JADE: Java Adaptive Dynamic Environment

Virtual Environments (VE) present a complex problem with interesting non-trivial challenges for software development. The problems increase when considering VE that are both distributed and shared amongst multiple participants. The majority of existing systems supporting Large Scale VE (LSVE) are based on monolithic architectures, making maintenance and software reuse difficult at best. This paper presents an overview of the Virtual Reality Transfer Protocol (VRTP) framework as an alternative to the traditional approach for developing VE systems. The focus of the paper is one of VRTP’s building blocks: Universal Platform (UP). Java Adaptive Dynamic Environment (JADE) is an implementation of the UP consisting of a lightweight crossplatform kernel with inherent capabilities for dynamic extensibility in run-time. The paper discusses in detail JADE’s architecture and fundamental design premises. Although these design principles are applicable to other areas, the implementation is targeted at LSVEs.