NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 19930010711: NASA scientific and technical information program multimedia initiative

12 Pages·0.71 MB·English

by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

NASA Technical Memorandum 108982
ho
NASA Scientific and Technical
Information Program
Multimedia Initiative
G. Cotter and K. Kaye
(NASA-TM-I08982) NASA SCIENTIFIC N93-19900
AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION PROGRAM
MULTIMEDIA INITIATIVE (NASA) 10
Uncla$
G3/82 0150550
SCIENTIFIC
TECHNICA
INFORMATION
Z
STI PROGRAM MULTIMEDIA INITIATIVE
Gladys A. Cotter
Sckntific and Teclmical Information Program Director
Karen Kaye
Multimedia Initiative Project Manager
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Scientific and Technical lnfmunatiou Program
Wasldngtoa, DC 20546
Abstract canbe gained throughthe use of multimedia. The
NewMedia magazine information visionaries have
ThispaperrelatetsheexperiencoeftheNASA summarized mulfimedia's impact inthe following
ScientifaincdTechnicaIlnformatioPnrogramin terms:"roday thepower tofundamentally change the
introducinmgultimediwaithintheSTIProgram way we communicate andlearn isatour fingertips.
framework. A discussioonfmul_mediatechnology is Multiple media - text, graphics, sound, and motion -
included toprovide context forthe STIProgrameffort. have beenintegrattehdroughdigital technology to
The STIProgram's Multimedia Initiative isdiscussed deliver acommunication experience thatdramatically
in detaiL Pmallels anddifferences between multimedia aitexs the way people give and receive information."
andwaditional infommtion systems projectdevelop- They go onto emphasize the "dawning of the age of
ment arehighlighted. Challenges facedby the program multimedia - forthe people andby the people. In
in initiatingitsmultimediparoject aresummarized business, govenunent, education, and social realms,
along withlessons learned. Thepaperconcludes with a ueraendons brealahmeghs incommunication and
synopsis of thebenefits the programhopes toprovide interactive information re_evai arebeing achieved
itsusers throughthe introduction of multimedia every day." 4
illustrated byexamples of successful multimedia
projects. There isno shortage of commentary on how
multimedia will revolutionize Ourexistence. The
STI Program Multimedia Initiative potential impact of multimedia hasbeen compared
individually tothatof the personal computer, the
NASA's Scientific andTechnicaIlnformation television and theprintinpgress.IBM hascalled
(ST1r) Program isresponsible forproviding "the widest multimedia arevolution incommunications that
practicable andapi_pdate dissemination" of informa- combines theaudiovisual power of television, the
tionconcerning NASA activities and_ results. publishinpgower of theprintinpgressandthe interac-
However, the currentSTIProgram isbasedupon a tivepowerofthecomputer. Intchlascalledmultimedia
technology infrasmJcun_assembled inthe mid1960's themarriageof the personal computer andthe televi-
to late 1970's. Today, the Program's customers within donthatwillresult ina system thatisasrealistically
NASA areutilizing multimedia indocumenting their visual and easy to useasTV, withall theresponsive-
scientific and technical endeavors. Thus, faced with the hessandprocessing capability of today's most powerful
needtocontinue toserve the aerospace community in deslaop computers. Intelgoes on tosay that
today's information environment, NASA°s STI multimediarelxesents anew communications medium
Programis currentlyrevamping itsproductsand thatwill dramatically affect how we process anduse
services tokeep pace withtechnology. The STI information, andmultimedia also represents amajor
ProgramMultimedia Initiative isrepresenmtlve of the business opportunityfor those preparedtoembrace the
Program's re-engineering effort. technology anddeliver itinto the handsof the users.
Background Infact, multimeditaechnologiehasverecendy
converged atapricepoint thatmakes multimedia a
Since multimedia hasbecome thecomputer realisticoption forscientific, technical and engineering
bm_word of the 1990's, most people have heardabout information presentation. Inacknowledging the ever-
multimedia, butnoteveryone hasadea_"ideaof what increasing use of multimedia forthepresentation of
constitutes amultimedia presentation orwhat benefit information, the STIProgram isworking to integrate
multimedtiaechnologiienstoitsproductasndservices. whose origin predatedthatof multimedia, could
WithinNASA, multimedia infatuation _mlion is correctly bedescribed usmultimedia. The distinction
needed toadequately dcliv_ scientific andtechnical most often made between older technologies like
infommfion that isrichinpragnuuic content. The television and cmTent-daymultimedia takes into
pragnm_ information aspects might include items such account the fact that multimedia applications canbe
as data,computer models, scientific visualizations, classified into several types basedupon the user's level
software, a video recordof an experiment, formulae, of interaction withthe appfication. In thisway, one
text, andgraphics. Key toadequatedcllvc=yof such realizes thatthe more advanced forms of multimedia,
information isitsintegration intoaunified multimedia whichallow greater userinteraction, requirecomputer
whole from which the usercaneasily getthe infmma- suppc_ These computer-supported applications, listed
don wanted in the form wanted. Thus, themost us theinteractive andparticipative application types in
obvious beaelit tomultimedia information presentation Table 1,arethose thataremost often thought of as
islhe ability mdeliver information initsmost effective multimedia.
formatsothattbexcarenobarriersto information
Table #1
understanding.
Terminology ApplicationType User Interaction Example
Narrative Watch & listen Television
In 1978, Nicholas Ncgroponte, ascientist atM1Ts
Media Laboratory,envisioned the fusion of the broad- Interactive Choose &do Columbus
cast,printpublishing, andcomputer industriesas the Participative Contribute & BritishFilm
direction of futurecommunication. Since thenthe create Institute
information industry hasloosely used!he texmmulti-
media toreferto those often computer-driven npplica-
tionshaving auserinterface allowing access tounified Although the above definitions areprecise enough
content including video, audio, photographic images, todistinguish between types of multimedia applica-
graphics, numbers,and text. By thisdefinition, early tions, some confusion remains because multimedia and
television, which did notemploy computer lechnology otherterms suchas hypermedia, intermedia, and
Table #2
Umbrella Project
STI Program Multimedia Initiative
Focus: Coordination &trackingofmultimedia activities
Future: Information seton NASA STI Programmultimedia projects
Subprolect Subproject Subproject
Non-print GlobalChange Performance Support System
Focus: Handling Focus:Grade Focus: Provide multimedia
and dissemination 13andabove performance supportat
of non-print Interactive the desktop for STI staff
multimedia
presentationof
NASA GiobalChange
Data and Information
(Prototype)
Future: In-house Future: Joint Future: Provide multimedia
reproduction Govemmerd/ performance support atthe
facilityfor Industryproject desktopfor NASA scientists
multiple formats inaspecificdiscipline
interactive multimedia areoften used intca'changnbly, TheSTIProgramMultimedia Initiative wig
even thoughanargumentcan bemade todiffenmtiate provide the mechanism forthe coordination and
thc terms based upm theirodgiml meaning. For trackingof STIProgrammultimedia activities. The
instance, hypermedia was originally thoughtof asa Multimedia InitiativeProject hasbeen defined to
subset of multimedia thatwas defin_ by thewesence supportthe following STI Programstrategic planning
of anonhierarchical, nonlinear linkstnJctm_. 6 goa
Brown University's Institute forResearch inInforma-
tionScholarship (IRIS) multi-user "hypermedia" , Expandparticipacnomtmunity.
system was named"In_" Interactive multime- • Improve currentoperations.
diaoriginated in theinteraative videodisc field asan • Become integral toNASA Research &
interactive trainingtenn. Interactive was used to Development. I
indicate thatthe applicationresponds inrealtime tothe
user's direction. Although the te_n "multimedia" is Inaddition, the Multimedia Initiative recognizes
used mc_ often thantheother terms,tbe 1993 these objectives:
Microsoft InternationalConference on Multimedia and
CD-ROM will becalled "Intennedia." • Vez_y the economic and technical feasibility of
delivering multimedia information within the
Tk ProJect sTtPmgramframewoe,.
• Makeapositiveeducationalandinformational
TheSTIProgramMultimedia Initiative isauser- impact.
drivenumbrellaproject thatcurrently includes three • Developanexploitable capability.
subprojectTsh.esubwojectasretheNon-wintProJect,
theGlobal Change Project and thePerformance All of the Multimedia Initiative projects must
SupportSystem. Project relationships and objectives follow standardtop-down information projecdtevelop-
arcspelled ontin Table2. All three projects address mentprocedures beginning withadesign phase which
STI Programareas.'_atcanbere-mgineeredatreason- includes userrequirements. However, inaddition tothe
ablecost throughthe introduction of multimediato programming andtesting anddocumentation phases
provide needed services tothe ese_"community. commontoinfarmationsystemsprojects, the
J
IIOCUDENI'AllGM
Figure 1. Phases of Multimedia Application Development
multimedia contentmay necessitate aproduction phase November of 1992. This projectwill enable the STI
duringwhichaudio and video areproducedorcol- Programtoeffectively handlenon-printinanopera-
lected. tionalWototype mode inthe first quarterof 1993. The
Non-wint projectfollowed a standardinformation
During thedesign phase, majorfactorsaffecting system design methodology. User requirements were
design decisions areanalyzed including target audience, gathered throughatelephone survey and
setting, and subject. Itisin thisdesign phasethatthe videoteleconferences withanadvisory group with
problems involved incurrentattempts toconvey the NASA-wide representation. The project hasbeen
information areaddressed intea_u of how multimedia proceeding according toplanandisaheadof projected
can solve thecommunicafim problem. Thesetting or cvmplelion datefor several milestones. The initial
wherethe application will beused isalso addressed in focus of the Non-print ProJecitsvideomaterial. As a
termsof where andforhow long use_ arelikely to result of thiswoject, The STIProgram's Center for
interactwiththe application. During thisstage, afront- Aerospace Information (CASI) will become thecentral
endanalysis document thatissimilartoarequirements repository forNASA-produced videos. TheCASI will
analysis document isproduced toguide design deci- beabletoarchive andreplicate videos forProgram
sions. Thesubject of the application determines the users ona mass basis asearly asfirst quarter1993. The
content anddrives some of thedesign decisions suchas NASA STIProgramwill provide handlingand dissemi-
theresolution necessary forimages orthequality level nationof othervarieties ofnon-print onamore limited
of theaudio. basis. TheProgram will alsobegin to serve asthe
source forvideotapes of NASA Select television
Theprogramming, testing, anddocumentation programsin 1993. Inconjunction withthe Non-print
phases of applicationdesign can follow information Project, STIProgram staff members haveparticipated
system development procedures. Inaddition, the same intheCENDI Interagency StandardsWorking Group
productionpmccdmcsusedbymevideoindusu'ymay for theHandling of Video andOtherNon-print STI.
beneeded forthe video component of themultimedia This grouphasrecently completed asetof guidelines
appficatkm. Since stm3,_g, shooting, andediting fornon-printinformation thatdetailsitems such as
of video materialisalien tomost information system minimal acceptable quality, packaging, etc.
specialists, the multiple types ofmedia thatmust be
produced andintegrated intoa multimedia application Performance SupportSystem
necessitate the _ ofaproject development
team withexpertise from different disciplines. ThePerformance SupportSystem Project Plan was
completed inJanuary,1992. ThePerformance Support
Accomplishments to Date System will utilize arapidprototyping methodology to
provide comprehensive information supportatthe
Although the ST[ProgramMultimedia Initiative deskmptoSTIProgramstaffmembers.Asdefinedby
Project Planwas written in Juneof 1991, the woject GloriaGefy, apeff(mnance supportsystem authority,
lost aninitial battle forscarce wogram aneaectronpiecrformance supportsystem isaninte-
resulting intheproject's being placedon holdfora gratedelectronic environmentthatisavailable toand
periodof over one year. Theprojectwas revitalized in easily accessible by each staff member andisstr_tured
Januaryof 1992 when itbecame apparent thatthe toprovide immediatei,ndividualizone-dline access to
NASA scientific communiWwas moving rapidlyinto thefullrange of information, software, guidance,
multimedia publishing. Thisled the STIProgramto advice andassistance, data,images, took, and assess-
recognize thatitneeded torapidlydevelop a meritandmonitoring systems topermitjob perfor-
multimedia capabilities base inordertoeffectively mance withminimal suppo_ and intervention byothers.
perform itsmission of disseminating information. The TheSTI Pedcrmance SupportSystem projectextends
projectplanwas updatedtoreflect curremPtogrmn thisdefinition toinclude animatedimages, fullmotion
direction, andthree introdect_ seblrojects we_ video, the pre,sentalion ofinformation from different
iden_'_d and__ perspectives, andsimulation thatcanportrayandtest
conflicting theories. Thisproject iscurrendy entering
Non-PrintProject the design stage where thedetails of carrying outthe
projectplanwill bedefined. Central tothe concept of
TheNon-print Project was given highest priority the STIProgramPerfcrmance SupportSystem isthe
andconsequently hasreceived the most attentionto fact thatfew people prefertoreadtext from the current
date. TheNon-print ProjectPlan was finalized in generation ofcomputer screens. Thus, the project
4
emphasisisbaseodn tbe fact that_eing images md value tobeadded bymultimediadeliveroyfselected
hearingsounds is thenaturalway forpeople toreceive global change infm'mafionT.hefollow-on phase could
information. 1"hisproject will provide aninitial proof- address acomwebe_ive globalchangesystemthatwill
of-cocgept fordelivery ofmultimedia information to benefiutniversisttyudmtsandprofessionraelsearchers.
users within the STIProgramframework. Thetimeline Thisprojecwtouldutilizaeglobalchangecontent
fortheproject will begin aftertherevivalof the advisor andus_ outreach specialists in addidon tothe
development hardwareandsoftware thatwill be regularproject team members. Discussions with
discussed later. A laterphaseoftbe project will extend indust_ multimedia developers who haveexpressed
theinitial prototype toprovide performance SUl_Onfor inter_ inajoint venture forthisproject ale underway.
NASA scientists ina specific discipline. Thediscipline
ofchoicewillbedetermineidnconjunction with the Multimedia Project Development Team
STIProgramUser's Group.
TheNASA STIProgramMultimedia Project
GlobalChangeProject Development Team todate includes two individuals
with expertise invideo production, one individual with
TheNASA STIProgramGlobalChangeProjecits graphicsproduction expertise, one withcommunica-
thenewestoftheSTIProgramMultimediaInitiative tionsandmarketing expertise, andone withproject
projectsT.hecurrenptroJecatctivitiyscentereudpon management andcomputer programmingexpertise.
userdiscussioannsddevelopmentofacomwehensive Althoughoneoftenreadsofthedifficulmtuyltimedia
projectplan. Although thisprojectisstillon the projectteamshaveincommunicatingwith each oth_,
drawingboard, italso hasthe grealest poumtial for thishasnotbeea aproblem thus far. However, it is
benefit throughmultimedia information delivery. interesting tonote thevastly different perspectives that
isbecause global change dataincludes _ents the team members bringtotheeffort thatclearly arises
Dom multiple instruments both simultaneously andover fromthedifferednitsciplinaensdbusinescsultures
time. Researchezs saythatthese disparatedataeach from which they come. As isoftenthecase, the video
revealsome aspect of aphysical phenomenon. Further people clearly emphasize content, which isof primary
studyof suchdatamay involvceombiningthedatawith importaw,e in amultimedia g_pik.afion, whereas the
empirical models or numerical simulations. Inaddition, comlmtm"pmgrmmner may be overheard mentioning
correlative dataanalysis both implies looking at time-based video data. Thegroup isworking to make
different datasets inthe same way andrequires their diffc_ringbackgrounds an asset to theprojecsto
multiple ways tostudy the sameordifferent data. thattheycanpull togeth_ todeliver effective STI
Visualization of earthscience datasuchasglobal Programmultimedia applications.
changedatasetspmvid_ theresearchewrithakey to
understanding multiparameter datasets.v Such Clmllen_es
information can befurtherenhanced through the useof
multimedia. Rather thanviewing one or several videos, As withmost new information technology applica-
dealingwith simulationsoftwarev,iewing images and theNASA STIProgram Multimedia Initiative is
dam,andreading a teclmical relx_ theresearch_ can facing anumber ofdifficult challenges thatcan impact
bepresented with the infot_aation asaunified whole the success ofthe projecL To date, some of the
throughtheuse of multimedia. Alternately, astechnol- challenges havebeen ovew,ome, butothers still present
ogy advartcus,the researcher could beprovided witha difficulty.
comprehensive fully immersive virtualreality system.
CulturalandOrganizational
TheSTIProgram Global Change projects goal isto
provide global change information inmultimedia Themost immediate challenge to theinuxxluction
formattouniversity level andbeyond w_earcher_ The of multimedia technology into the STIProgram was
projectconcept isbased on thepremise thatmultimedia encouate_! at the Multimedia Initiative project's birth.
canaddvalue andfoster understandingof global Inordertobegin work on theprojectafter itwas
change data. Inaddition, the huge volume of global _ the project hadmbe markea_dwimin
changeinformatioanvailablceanbemademore the5"1'IProgrambecause staff who were oriented to
accessible to_ throughaneasily navigable work with patx='-basedinformation needed torecon-
multimedia user interface. Tbelust phaseof this sidertheirjob functions. Staff members ranthe gamut
projectwill deliver aWoaxyl_ multimedia global fromearly adoptersof new technology tothose who
changeinformation system that will demousuate the wm not yettruly comformbie wilh the oft"_ automa-
tionnetwork thathadbeenintroducedseveral years alsoaddressing compatibility issues. However,in
ago. In themiddle was alargegroupthatwas quite today's marketplace, thepurchaser of multimedia
comfortable withthe way things were andwasnot able equipment cannot expect toplay applications developed
tosee the value of committing programresources to on othersystems. Them hasbeen ahistoryof the
suc-ce.ssfulportingof applicalions by developers Dora
something thatappearedtobeafuturistic technology
l_c multimedia. The_ efforts atmarkcting the MAC toPC,andthere area few interactive multimedia
application authoringsystems thatfacilitate such
Multimedia Initiative internallydid notsucceed end the
transfea',butin thecune_t marketplace, one cannot
resources necessary togo forwardwiththe woject were
expect tointerchange multimedia infornmtion.
notallocated. However, the early Multimedia Initiative
staffmembers wereconfident thatmultimedia technol-
Thestandardsissue became amajorchallenge for
ogy would berequiredby theProgramin theshort-term
the STIProgramMultimeAia Initiativebecause lackof
andcondnued tomake thecase. Eventually after
standards meant thatthedevelopment platform choice
muldple documents, confctcw, e lXesentadons, and
would also dictate the delivery platform choice.
attemptastrobustcost-benefaniatlyses, the project
Results of theNASA STIProgram usersurvey indi-
appearedtobegaining momentum. Thereal keys m catedthatproviding initialapplications thatcould run
gaining staff supportwereptqesenmdonsfromseveral onboth Macintosh systems (MACs) andIBM orIBM
NASA Centersshowingthattheyweremovinginto compatiblPeersonaClomputerSystems(PCs)wouldbe
multimedina_dly coupledwithademonsuationofthe for theProgram usercommunity,withlater
very s_ multimedia application, "Columbus." development plannedtobeavailable on SUN systems
Theseilems markedaturningpointandduringthenext as welL Although thestaff developed acapabilities
budget iteration,limited funding was madeavailable for matrixf_"the systems available atthe time, the
theproject. impmlant issue of which system would gain the most
usersov_ timecould notbe_ because there
As theMultimediaInitiativeanditssubwojects wasnoway topredicwtithcertaintwyhich competing
haveprogressed, theavailability ofproject implementa- mulfimeAiaformat would become the defacto standard.
lion plansandstandardinformation system life cycle Even so,lhe STIProgramdevelopment platform was
documentation fitting the design framework reference chosen showy after theproject was revitalized in
model hasserved tolendcredibility totheMultimedia Januaryof 1992, At thattime, there were multiple
InitiatisvueiteofprojectsI.tisasthoughem presence multimedia platform development choicess,omeof
of familiar documentation made these somewhat which were geared toward vm'ydifferent end-us_
markets. Apple hadnot yetreleased itsQuickTune
unfamiliarprojects acceptable totraditionalsystem
extension tothe Macintosh system software, andthe
designers.
Motion Picture Experts Group(MPEG) compression
standard was stillbeingdefined. New productreleases
Standards
andproductretiremmts were theo_kr of the day.In
the eyes of theMultimedia Initiative project staff
There iscurrentlyno standardformultimedia since
members who were choosing thesystem components, a
it istheblending of many differenttechnologies
more volatile marketplace would be impossible tofred.
provided byadiverse group of vendors fzom the very
differeat marketareasofcomputers andhome elecuon- Inspitoefthevolatile marketplace andthe lackof
ks. Howcvcz, theInteractive Multimedia Association standardtsh,eMultimediaInitiatisvteafafppfieda
(IMA)begananInteractiMvueltimediaAssociation modifiedve_ion of the HighTechnologyMan-
Committee Compatibility Project in 1988 todevelop Machine Performance Evaluation Plan (HTPE),
recommendations thatwould permit multimedia developed atLawrence Live_ore National Laboratory,
applications portabilityacross avariety of hardware/ tothe multimedia hardwareJsoftwafe selection process
software platforms. Thecommittee beganby focusing andmade arecommendation thatspecific hardwareand
on interactive video applications intheMS-DOS software beprocuredinitially with latexprocurements
environment withthe objective of laterexlmndin8 their tofollow asthemarketplw.e settled. The initial
initiatives toother operating systems andmultimedia hardwareandsoftwm'echosen isminimalbutfits within
technologies. The IMA Compeu'oility Projecthas thebedset andisbeing _ with Iheunderstand-
formed anumberof committees toaddress specific ingemt anadditional procurement will come later. In
several cases, hardwareorsoftware hasbeenretireodr
compau'oility issues. 3
superseded bynewer products. Insw,hinstances, the
replacement item ispresented inthe table. All compo-
Other groups inch asthe InstituteofElectronic and
heats will notnecessarily res/de on thesame computer.
Electrical Engineers ComputingSociety(IEEF._S)are
r
Table #3 Application _velopmmt wouldbeI¢Ipedbyallowing
team memberstoshax¢componentsofthedevelopment
STI Program Multimedia Components system. Aldmugh netwoddng multimedia atthe Local
AxcaNetwork(LAN)levelhasbeenaccomplishebdy
Hardware Key Software groupssuchasStarligNhettworks,,theSTIProoam's
LAN isbuilutpon_ segmentsandsh¢,_l
Apple Quadra 950 Macromind Suite of bandwidth.Thecutoutsystemcannotsupportmultiple
with32 Mb RAM, Productsincluding streamsofvideoinformationA.lthoughtheproject
2 Mb VRAM, 1.2 Gb Director,Accelerator, team c_mdevelop initial applications without benefit of
External Hard Disk 3-D, Mediamaker, etc. network information exchange, the success of the
Performance SupportSystem will hinge upon the
System 7.0 abilittyodelivetrheinformatioonvertheLAN. Since
QuickTime thec_t LAN isscheduledtobereplaced in the next
year,networkedmultimedia maybein the STI
RasterOps "Authorware Professional Program's future. Although not mentioned previously,
24 Bit Monitor akey msuccessful ne_voAing iscomlxession of video
dam. Even witha50:.1comlxesdonratiod,eliveroyf
NEC Adobe Premiere 24 bitcolor at30fi'amesper second (NTSC fullmotion
Double-Speed video) requires a 15Mbit/sec bandwidth. Ifmultiple
CD-ROM Drive usersrequirveideoinformation,theLAN mustbeable
tosuplmrttheaggregatbeandwidth.LANs now have
Raster Ops Expresso greaterbandwidth thanavailable wide area networks.
Professional Slide TI, for inslance, hasabandwidth of 1.544 Mbits/sec.
Scanner Although theMultimedia Initiative would like to
deliver multimedia information over wick area net-
New Video EyeQ works, itappearsthatthe Initiative will have towait for
Capture/ the NationalResearch andEducadon Network (NREN)
Delivew System maccomplish this.
vueospigot
IntellectPuraolpertyRights
NEC PC VCR
TheST[Program Multimedia Initiative will
Kodak Digital Camera heavily u"tdizeNASA andodmrC_vez_ment-produced
System infommlion resources thatarenotcopyrighted. So,
intellectual propertyrights arenotlikely topresent as
MacSpeakem great aproblem asforode_ involved in multimedia.
TheInitiative must stilldeal withthe fact thatcopyright
* ChosenforapplicationportabilitybetweenMac&PC lawsapply tovisuals, sound, software, andany other
flintbelongs tosomeom else.Theprocedures
forgaining rights tomaterial such asvideo clipsor
mu_c diffefrromthoseofsoftwaraendprinptubllca-
ibm. Alsothereissomequestioanstod¢ scopeofd¢
Asthispaperiswritten,tie long-awaitedsystem rightsonce granted. Do the fights extend to"publica-
cornpm_ts m'ejustbeginningmKrive attheST[ tion" inamultimedia application?Questionsregarding
Programofl'ces. Theearlierobservationabout,the intellectual propertyrights andmultimedia arejust
volatility of the marketplace hasbeenrealized since be_nnmg tobeaddressee According toCOMDEX/
most majorsystem components havebeen replaced Fall '91 "Intellectual Property:Issues andChallenges in
withnewer items over the course of the procmcmcnL Multimedia" session panelist, _ Davis ITI,
"Every lime anewtechnologcyomesalong, there's a
Networkin_Multimedia periodof 10m 15yearswithlitigation. Ithat.ned
with movies. There was awhole series of cases when
TheMultimediaInitiatipvreojectteamrecognizes "IVcame along, thencable TV; now withvideodiscs
theneed toprovide networked multimedia applications. andCD."5
The Vislon provide au:ess toisrge databases of visml and andio
infmmation on aLAN.
TheSTI ProgramMultimedia Initiafive's goal isto
havetheNASA users gain the benefits thatmultimedia IBM's "Columbus: A Journey toDiscovery" is
information delivery c_mprovide. While we have better seen thandiscussed. However, we will presenta
discussed theadvantages of aunified inte_ace to brief summary here forthose whowill nothave an
multipletypes of information, the ability topresent oppommity toview the application. Columbus isthe
information from different persp_fives, the ability to first inIBIWs Discovere_ Series. IBM descn'bes the
_3mbine datawithempirical models ornumerical DiscoversSeriesofprograms as"seeking toprovide
simulations, andotherbenefits, the Program_alizes navigational tools thatallow teachers and students to
thattheMultimedia Initiative staffcannot anticipate all explore interrelated malefials from large databases of
of theways throughwhichamultimedia information information." 2 IBMdeveloped Columbus in conjunc-
delivery system canbeused toincmtse the effective- tim withRobert Abel of SynapseTechnologies. This
hessof information dei/very toresearcherswithin multimedia application includes 180 hoursof interac-
NASA andotherorgnnizatkms. That iswhy the five material According toRobert Abel, theprogram is
Initiative isusing the rapidpmtotyplng method of notonly aboutColumbus, but"it usesColumbus as a
development. This_h willallow ourusers to metaphorfora changing view of the universe." 2
perticipatein ourmultimedia systems design through According toPaul Evans of IBM, Columbus provides
useandevaluation of theprototypes thatwill feed multiplepoints of view on itscontent anddemonstrates
d_ign changes. Thus, the detailsof our "Multimedia "the complex inte_.onnectedm_s of knowledge."2
InitiativeVision" will bedefined in an evolutionary Inconsidering thisapplication, you cansee some ofthe
fashion by ourusers. advantages of multimedia presentation. Join usinour
vision by extending thisapplication of technology to
Inclosing, there aresome successful multimedia see thepotential formultimedia in the incw_h'blyrich
applications thatwe would like toshare toallow youto un/vefse of scientific andtechnical information.
make apersonal _t of thepoUmfialfor
multimedia. To date, therearenotmany scientific and References
technical information applications of multimedia.
However, one application of noteis theArctk Dam AStrategic Direction. NASA Scientific and
l*
Interactive (ADD CD-ROM prototype. ADI was Technical Information Program,Washington, D.C.
produced by theU.S. Geok_ Survey (USGS) and 1991.
includes dataprovided by Don Cavalieri of NASA
Goddard. USGS calls thisapplication apromtYI_ 2. "IBM Presents Columbus and the Classics."
hypermedia system. ADI includes animation andsold Multimedia &Videod_cMonitor, May, 1991.
butno fullmotion video. TheADI disc was lnxxiuced
3. "IMA CompatibiliPtryojecPtroceedings."
by theU.S. Geological Survey tostimulate discussion
VolumeI,IssueI.September,1991.
onnew andinnovative methods fordisseminating
global change dataandinformation. Itisacompen-
"lnvision Multimedia Awards 1993 Call for
diumof interdisciplinary information end dataonthe .
Enlries." New Media: Multimedia Technologies
Arc_c regiou. We acquiredthisdisc inresearching our
for Desktop Computer Users. November, 1992.
Multimedia Initiative's Global Change Project.
. "TmeractiveMultimedia WhitePaper: Promise and
There memany othermultimedia applications that
PiO_alls."Knowledge IndustryPublications, Inc.
should besimted. We will mention afew of themany 1991.
applications that cut across disciplines. There isthe
interactive disc on theGulf Wartitled "Desert Storm"
. Osborn, Hugh. "Media Computers, Motivation,
thatwas produced by ajointventure between Wam_ andInformalEducationG:utenberg 20007"
New Media andT'tmenmgazine. There ase also several Learning withlnteractiw Multimedia: Developing
majorapplications supImcted by IBMincluding and UsingMultimedia Tools inEducation.
"Ulysses," "Hamlet,""MartiLnutheKring,t"he Microsoft Press, Redmond, Washington. 1990.
"DeclaratioofInndependencaen,d"the"American
Indians.T"heSmithsoniaInnstitutihoansbeea Treinish, Lloyd. "Conelafive Data Analysis in the
.
workingon anetwoAed educational multimedia EarthSciences." IEEE Computer Graphics &
application called "Classrooms WithoutWalls." Itwill Applications, May, 1992.