Implementing a Collaborative Web Platform based on Transparent Layers

  • Akihiro Sugiyama Nagoya Institute of Technology
  • Yusuke Niwa Nagoya Institute of Technology
  • Shun Shiramatsu Nagoya Institute of Technology
  • Tadachika Ozono Nagoya Institute of Technology
  • Toramatsu Shintani Nagoya Institute of Technology
Keywords: computer-supported collaborative work, transparent layer, desktop sharing

Abstract

We have developed a novel collaborative web platform that shares a part of one’s desktop. In the case of using a general desktop sharing software such as VNC and TeamViewer, all users interfere with each other on a shared desktop, resulting in disturbing user’s work. Prior work has proposed a common collaborative workspace, but there are problems with collaborative workspaces using desktop applications. The platform uses a part of user’s desktop as a collaborative workspace in consideration of interference to a user. To create the platform, we introduce a transparent layer with two aspects: visible- and event-transparency. The background of the transparent layer can be opaque. The transparent layer can forward received events to other layers as well as to other applications. The layer can interact with a user’s desktop, thus taking a screenshot of a user’s desktop and sharing the screen shot among other users. Furthermore, we have been developing a new web browser, Silhouette Web Browser, that consists of five transparent layers including existing desktop layers. The platform shares one’s desktop by using transparent layers, thus using one’s desktop as a collaborative workspace in consideration of interference to users. This paper describes the architecture and implementation of the proposed platform and its application.

Author Biographies

Akihiro Sugiyama, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Yusuke Niwa, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Shun Shiramatsu, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Tadachika Ozono, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Toramatsu Shintani, Nagoya Institute of Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology

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Published
2015-12-31
Section
Technical Papers (Advanced Applied Informatics)