Virtual Trade Fair: A Multiuser 3D Virtual World for Business

Abstract

Online virtual trade fairs are becoming more popular in the business world. They enable companies to establish a economic trade relationship with their customers. This article presents a multi-user virtual trade fair developed using the technology of 3D game engines. This makes it possible to obtain a high degree of realism and benefit from every advantage of using this software: very real lighting, cast shadows, collision detection, animation, etc. Moreover, the virtual trade fair is accessible online only requiring a plug-in to be installed on the visitor’s computer for them to be able to enter the virtual world. In order to facilitate management of the business fair, our application builds the 3D objects automatically. Participants in the trade fair can customize their virtual stand and the application will generate the necessary code for it to be included in the rendered virtual world. In addition, some interactive objects can be added to the virtual stand to provide fair visitors with essential information such as business contact details, publicity catalogues and so on. Finally, users, who are represented by avatars, can interact with each other while they are visiting the virtual fair.