SAGE2: A new approach for data intensive collaboration using Scalable Resolution Shared Displays

Abstract

Current web-based collaboration systems, such as Google Hangouts, WebEx, and Skype, primarily enable single users to work with remote collaborators through video conferencing and desktop mirroring. The original SAGE software, developed in 2004 and adopted at over one hundred international sites, was designed to enable groups to work in front of large shared displays in order to solve problems that required juxtaposing large volumes of information in ultra high-resolution. We have developed SAGE2, as a complete redesign and implementation of SAGE, using cloud-based and web browser technologies in order to enhance data intensive co-located and remote collaboration. This paper provides an overview of SAGE2's infrastructure, the technical design challenges, and the afforded benefits to data intensive collaboration. Lastly, we provide insight on how future collaborative applications can be developed to support large displays and demonstrate the power and flexibility that SAGE2 offers in collaborative scenarios through a series of use cases.