Collaborative Environments for the GRID: the GRIDCC Multipurpose Collaborative Environment

The GRIDCC project will extend the use of Grid computing to include access to and control of distributed instrumentation. Access to the instruments will be via an interface to a Virtual Instrument Grid Service (VIGS). VIGS is a new concept and its design and implementation together with middleware that can provide the appropriate quality of service is a key part of the GRIDCC project. The paper describes the Multipurpose Collaborative Environment (MCE) which will provide the user interface to access Virtual Instrument Grid Services, as well as tools to support group-work. After an analysis of the status of the art in collaborative environments and technologies, taking into account both the Human Computer Interaction and the architectural and technological perspectives, we present the requirements of the MCE and more specific aspects including access and control of remote instruments.