.320/H.323 codec capable of connecting simultaneously with up to 3 additional sites. The room is outfitted with a lectern PC, 4 projection displays, a document camera and whiteboards.
- How do I find out more information or book it?
- You can inquire about rates and scheduling of the AccessGrid node by emailing the Libraries’ Distance Education Acquisition & Delivery group.
- Why would I want to use the Access Grid?
- The access grid allows you to conduct research meetings with participants in distant locations without the need to fly across the country. The NSF is standardizing on the Access Grid for its grant processes. It allows participants to:
- Conduct collaborative Research
- Teach Joint Courses
- Host Special Educational Seminars
- Exchange Ideas and conduct dynamic discussions
- Conduct large scale distributed meetings with colleagues worldwide
- There are over 100 access grid nodes registered in the United States, including many major educational institutions, such as Harvard, Caltech and research facilities such as Los Alamos Labs and Argonne National Labs, where the Access Grid technology was developed.
- How is it different from traditional videoconferencing?
- In conventional videoconferencing, the H.320 network protocol is used for ISDN-based calls and the H.323 protocol for internet-based calls. The main disadvantage of H.320/H.323 devices is their limited bandwidth, which makes them very conservative in what they transmit. They are network friendly but not very application friendly.
- Some key differences between the Access Grid and conventional videoconferencing are:
- Traditional videoconferencing is limited to one active camera at a time, which is a problem when one wants to show a presenter, their slides and the audience all at the same time. But this is possible with the Access Grid.
- Expensive bridging services are required if several sites want to have a collaborative meeting in videoconferencing, however this straightforward and free with the Access Grid.
- The quality of the audio and video is determined by the bandwidth, and the algorithms used to encode the transmission.
- The ability to share applications, such as slideshows, web browsers, animations, simulations, etc. is very restricted. Again, the bandwidth is one issue, but also there are very limited ways in which applications can be generically "shared" across a network.
- There is almost no capacity to integrate more novel devices, such as electronic whiteboards, pen trackers, 3D visualization environments, robotic devices, etc
- The Access Grid approach is more open. It does not place constraints on bandwidth, nor on encoding algorithms. This allows multiple cameras to be used simultaneously, and at higher quality. It uses network-based services (IP multicast) to deliver traffic to multiple sites, without additional hardware required. The number of participants is limited only by your screen real estate and connectivity. It also enables the development of novel ways of sharing applications and devices.
- All of the hardware required is commercial off-the-shelf, and readily available. This means it is easy to adjust each AG node, in hardware terms, to suit each situation, and it is relatively easy to add your own software to it.
- While a standard Access Grid node is a room with large-scale displays and associated computing and audio/video hardware, it can be run on a desktop machine, a laptop, or even on handheld devices, with some sacrifice of performance and flexibility.
