Beyond visualization : designing interfaces to contextualize geospatial data

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-74).The growing sensor data collections about our environment have the potential to drastically change our perception of the fragile world we live in. To make sense of such data, we commonly use visualization techniques, enabling public discourse and analysis. This thesis describes the design and implementation of a series of interactive systems that integrate geospatial sensor data visualization and terrain models with various user interface modalities in an educational context to support data analysis and knowledge building using part-digital, part-physical rendering. The main contribution of this thesis is a concrete application scenario and initial prototype of a "Designed Environment" where we can explore the relationship between the surface of Japan's islands, the tension that originates in the fault lines along the seafloor beneath its east coast, and the resulting natural disasters. The system is able to import geospatial data from a multitude of sources on the "Spatial Web", bringing us one step closer to a tangible "dashboard of the Earth."Samuel Luescher.S.M

Practical, appropriate, empirically-validated guidelines for designing educational games

There has recently been a great deal of interest in the potential of computer games to function as innovative educational tools. However, there is very little evidence of games fulfilling that potential. Indeed, the process of merging the disparate goals of education and games design appears problematic, and there are currently no practical guidelines for how to do so in a coherent manner. In this paper, we describe the successful, empirically validated teaching methods developed by behavioural psychologists and point out how they are uniquely suited to take advantage of the benefits that games offer to education. We conclude by proposing some practical steps for designing educational games, based on the techniques of Applied Behaviour Analysis. It is intended that this paper can both focus educational games designers on the features of games that are genuinely useful for education, and also introduce a successful form of teaching that this audience may not yet be familiar with

CCTV Technology Handbook

This CCTV Technology Handbook provides emergency responders, law enforcement security managers, and other security specialists with a reference to aid in planning, designing, and purchasing a CCTV system. This handbook includes a description of the capabilities and limitations of CCTV components used in security applications

Supporting Real-Time Contextual Inquiry Through Sensor Data

A key challenge in carrying out product design research is obtaining rich contextual information about use in the wild. We present a method that algorithmically mediates between participants, researchers, and objects in order to enable real-time collaborative sensemaking. It facilitates contextual inquiry, revealing behaviours and motivations that frame product use in the wild. In particular, we are interested in developing a practice of use driven design, where products become research tools that generate design insights grounded in user experiences. The value of this method was explored through the deployment of a collection of Bluetooth speakers that capture and stream live data to remote but co-present researchers about their movement and operation. Researchers monitored a visualisation of the real-time data to build up a picture of how the speakers were being used, responding to moments of activity within the data, initiating text conversations and prompting participants to capture photos and video. Based on the findings of this explorative study, we discuss the value of this method, how it compares to contemporary research practices, and the potential of machine learning to scale it up for use within industrial contexts. As greater agency is given to both objects and algorithms, we explore ways to empower ethnographers and participants to actively collaborate within remote real-time research

Application of Smart Materials in the Interior Design of Smart Houses

We highlight in this research the development and uses of smart materials to enhance the economical, functional, technical and aesthetic side as well. We discussed in the study the classification of materials used in the design of interior architecture, and the relationship between the environment and the impact on the health of occupants and the use of less harmful materials. The effect of reducing the use of materials’ amounts is important in economic terms, by choosing the appropriate material and put it in the right place. It is also necessary to know the specifications and properties of the physical and chemical materials for optimization of its use. The understanding of this stage can enhance interior design in the future. Taking advantage of the types of materials used in interior design that can be recycled and re-manufactured reflects its beneficial effect on the environment and also reduces the consumption of agricultural original materials. We pointed to the bamboo as an example of the kinds of agricultural materials used in interior design and the possibility to develop this types of which Biocomposite and Hybrid bamboo-glassfibers composites. We addressed the subject of smart materials and their use in smart homes after the definition provided on the types of materials, and also the importance of smart materials from an environmental point of interior design. The benefits of smart materials which we considered are minimized air conditioners size, in addition to most smart materials in the interior design is sensible and invisible, which plays a big role in smart homes design. We have defined the smart home and what are the essential parts that constitute it and its association with a computerized engineering mechatronic reflection on economic and interior design. The study is aimed at linking the use of smart materials and the possibility of energy conversion for introducing better interior design to modern homes that makes them more convenient and comfortable and energy-saving. We have given some examples of smart materials largely used in sensors, glass, coatings and heating. Keywords: smart materials, interior design, smart house, energy, environment

Proceedings of the 3rd IUI Workshop on Interacting with Smart Objects

These are the Proceedings of the 3rd IUI Workshop on Interacting with Smart Objects. Objects that we use in our everyday life are expanding their restricted interaction capabilities and provide functionalities that go far beyond their original functionality. They feature computing capabilities and are thus able to capture information, process and store it and interact with their environments, turning them into smart objects