Modeling healthcare logistics in a virtual world: The database connection

The "Everything is Alive" research project at the University of Arkansas is focused on pervasive computing. In recent years, the project has explored agent systems, RFID middleware, and is now studying how 3D virtual world technology can be used as a platform to model a future real world where computing is pervasive. The virtual world project is modeling a hospital. A hospital is a good application target for this research because the project can explore research questions about a coming "smart world" where devices and people communicate, using an environment where low cost simulations in a high value domain could provide improved safety or lowered cost.;The resulting architecture provides a simplified tracking system for the 3D virtual world Second Life, consisting of a DBMS connection via http post requests to PHP scripts, and a simplified database schema with three tables, entity and asset, and location . Queries to the tables can locate avatars, equipment or supplies; provide inventories; or track histories of items which can be used for recalls.;This thesis explores a subproblem---can we connect a database management system to a virtual world as a recording device for recording everything in the virtual world model---the location of all avatars and objects, all ownership rights, all entity types, all tasks executed, and all changes---in short, a system that could provide full visibility. We explore this question by considering a subproblem---how to build a supply chain management system that tracks the avatars, assets (equipment) and inventory (supplies) within the domain of a hospital.