Methods of effective information exchange in the virtual world

A 3D virtual world can be used to facilitate the exchange of information within an organization. Regardless of the type of information, users may collaborate amongst their peers, deliver company organizational updates to a large group of people, and document research. Researchers at the Air Force Research Labs Discovery Lab, a year round research and STEM internship program, have set precedence for using the virtual world for these applications. The Discovery Lab focuses research on engineering problems that are relevant to the United States Air Force, and has two major components: the physical Discovery Lab, and the Virtual Discovery Center. The Virtual Discovery Center uses the open source 3D application server, called OpenSimulator, and has acted as a capstone for the organization. The Virtual Discovery Center is home for much of the Discovery Lab's collaboration, innovation, and research documentation. Researchers may meet and discuss via voice and text, and may share graphics to report project accomplishments. Since at times the Discovery Lab hosts more than one hundred researchers and collaborators, the virtual world serves as a medium for delivering important programmatic updates, as well as holding virtual group meetings. The Virtual Discovery Center is additionally used for research, professional training, and data visualization by utilizing the virtual worlds unique 3D object building and scripting techniques. The methods used by the Discovery Lab are proposed as an effective system for provoking collaboration and the exchange of information.