平成１４年度未踏ソフトウェア創造事業
採択テーマ概要
| １．担当ＰＭ | Alan kay （President, Viewpoints Research Institute） |
| ２．採択者氏名 | （代表） Umezawa Masashi （梅澤 真史） （共同開発者） Abe Kazuhiro、Nishihara Satoshi、Kurihara Tetsuya |
| ３．テーマ名 | NetMorph - an intuitive mobile object system and its applications |
| ４．採択金額 | 39,000,000円 |
| ５．テーマ概要 Abstract: NetMorph provides a new system for seamless network computing. We introduce the notion of network location to desktop objects. By treating the move of objects in desktop and the migration of them in network, NetMorph helps beginners to acquire literacy skills of network computing in a very natural way. Basic Concepts: In Squeak, there is a scripting environment that enables us to manipulate visible objects (Morph) interactively and intuitively. Users can freely add actions and attributes to these objects by applying tile scripts. Morph has two-dimensional coordinates values (x, y values). Therefore, users can control the movement of object by changing these values programmatically. However, the range that Morph can move is strictly restricted within a narrow desktop of the local computer. In this proposal, we add the third logical network dimension to Morph. Each Morph has its own "network location" as well as its desktop position. This proposal extends the notion of object movable space out to the network. When Morph reaches the edge of a desktop, it does not bounce and simply begins to move to another desktop, which is logically next to the original desktop. From the users' point of view, there will be no big difference between moving objects on the screen and distributing them to the network. Applications: NetMorph can be considered as “LOGO in network age". In LOGO, a simple recursive movement of turtle sometimes generates an unexpected, beautiful drawing. In NetMorph, combining simple movable objects can create very sophisticated collaborative environment that we have never seen. For example, if someone writes a car morph that follows a path on the screen, and if another person writes a pen morph that draws a line on desktop, it would be possible to create a network car race game by using these morphs. |
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| ６．採択理由 This proposal aims directly at a virtual unification of shared object and user interface spaces that are physically distributed and connected by networks. Many different functions at the systems level can be easily done by end-users in a highly intuitive way through visual interaction with the objects on the net. |
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