MuSE (Multidimensional, User-oriented Synthetic Environment) is a software shell that
accepts digitized data from multiple sources and in virtually any format, and creates a
multisensory environment that represents and allows simultaneous interaction with the
various data in such a way that users can very quickly perceive and assimilate important
information.
There are a number of product offerings from MuSE that WVS will resale. A summary of
their descriptions follows:
FOUNDATION is an affordable, entry-level system for a single user in a standard
computer environment: display screen, keyboard, and mouse. The system is designed to let
users develop, test, run, and enjoy MuSE applications without requiring specialized
hardware devices. FOUNDATION is the design and development workhorse of the MuSE series;
in fact, MTI uses FOUNDATION systems for the majority of its own software development.
To give the user access to MuSE's End-User and Developer features, as well as to permit
the addition of custom application-specific functionality; FOUNDATION provides an
on-screen control console. The console includes a virtual joystick for movement through
model space and virtual sliders to control time, object size, lighting, and other
parameters.
RENAISSANCE extends all of FOUNDATION's capabilities into dynamically
configurable, real-time, synthetic and/or immersive environments, giving developers access
to the most advanced, humanistically designed interactive capabilities available. Instead
of being limited to a traditional flat-screen environment, developers and end-users can
always incorporate the latest interactive technology in the manner most appropriate.
CONTINUUM provides the pinnacle of interactive environments by extending all
RENAISSANCE capabilities to support shared multi-user operation over standard network
links. In a CONTINUUM system, remote users can enter and become part of a single, shared
application at any time. Each user remains completely independent, has full interactive
capabilities, and can see and communicate with all other participants.
