COLiER: Collaborative Editing of Raster Images

TL;DR

This paper introduces COLiER, a web-based system enabling real-time collaborative editing of raster images, addressing the gap between existing image editing and collaborative tools.

Contribution

It develops a novel document model and a scalable client-server architecture for synchronized raster image editing in browsers.

Findings

Successful implementation of a prototype system

Positive user feedback from post-deployment study

Effective synchronization of raster images in real-time

Abstract

Various web-based image-editing tools and web-based collaborative tools exist in isolation. Research focusing to bridge the gap between these two domains is sparse. We respond to the above and develop prototype groupware for real-time collaborative editing of raster images in a web browser. To better understand the requirements, we conduct a preliminary user study and establish communication and synchronization as key elements. The existing groupware for text documents, presentations, and vector graphics handles the above through well-established techniques. However, those cannot be extended as it is for raster graphics manipulation. To this end, we develop a document model that is maintained by a server and is delivered and synchronized to multiple clients. Our prototypical implementation is based on a scalable client-server architecture: using WebGL for interactive browser-based rendering and WebSocket connections to maintain synchronization. We evaluate our work qualitatively through a post-deployment user study for three different scenarios.