Ladakh: An internet 3D multiuser system

Abstract

We have developed a 3D multiuser system for the Internet called Ladakh. This system enables users to participate in a shared virtual world on the Internet and to communicate with each other. The system is based on a client–server system and uses the HTTP protocol between a client and a server to maintain compatibility with existing web network services. The system consists of multiple servers connected via a multicast network. The shared‐world manager in each server communicates and guarantees consistency among the shared worlds of the distributed servers. Therefore, clients can share the same virtual world even though they communicate through different servers. We have also evaluated the proposed Ladakh system architecture. It was found that about 50 users could join the same shared world at the same time on Ladakh. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Syst Comp Jpn, 30(3): 52–60, 1999