IRMACS Centre's Infrastructure - Remote Collaboration

Scientific research is rapidly becoming a global endeavour. Today's complex computational problems not only require a wide range of technologies to solve them, but they also require a wide range of expertise. As scientific research becomes more multidisciplinary in nature, today's research collaborations often span campuses, cities, and even countries. Thus, one of the key components of any advanced computational research environment is the ability for researchers to communicate and collaborate with remote colleagues.

Collaboration Infrastructure

In order to meet the collaboration needs of its researchers, the IRMACS Centre has deployed a set of collaboration technologies within the IRMACS research facility, ranging from desktop collaboration tools through to room-scale collaboration environments. Researchers in IRMACS can collaborate with distant colleagues from their desktops using a wide variety of collaboration tools (iChat, Skype, Vidyo). These collaboration tools are installed on all desktop computers within IRMACS.

Many of the meeting rooms within IRMACS are capable of acting as advanced collaboration environments. This includes sophisticated video conferencing (HD H323) and teleconferencing capabilities. In addition, many of the IRMACS facilities are equipped with plasma screens with touch screen overlays that allow researchers to interact directly with the displays (for brain-storming and/or annotating documents and visualizations). These technologies provide researchers with a unique ability to communicate with remote collaborators at a level that is significantly more sophisticated than traditional video conferencing.

For more information on the collaboration capabilities available to IRMACS users, please visit the IRMACS Collaboration support page.

Technical Support

In addition, IRMACS' provides highly skilled technical staff who plan, organize, and operate (where necessary) researchers' collaborations. IRMACS staff are recognized across Canada, and internationally, as experts on advanced collaboration.

For more information on remote collaborations, contact the IRMACS Centre.