VirCA – Virtual Collaboration Arena

The VirCA (Virtual Collaboration Arena) platform was developed with the leading support of MTA SZTAKI.   From a global perspective, VirCA is the first platform capable of integrating knowledge components (e.g., speech centers, image processing capabilities, controller modules, etc.) already implemented in laboratories around the world with both real objects (e.g., robots, airplanes etc.) and virtual objects.  VirCA achieves this through an innovation store (available through the Internet to all VirCA instances) that is capable of storing existing components, in order to promote fast knowledge transfer for research, development and innovation.  Further, VirCA enables researchers who are not necessarily in the same location, or even on the same continent to design, develop and integrate solutions together in a common virtual space.  In summary, VirCA is a pilot solution which highlights one possible aspect of the EU trend of Future Internet, and as such provides very effective means of collaborative R&D in a single virtual space.  The arguably novel philosophy behind the platform was recognized through an award received at the FET'11 international forum.