COLLABORATIVE 3D VIEWER, ANNOTATOR, AND VRML PUBLISHER
A 3D viewer which can be integrated with existing World Wide Web clients 
using the CCI protocol, by which local _helper applications² can be started up 
by a WWW client and can continue to communicate with them via a well-defined 
command set.  Possible tools for creating collaborative client server 
applications using HTTP and an additional _backend² synchronous protocol 
(TBD) include:

1. Java is a high level object oriented language similar to Smalltalk. It is used 
to build HotJava and associated appletts.

HotJava is an extensible Web browser.   Developers can create appletts that 
provide specific functionality while using the underlying services of HotJava.  
HotJava is in essence an operating system.  Currently HotJava is ported to Sun 
OS and maybe compiled for other UNIX OS.  Security for execution of appletts 
from outside hosts is currently being discussed using PGP.  Appletts can be 
developed to manipulate 3D VRML files as well as create robot fungus for 
simulations. 

2. NetScape is a monolithic application that provides APIs (CCI) to access 
specific functions and built-in support for helper applications such as emerging 
3D VRML viewer using QvLib (1.0b1). This would be used in conjunction with a 
VRML/HTML object server (such as WaxWeb_s WWWMoo allowing navigation of 
the 3D objects in _Moo rooms_).  3D Helper applications will be used that are 
similar to those developed at Leeds University for 3D Chemical MIME types.

3. Virtual Notebook System (VNS) provides a client server environment for 
synchronous collaboration.  The VNS server has an API that allows a Web 
gateway to translate internal VNS formatting to HTML on the fly to a supporting 
Web server.  The VNS client also includes an API and toolkit to allow building of 
vertical applications and to interface with the Web browsers CCI feature.  One 
such vertical application will include an implementation of Northwestern 
University_s CoVis Collaboratory Notebook to support scientific hypothesis, 
testing, analysis, and critiques. In addition to providing collaborative features 
(such as multimedia and simple text conferencing, multilevel security and 
version control) the VNS environment allows simple home page creation using 
drag and drop features supporting images, text, hyperlinking, and graphics.   
Images and graphics are converted to Sun Raster format in the VNS and to GIF 
by the Web gateway.

4.  NCSA Collage may be adapted for use as this already incorporates a MOSAIC 
browser and client server collaborative features and is intended to visualize 
numeric data such as loci and alleles attributes in Genome data.




CHESTNUT BLIGHT/ACID DEPOSITION SIMULATIONS
Simulations will be developed from public domain robot warring games: 
RoboWars/Core Wars and launched as a helper application/Web Post operation 
(to select robot attributes). The RoboWars implementation includes a 
disassembler application for viewing robot source code, a high level 
programming language, and programming tools (An arena for fighting 
tournaments, a drafting board top draw icons to represent the robot in the 
arena, and a hardware store to purchase weapons and shields).

We propose to develop a parameter driven robot that allow students to select 
fungus attributes such as genotype, mutation, vegetative and sexual 
recombination through genetic engineering.  Robot fungus parasites and 
hypovirulent fungus neutralizers will be created that allow students to program 
alleles at critical loci, control dispersion, and observe reproduction, mutation 
and the epidemiological growth.  The results of the simulation will be displayed 
as spreading or static infestation of a tree and a forest.  Teams of students will 
role play as either the robot fungus parasites or the disease control expert_s 
hypovirulent fungus robot. The results will be collected by a central database 
for redistribution and execution on the local workstation. Teams can compete 
against each other or against the computer.

Multipoint Video/Audio Conferencing and Nemesis Store and Forward Video 
Server Applications will be integrated into the Visualizing MicroBiota 
environment under other funding at a future date.  

Electronic payment strategies are being developed under other proposals 
allowing _government microvouchers,² grocery store cash register receipt 
programs, environmental non-profit donations, and school system accounts to 
be credited and debited automatically with each use by student account holders.