Frequently Asked Questions
What is an Access Grid?
The Access Grid is a cutting-edge research technology which allows research groups located at different demographic locations to interactively collaborate using rich audio, multiple video streams, and digital presentation resources (e.g. distributed Power Point, high quality display sharing, etc.). An Access Grid infrastructure is a collection of hardware, software and tools which facilitates group collaborations over the high-speed internet backbone (such as one provided by LONI, Louisiana Optical Network Initiative). Access Grid allows audio and video conferencing, which can employ a version of PowerPoint modified to allow one computer to control slide advances on multiple remote computers, an interactive whiteboard for collaborative editing and more. It links people in virtual space for activities such as teamwork sessions, remote training, and distance education classes.
Access Grid is a multi-institutional worldwide project that was initiated by Argonne National Laboratories, Math and Computer Science, Futures Laboratory, USA. It is essentially an open globalproject aimed at developing a large scale collaborative environment, similar to video-conferencing rooms today but scaled up dramatically in flexibility, functionality, and research and educational impact.
The first Access Grid Node at Louisiana Tech University is located in at the College of Engineering and Science in the Nethken Hall Building (Room no. 234).
Where are other Access Grid Nodes?
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:
Access grid nodes in Louisiana are available at the following institutions:
To see the list of Access Grid Nodes in United States click here:
http://www.accessgrid.org/community/nodes/nodes-us.html.
To see the Global listing of the Access grid nodes click here:
http://www.accessgrid.org/community/nodes/nodes.html.
When are the events available on the Access Grid?
The Global Access Grid Schedule can be obtained from
http://www-fp.mcs.anl.gov/ag/schedule.htm.
Events are being scheduled on the Access Grid all the time.
So what does the Access Grid provide, and how is it different from traditional videoconferencing?
The Access Grid is an integrated environment that supports group-to-group communication using high-speed networks over the Internet. The images of the meeting participants can be viewed in the form of windows on a large screen Additionally, data windows from participants' personal or laptop computers can be integrated into the meeting (e.g. display images, movies, presentations, spreadsheets). We can participate in these collaborative meetings with as simple as a desktop computer or as sophisticated as a large format multimedia display system used in an interactive meeting room. An access-grid framework typically consists of the following key entities:
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Multimedia displays, presentation and interaction environments,
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Interfaces to grid middleware
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Interfaces to visualization environments.
In a typical room-based videoconferencing, H.320 network protocol is used for ISDN-based calls and H.323 for internet-based calls. Millions of these H.323 devices are being used around the world. But the disadvantages of H.320/H.323 are that they have limited bandwidth, and so they are very conservative in what they transmit [1]. They are network friendly but not very application friendly.
Some key differences between an Access Grid and videoconferencing can be summarized as follows [1]:
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In videoconferencing one is limited to one active camera at a time, which is a problem when one wants to show a presenter and their slides and their audience at the same time. But this is possible in an Access Grid.
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It is expensive if three or more sites want to have a collaborative meeting in videoconferencing which is possible in an Access Grid.
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The quality of the audio and video is determined by the bandwidth, and the algorithms used to encode the transmission.
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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.
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There is almost no capacity to integrate more novel devices, such as electronic whiteboards, pen trackers, 3D visualization environments, robotic devices and so on [1].
The Access Grid tries to turn the above on its head. It places no 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. It is trying to develop ways of sharing applications that are more tuned to the requirements of each application. There are also several projects underway to link in more novel 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.
A proper Access Grid node is normally a room with a very large-scale display, with associated computing and audio/video hardware. However, it can be run on a desktop machine, a laptop, and even on a handheld device such as a PDA. One gives up on performance and flexibility in such a setup, but it does allow participation in larger events [1].
How is Access Grid useful for Collaborative Research and Education?
The Access Grid provides a new mode for formal and informal international collaboration between institutions. An Access Grid–enabled room contains video cameras covering several different angles and providing close and wide shots of the space.
It allows us to
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Share Research Developments and methods
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Teach Joint Courses
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Host special Educational Seminars
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Exchange Ideas and join dynamic discussions
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Large scale distributed meetings with colleagues worldwide [1].
References:
[1] http://if.anu.edu.au/AG.html
[2] http://www.accessgrid.org
[3] Childers, L., et al. Access Grid: Immersive Group-to-Group Collaborative Visualization. in Immersive Projection Technology. 2000. Ames, Iowa.
[4] http://ag.mccormick.northwestern.edu/index.html
[5] http://www.vizcan.com/documents/Access%20Grid.pdf
[6] http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/accessgrid/AccessGrid.ppt
[7] http://www.epscorfoundation.org/cdi/ci-workshop/Presentations/ECUAG.ppt
[8] http://www.openmash.org/resources/pubs/2002/167/sti02-final.pdf | 
