Design and Implementation of a Multimedia Multi-User Communication System

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) systems have become an increasingly popular social medium in the cyberspace. The main goal of the Multimedia Communication System (MMC) is to extend the functionality of traditional text based IRCs systems by adding such multimedia technologies as voice, digital sketching and a shared browser to create a tool for educational purposes. The idea is to create a virtual study room to allow students, teaching assistants and professors to discuss class related material interactively through communications networks, without being physically present in the same place. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a MMC prototype built in the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The prototype was developed on Pentium II 233 MHz machines, running Linux and used oo-the-shelf hardware for audio and sketching. We discuss aspects of user interaction, oor control and performance of the prototype as well as its implementation details.