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| Project No. | Acronym - Title | |||
| RE4002 | CESAR - Collaboration Environments and Service Architectures for Researchers | |||
| Lead Sector | Other Sectors | Start | End | Project Duration |
| RESEARCH | 1 Jan 1998 | 31 Dec 1999 | 24 months | |
Project Objectives, Summary Description and Anticipated Results:
CESAR will provide a comprehensive toolkit for asynchronous and synchronous multimedia collaboration based on Internet and World Wide Web technology. The project will focus on the assembly and integration of state-of-the-art technology to enable a smooth transition between asynchronous and synchronous modes of cooperation, closely integrated into the normal working environments of the users.In particular, the CESAR toolkit will provide cross-platform interoperability which is required in trans-European research projects. CESAR will provide services such as session management for the integration of different synchronous collaboration tools, and support for multimedia publication and real-time presentation. Furthermore, CESAR will extend the currently available functionality of the WWW with new services such as notification of users' presence and activities. The project is based on previous research and development activities of the project consortium, in particular on the BSCW Shared Workspace System as developed within TAP's CoopWWW project which has already today attracted several thousand users, many of whom from the European research community.
The project is focused on user involvement. In the first project phase an initial tool set will be used in a series of field tests within user groups which will apply the tools for real tasks within their ordinary domains of work. This allows determination of user requirements from practical experience rather than from abstract analysis. In the subsequent project phases the tool set will be enhanced and extended in short feedback loops with the user groups.
Although primarily focused on the requirements of the European research community, the CESAR toolkit will be exploited in a much broader market area as a general, cross-platform, WWW based collaboration system.
Major Validation Sites:
| Organisation | City/Town + Postal Code | Region | Country |
| COBRA | Virtual Distribution Site | ||
| I*EARN | Virtual Distribution Site | ||
| TeleMarkt | Virtual Distribution Site | ||
| Note: The concept of a validation site does not properly apply for this project since validation is carried out in user groups which are locally dispersed on purpose because of the very nature of the project. In the table above, the entries in the first column identify the user group involved in the project. | |||
Other Characteristics of the Project:
| Users involved COBRA, an ACTS project developing a brokerage system for the WWW; I*EARN, an international network of schools using telecommunication facilities; TeleMarkt, a cooperative of SMEs in the information technology field. |
| Technologies and/or approach used Integration of existing technology on the basis of the Internet and World-Wide Web. Cyclic development of the toolkit with strong user interaction for defining and verifying the user requirements. |
| Expected benefits for the citizens Like many Internet tools initially developed for scientists, CESAR technology can be used, after suitable experience, by groups of private citizens as well. |
| Expected benefits for the users of the application The toolkit developed by the project will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of people involved in group cooperation, e.g., by reducing the required amount of time and by increasing the quality of collaboration. |
| Expected benefits for the European Industries The provisions of tools to support such collaboration is a significant contribution to the competitiveness of the European industry and also a great business opportunity for the European telecom industry that has to develop new kinds of services on the coming de-regulated market. |
| Contribution to EU-policies The project will pioneer the use of multimedia sharing and communication in Europe and thus contribute to emerging markets and more effective ways of working. It will also encourage the development of new telematic services in the European telecommunications industry. |
Coordinator:
| Name of Organisation | City/Town + Postal Code | Region | Country |
| GMD - Forschungszentrum Informationstechnik Gmbh | Sankt Augustin, Köln D-53754 | DEA2 | DE |
Contact Person from the Coordinating Contractor:
| Title, Forename, Surname | Dr. Wolfgang Appelt |
| Address | FIT.CSCW, Schloß Birlinghoven |
| Telephone | +49 2241 14 2326 |
| Fax | +49 2241 14 2889 |
| E-mail 1 | appelt@gmd.de |
| E-mail 2 |
Other Contractors:
| Code | Name of Organisation | City/Town + Postal Code | Region | Country |
| C2 | horz informatik | Sankt Augustin, Köln D-53757 | DEA2 | DE |
| C3 | QuantiSci Ltd. | Henley-on-Thames RG9 1AT | UK52 | GB |
| C4 | SISU | Kista, Stockholm S-16440 | SE01 | SE |
Updated: 30 July 2000 - telematics@terena.nl