Client browsing module for internet collaborations

This paper presents the SHINE (Shared Internet Environment) system, which is middleware for implementing distributed networked virtual environments and virtual architectural engineering (VAE) as a pilot service of Internet collaboration. In the proposed service, three-dimensional (3D) building models drawn with CAD are exported to the XML database (DB), which stores geometry and shared properties of each building component. The SHINE browser parses XML documents from the XML DB and renders 3D models using X3D components and the JavaBeans virtual component library. Users participating in VAE can view and design 3D models with a sense of sharing space, presence and time.