Interfaces of the Agriculture 4.0

The introduction of information technologies in the environmental field is impacting and changing even a traditional sector like agriculture. Nevertheless, Agriculture 4.0 and data-driven decisions should meet user needs and expectations. The paper presents a broad theoretical overview, discussing both the strategic role of design applied to Agri-tech and the issue of User Interface and Interaction as enabling tools in the field. In particular, the paper suggests to rethink the HCD approach, moving on a Human-Decentered Design approach that put together user-technology-environment and the importance of the role of calm technologies as a way to place the farmer, not as a final target and passive spectator, but as an active part of the process to aim the process of mitigation, appropriation from a traditional cultivation method to the 4.0 one

Inclusion in Virtual Reality Technology: A Scoping Review

Despite the significant growth in virtual reality applications and research, the notion of inclusion in virtual reality is not well studied. Inclusion refers to the active involvement of different groups of people in the adoption, use, design, and development of VR technology and applications. In this review, we provide a scoping analysis of existing virtual reality research literature about inclusion. We categorize the literature based on target group into ability, gender, and age, followed by those that study community-based design of VR experiences. In the latter group, we focus mainly on Indigenous Peoples as a clearer and more important example. We also briefly review the approaches to model and consider the role of users in technology adoption and design as a background for inclusion studies. We identify a series of generic barriers and research gaps and some specific ones for each group, resulting in suggested directions for future research

Digital for Heritage and Museums: Design-Driven Changes and Challenges

In the recent decade, cultural institutions have increasingly embraced digital technologies as key resources for accomplishing their mission and innovating their cultural activities. In the present work, we attempt to disentangle through a design-driven and multidisciplinary approach the challenges brought by digital transformation in the cultural heritage sector. A diversified research team has thus been involved to include scholars with different backgrounds around the common phenomenon of investigation of Digital (Cultural) Heritage, under the Design Think Thank project. The Introduction is followed by a Methodological section, which outlines the approach to select and review case studies from the exploratory literature for producing a state-of-the-art report and delineates the methodology to map the main user behaviours and needs in the digital experience of CH throughout the value chain. The research team identified three relevant and major themes for the investigation which are addressed in the Literature Review Section through the lenses of design research and practices; simultaneously, design knowledge emerges to have an agency in the transformation. The following section tries to triangulate the results from the literature review, and the mapping of users and stakeholders throughout the cultural institutions value chain, to track and highlight their role and interest in changing heritage panorama. The contribution of the present work wishes to consolidate the results gathered in the first phases of the TT, providing the design community of academics and practitioners with a theoretical contribution about digital changes and challenges of heritage and museums based on a design perspective

Personalization in cultural heritage: the road travelled and the one ahead

Over the last 20 years, cultural heritage has been a favored domain for personalization research. For years, researchers have experimented with the cutting edge technology of the day; now, with the convergence of internet and wireless technology, and the increasing adoption of the Web as a platform for the publication of information, the visitor is able to exploit cultural heritage material before, during and after the visit, having different goals and requirements in each phase. However, cultural heritage sites have a huge amount of information to present, which must be filtered and personalized in order to enable the individual user to easily access it. Personalization of cultural heritage information requires a system that is able to model the user (e.g., interest, knowledge and other personal characteristics), as well as contextual aspects, select the most appropriate content, and deliver it in the most suitable way. It should be noted that achieving this result is extremely challenging in the case of first-time users, such as tourists who visit a cultural heritage site for the first time (and maybe the only time in their life). In addition, as tourism is a social activity, adapting to the individual is not enough because groups and communities have to be modeled and supported as well, taking into account their mutual interests, previous mutual experience, and requirements. How to model and represent the user(s) and the context of the visit and how to reason with regard to the information that is available are the challenges faced by researchers in personalization of cultural heritage. Notwithstanding the effort invested so far, a definite solution is far from being reached, mainly because new technology and new aspects of personalization are constantly being introduced. This article surveys the research in this area. Starting from the earlier systems, which presented cultural heritage information in kiosks, it summarizes the evolution of personalization techniques in museum web sites, virtual collections and mobile guides, until recent extension of cultural heritage toward the semantic and social web. The paper concludes with current challenges and points out areas where future research is needed

THE SEDUCTION OF THE SIMULATION. 3D MODELLING AND STORYTELLING OF UNREALIZED PERUGIA RAIL STATION

Abstract. The study aims at enhancing and requalifying the area of Fontivegge in Perugia. It seeks to instil in the population a sense of identity and belonging to the place through the digital reconstruction of the first design hypothesis of the station itself, transmitting the cultural heritage of the place with new participatory methods, such as serious games and virtual reality. Starting from the project drawings preserved at the academy of San Luca in Rome, conceived by the architect Antonio Cipolla, the project is reconstructed philologically following historical and archival studies, by interpreting the data collected. Following the reconstruction of the 3D model, evocative mook up images and a virtual reality are created, making the intangible tangible and explorable. Through the virtual simulation of the place and its visualisation, new forms of participation are sought, mending the relationship between territory and population, laying the foundations for a different reading of the area and a cultural heritage accessible and open to all

Flight of the future

The Royal College of Art collaborated with British Airways to explore the next 100 years of aviation. An exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, London (1–26 August 2019) & Shanghai Future Lab, West Bund Art Centre (25 Nov–1 Dec 2019) showcased collaborative projects from students across the College that imagine the flight of the future, based on an in-depth research report commissioned by British Airways to mark their centenary. Our idea was to create a body of work that was visionary and that engaged people in conversation and debate about the future. With in-depth global research at its heart, our programme, BA 2119, was a first-of-its-kind exhibition looking to the next 100 years of aviation, through three lenses; aircraft, experience and people, also focused on sustainability and technology to drive change

Technology and Society in Equilibrium:

This sector portrait of the design engineering sciences describes the common denominator of the various design disciplines in the Netherlands. In a future sector plan, the above investment areas will be further explored and purposefully developed. The implementation of technological innovations aligned to societal issues encompasses a design challenge. This increasingly demands science-based design methodologies. The broad Dutch design landscape can fulfil the role of connector well in this regard. In order to optimally strengthen this bridging function, three areas for further investment have been identified: Research More research and research funding are needed to meet the design challenges posed by Dutch societal missions, as well as for the further development of Key Enabling Methodologies (KEMs) as the basis for effective design. Educational Capacity Expanded teaching capacity and further development of design-driven didactics are needed to meet the growing demand for designers, This demand stems from the emerging need for design approaches in new research programmes within Horizon Europe and the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Access to Technology Continuous access to the rapidly evolving technological disciplines must be guaranteed for professionals who can both understand the technology and meet the investigative design challenge

Cooperatives enterprise, incubators for the co-design of a new organizational and management model for sustainable development

In the global economic context, cooperative enterprises have a considerable impact, with approximately one billion people worldwide estimated to be members of cooperatives (ICA e International Cooperative Alliance, 2015). In the historical evolution of the cooperative enterprise, they were born progressively, different typologies according to the most emerging collective problems (Depedri & Turri, 2015). However, the profound changes in the socio-economic context have expanded the emerging social needs, resulting in greater complexity that has challenged the established resilience of cooperatives. This complexity has led to the creation of a study based on the approach of Systemic Design (SD). Thanks to the primary tool of SD, the Holistic Diagnosis (HD), is possible to determine the current scenario and its complexity. The first phase of analysis of the context of the reference is viewed from multiple points of view, such as economy, society, demography, and culture to identify strengths. With this background, the aim of this study is to define the first basis to design a new organizational model for social cooperatives, in the Italian context, to face the actual fluid situation. Specifically, the study highlights the cooperative's hidden potentialities to improve the structure of the organization and provide effective answers within the economic context. The HD is the first step to develop a new organizational model for cooperative enterprises to be replicated on similar business models. To reach this goal a literature review is settled to highlight the actual gaps and a case study is analyzed in-depth in order to obtain original data and validate the first hypothesis

Design issues in Human-centered AI for Marginalized People

Designing for migrants and asylum seekers requires the involvement of the whole society to improve the integration of citizens coming from countries with different cultures, religions, and life patterns. The design and development of AI companions for a personalized access to services is the horizon chosen to support and improve the inclusion of migrants and refugees both for the effectiveness of the services provided by public administration and local organizations, and for the quality of life of migrants and refugees. AI-based services are at the heart of the Digital Companion for migrants and asylum seekers designed to support more effective communication between public administrations and migrants. The human-centered, iterative, participative and critical design approach proved to be valuable to address the heterogeneous needs of the end-users as well as of the local service providers. Concrete issues in defining, testing, and refining the AI are discussed in view of provoking an impact on the whole society and towards a scenario of full development and upscaling