• For Password and other login details click here
• For Instructions on how to use the portal click here
• For Issues and Technical Support click here

We know how difficult it is for all of you. Just don't let the negativity and the pandemic eat you up. We know it has been 4 years of constant efforts which made you what you are today. But when the time came to cherish the final moment it was gone. We cannot assure you a physical convocation this time, but hang on we have got something more interesting and fun for you.

As we all know, amongst this pandemic the students are not able to be physically present inside the campus. Being one of the most important moments in one's student life, convocation is a memorable event for everyone. In these situations, when students do not have the chance to bid farewell to the institute and their friends and spend some quality time for one last time, IIT Guwahati has made sure students relive this event as if they were in the campus itself.

Seeing all this, it was very important to create some platform which would be fun for the students, so that they don't feel bad about missing the convocation and at the same time it can be used as a platform to interact with the friends and faculties for one last time in their favourite spots of the institute.

Thus, came the idea of the virtual presence experience. This virtual presence was created by a team of faculty and students (Team Virtual Convocation).

The virtual presence platform is created by a team led by Dr. M.K. Bhuyan, Professor, Department of EEE, IIT Guwahati.The team also consists of his two students Snehil Sanyal and H Pallab Jyoti Dutta, who are research scholars of EEE Department, IIT Guwahati.

The virtual presence space uses Gather Town software along with some supporting softwares. The overall map for IIT Guwahati was made and imported to create the space. The map consists of:

1. A view of different buildings like :

• Auditorium (The Institute Anthem and keynote speech by Director Sir)
• Conference Hall (Videos of different fests and events)
• Admin Building (About the Institute)
• Library (About CET and Library)
• Medal Holders Speech (Near the lake)
• 11 Department and 5 Academic Centres (Department videos and sites)

2. Each block has a video of the department as well as a poster which directs to the department link.
3. Interactive environment with objects in each buildings.
4. A terrain which resembles that of IIT Guwahati, lake and trees.

The portal is very close to a Zoom meeting, but has a main difference that our portal allows students to have a game like experience of the environment with different objects, videos of different departments, speeches and much more.

Here is the link to the gather town virtual presence space: Virtual Presence Space

Once you click the link you will be directed to the gather town space. We recommend you to use your laptops or PCs for this as the API is a bit slow.

You will be prompted for the password once you go to the link. After entering into the space, check your Audio/Video settings as you would normally do for a Zoom meeting and enter your name.

Hurrah!!! You are inside the virtual space of IIT Guwahati campus.

1. We will provide the password to you on 22nd September 2020, 11 AM Indian Standard Time through this webpage.
2. Kindly login through the link in the dedicated time slot to avoid fuss, so that we can rectify any issues in the experience.
3. Only those who are graduating with an Institute WebMail ID and the Password for the room will be allowed to enter the space. We have set a guest list for allowed people.
4. Each slot will have different passwords. If you have iitg.ac.in institute ID only then you will be allowed for the Virtual Presence experience.
5. Maintain the necessary decorum of the platform as the event is big and everyone else will be present. Kindly make this day memorable for you as well as others.

We have decided 4 slots dedicated for different branches and centers. Each department will be having the graduating UG students, PG students, Research Scholars and Faculties.

Kindly enter in the dedicated time slot. Each department has UG, PG, Research Scholars and Faculties. All of them will be entering together.

Once you log in to the space you will be able to see a 2D virtual avatar. You can change the appearance of your avatar. This avatar will be seen by you and others.

Navigation:

You can navigate the map using the arrow keys or W,A,S,D keys. Students who play games won't have any problem whatsoever in navigating and roaming around.

Ghost Mode:

You can hold the 'G' key in the keyboard to enter ghost mode if you want to avoid some people (just kidding, if you want to silently surpass everyone).

Spawning:

The point where you start from in the map once you login to the space is the spawn point.

Entry and Exit:

• Each building is accompanied by entry/exit points. Just follow the arrows, step one pixel behind from the direction of the arrow and press the Down Arrow/ 'S' key to enter the building.
• To exit any building, follow the directions given inside the map and go towards the exit door arrow.
• Some objects inside the environment are passable, i.e. you can pass through them easily while some objects are not passable.

Minimap:

You can also see the minimap of the institute from the pane given below and see where you are with respect to the map.

Other options are Screenshare, Raise Hands, Status and Settings.

Raise Hands:

You can raise hands within the space to have some query.

Chat:

Have a chat with your friends from the side pane using the chatbox. Go to them using the locate button. Once you reach anyone, you will be able to see their video as well.

Interact:

Interact with the environment once the screen prompts. Whenever you go close to an interactive object like video or poster you can press the X button to interact with it. Once you are interacting with the posters, you will be seeing a message Press i to go to the link. This i button will be on the right of your pane between your screen and chat box.

Locate:

Say your friend is visible on the chat box, but you are not able to see him anywhere near to you. And you want to have a chat with him/her. Just click on his avatar in the chat box, and click on locate. This will make a straight line path from your location to your friend's location and then you can go to him and have a conversation. Once done you can click on stop locating button.

Issues:

• Not able to enter the room?

Check whether you are entering the password correctly.

• Delays or lags in the map?

Delays are subject to internet connectivity. As far as a normal connection is concerned everything will run smoothly.

• Connection lost while navigating?

Check your internet connection. If internet connection is working fine, go to settings button on the bottom pane of the window and click on Respawn. This will make your character spawn again in the map.

• Any other issues:

Kindly contact us. We will be present during each slot.

For any technical support you can contact us:

Snehil Sanyal

Email-ID: ssanyal@iitg.ac.in

Contact: 9399690211

H Pallab Jyoti Dutta

Email-ID: h18@iitg.ac.in

Contact: 9401476791