VRML for Intranets
VRML is very applicable -- let's discuss why.

In an Intranet, you're in a controlled environment that is not as heterogeneous as the Internet. This means that it is easier to make VRML capability available to a large percentage of the Intranet users. In addition, bandwidth is generally much more reliable and available, making big worlds and audio (and multi-user audio) possible.

What can you do with VRML in an Intranet? The biggest two applications are data visualization and multi-user conferencing.

Data Visualization
Typically, you're going to have reports and information that are generated by other pieces of software that are multi-dimensional in nature. As Intranets grow, these other software packages are being integrated into the Web, so that they're easy to interface to HTML -- or VRML!

It is VERY EASY to convert this data into simple VRML. With a basic knowledge of a few VRML nodes and Perl, you can write a little converter that will create a VRML world based on this information in an hour or two.

For instance, I created such a Perl script at the Genetic Information Bank at RIKEN (Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Science). The script read in a protein format which included the XYZ coordinates of the aminoacids that make up the protein. Then it converted it into a simple VRML world, using just Translation, Sphere and Material nodes. The first draft took me an hour or less.

You can use a similar approach with financial data, manufacturing inventory data, schedules and more. Easy, Quick, Simple, Useful.

Not only does it make it really easy to create 3D -- but it's actually easier than trying to create 2D graphs with GIF-building software libraries or Java programs. Easy, Quick, Simple, Useful.

Multi-User Conferencing

Companies such as Black Sun, Paragraph, Worlds and IDS have been able to create multi-user virtual worlds for chatting. In an Intranet, you don't have the bandwidth and network latency challenges of the Internet. Though these pieces of software can't usually run through the firewall (in default firewall configurations), within the firewall they do work.

Using VRML here is nice for providing feelings of physical presence and proximity. In addition, you're going to want a whiteboarding area and probably a threaded discussions area. So use a combination of VRML and HTML frames (maybe with Java for the whiteboarding). Easy, Quick, Simple, Useful.

Adrian Scott
adrian@aereal.com
Publisher
VRMLSite Magazine