1,288 research outputs found
Augmented Nature-Based Solutions: A Possible Taxonomy of Technologies “in” and “for” Urban Greening Strategies
The conceptualization and application of nature-based solutions (NBS) in the practice of planning and projects on urban and architectural scales have reached a level of maturity in the last 10 years, thanks to a strong push from European policies and funding for European projects and evidence from scientific literature. However, a systemic insight into the role of technology in supporting the spread of NBS has not yet been developed. The role of technology is understood here as fundamental to the very core concept of NBS, i.e., engineering solutions that integrate technological aspects to effectively increase nature’s potential. The authors,therefore, propose an investigation into the various opportunities offered by technology integrated “into ” greenery and used “ for” promoting greenery, based on the experience of two European Horizon 2020 projects, CLEVER Cities and VARCITIES, and from theapplication cases presented during the dedicated track at the SSPCR 2022 conference
Breaking Virtual Barriers : Investigating Virtual Reality for Enhanced Educational Engagement
Virtual reality (VR) is an innovative technology that has regained popularity in recent years. In the field of education, VR has been introduced as a tool to enhance learning experiences. This thesis presents an exploration of how VR is used from the context of educators and learners. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, including surveying and interviewing educators, and conducting empirical studies to examine engagement, usability, and user behaviour within VR. The results revealed educators are interested in using VR for a wide range of scenarios, including thought exercises, virtual field trips, and simulations. However, they face several barriers to incorporating VR into their practice, such as cost, lack of training, and technical challenges. A subsequent study found that virtual reality can no longer be assumed to be more engaging than desktop equivalents. This empirical study showed that engagement levels were similar in both VR and non-VR environments, suggesting that the novelty effect of VR may be less pronounced than previously assumed. A study against a VR mind mapping artifact, VERITAS, demonstrated that complex interactions are possible on low-cost VR devices, making VR accessible to educators and students. The analysis of user behaviour within this VR artifact showed that quantifiable strategies emerge, contributing to the understanding of how to design for collaborative VR experiences. This thesis provides insights into how the end-users in the education space perceive and use VR. The findings suggest that while educators are interested in using VR, they face barriers to adoption. The research highlights the need to design VR experiences, with understanding of existing pedagogy, that are engaging with careful thought applied to complex interactions, particularly for collaborative experiences. This research contributes to the understanding of the potential of VR in education and provides recommendations for educators and designers to enhance learning experiences using VR
LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume
LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum
2023-2024 Catalog
The 2023-2024 Governors State University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog is a comprehensive listing of current information regarding:Degree RequirementsCourse OfferingsUndergraduate and Graduate Rules and Regulation
Da imersão à criação : cartografando experiências estéticas de estudantes com a realidade virtual
A Realidade Virtual (RV) vem sendo bastante explorada no âmbito da educação no Brasil e no mundo, sendo o seu uso intensificado a partir da pandemia da Covid-19. Entretanto, a maioria das pesquisas dedicadas ao assunto investigam a usabilidade de ferramentas RV para o ensino-aprendizagem a partir do desenvolvimento de softwares e aplicações, sendo os processos derivados deste uso pouco explorados nas pesquisas, especialmente no campo das ciências humanas, como Artes e Letras. Nessa direção, considera-se que a consequente popularização da RV e demais tecnologias imersivas também traz como problematização o modo como o observador interage e sente os elementos audiovisuais e sua forma de apropriação em processos estético-educacionais. A presente tese tem como objetivo cartografar as experiências estéticas originadas na implementação da tecnologia de RV com alunos em espaços não-formais de aprendizagem, cujos dados cultivados com estudantes buscam responder como as experiências estéticas em RV podem potencializar o aprendizado da arte no espaço não-formal. Para tanto, utilizou-se como metodologia a prática cartográfica de investigação, com o intuito de acompanhar os processos traçados pela pesquisadora e estudantes. Esta tese analisa duas práticas artístico-pedagógicas conduzidas em contextos não-formais de aprendizagem: a primeira, realizada como uma oficina remota sobre a RV, com a participação de sete estudantes com idades entre 8 e 12 anos. A segunda prática foi realizada no NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, durante estadia de pesquisa na Alemanha, com a participação de três estudantes universitárias com idades que variam de 21 a 27 anos. O manejo de análise percorreu três fases principais: (1) Realidade Virtual Cinematográfica: desenvolvendo a educação do olhar, (2) Produção de narrativas: A RV como fomento de experiências artísticas e de design e, (3) Pistas para a pedagogia da percepção e a construção de mundos virtuais por estudantes, nas quais busca-se dialogar com os principais referenciais trazidos na tese, assim como levantar novas problematizações relacionadas às propriedades estéticas e pedagógicas das experiências apresentadas. Assim, os dados cultivados ao longo desta tese mostram, portanto, que as experiências estéticas RV indicam caminhos para a aprendizagem da linguagem da arte em suas múltiplas manifestações audiovisuais, de forma a contribuir para o desenvolvimento da gramática audiovisual inerente à estética RV, bem como ao fortalecer a educação estética de estudantes no âmbito das práticas pedagógicas formais e não-formais.Virtual Reality (VR) has been widely explored in education in Brazil and around the world, and its use has intensified since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, most research devoted to this subject investigates the usability of VR tools for teaching-learning from the development of software and applications, and the processes originated from this use are little explored, especially in the field of humanities, such as Arts and Letters. In this direction, it is considered that the increasing popularization of VR and other immersive technologies also brings the problematization of how the spectator interacts and feels the audiovisual elements and how they are appropriated in the aesthetic-educational processes. This thesis aims to map the aesthetic experiences that arise from the implementation of VR technology with students in non-formal learning environments, whose data cultivated with students seek to answer how aesthetic experiences in VR can enhance art learning in the non-formal setting. For this purpose, the cartographic method was employed, in order to follow the processes outlined by the researcher and students. This thesis analyses two artistic-pedagogical practices conducted in non-formal learning settings: the first one was carried out as a remote workshop on VR, with the participation of seven students aged 8-12 years old. The second practice was conducted at NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, during a research stay in Germany, with the participation of three university students aged 21-27. The handling of analysis went through three main phases: (1) Cinematic Virtual Reality: developing the education of gaze, (2) Production of narratives: VR as fostering artistic and design experiences and, (3) Clues for the pedagogy of perception and the construction of virtual worlds by students, in which it seeks to dialogue with the major references brought in the thesis, as well as to raise new problematizations related to the aesthetic and pedagogical properties of the experiences presented. Thus, the data cultivated throughout this thesis show, therefore, that VR aesthetic experiences can indicate paths for learning the language of art in its multiple audiovisual manifestations, in order to contribute to the development of the audiovisual grammar inherent to VR aesthetics, as well as by strengthening the aesthetic education of students within formal and non-formal pedagogical practices
Blending the Material and Digital World for Hybrid Interfaces
The development of digital technologies in the 21st century is progressing continuously and new device classes such as tablets, smartphones or smartwatches are finding their way into our everyday lives. However, this development also poses problems, as these prevailing touch and gestural interfaces often lack tangibility, take little account of haptic qualities and therefore require full attention from their users. Compared to traditional tools and analog interfaces, the human skills to experience and manipulate material in its natural environment and context remain unexploited. To combine the best of both, a key question is how it is possible to blend the material world and digital world to design and realize novel hybrid interfaces in a meaningful way. Research on Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) investigates the coupling between physical objects and virtual data. In contrast, hybrid interfaces, which specifically aim to digitally enrich analog artifacts of everyday work, have not yet been sufficiently researched and systematically discussed.
Therefore, this doctoral thesis rethinks how user interfaces can provide useful digital functionality while maintaining their physical properties and familiar patterns of use in the real world. However, the development of such hybrid interfaces raises overarching research questions about the design: Which kind of physical interfaces are worth exploring? What type of digital enhancement will improve existing interfaces? How can hybrid interfaces retain their physical properties while enabling new digital functions? What are suitable methods to explore different design? And how to support technology-enthusiast users in prototyping?
For a systematic investigation, the thesis builds on a design-oriented, exploratory and iterative development process using digital fabrication methods and novel materials. As a main contribution, four specific research projects are presented that apply and discuss different visual and interactive augmentation principles along real-world applications. The applications range from digitally-enhanced paper, interactive cords over visual watch strap extensions to novel prototyping tools for smart garments. While almost all of them integrate visual feedback and haptic input, none of them are built on rigid, rectangular pixel screens or use standard input modalities, as they all aim to reveal new design approaches. The dissertation shows how valuable it can be to rethink familiar, analog applications while thoughtfully extending them digitally. Finally, this thesis’ extensive work of engineering versatile research platforms is accompanied by overarching conceptual work, user evaluations and technical experiments, as well as literature reviews.Die Durchdringung digitaler Technologien im 21. Jahrhundert schreitet stetig voran und neue Geräteklassen wie Tablets, Smartphones oder Smartwatches erobern unseren Alltag. Diese Entwicklung birgt aber auch Probleme, denn die vorherrschenden berührungsempfindlichen Oberflächen berücksichtigen kaum haptische Qualitäten und erfordern daher die volle Aufmerksamkeit ihrer Nutzer:innen. Im Vergleich zu traditionellen Werkzeugen und analogen Schnittstellen bleiben die menschlichen Fähigkeiten ungenutzt, die Umwelt mit allen Sinnen zu begreifen und wahrzunehmen. Um das Beste aus beiden Welten zu vereinen, stellt sich daher die Frage, wie neuartige hybride Schnittstellen sinnvoll gestaltet und realisiert werden können, um die materielle und die digitale Welt zu verschmelzen. In der Forschung zu Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) wird die Verbindung zwischen physischen Objekten und virtuellen Daten untersucht. Noch nicht ausreichend erforscht wurden hingegen hybride Schnittstellen, die speziell darauf abzielen, physische Gegenstände des Alltags digital zu erweitern und anhand geeigneter Designparameter und Entwurfsräume systematisch zu untersuchen.
In dieser Dissertation wird daher untersucht, wie Materialität und Digitalität nahtlos ineinander übergehen können. Es soll erforscht werden, wie künftige Benutzungsschnittstellen nützliche digitale Funktionen bereitstellen können, ohne ihre physischen Eigenschaften und vertrauten Nutzungsmuster in der realen Welt zu verlieren. Die Entwicklung solcher hybriden Ansätze wirft jedoch übergreifende Forschungsfragen zum Design auf: Welche Arten von physischen Schnittstellen sind es wert, betrachtet zu werden? Welche Art von digitaler Erweiterung verbessert das Bestehende? Wie können hybride Konzepte ihre physischen Eigenschaften beibehalten und gleichzeitig neue digitale Funktionen ermöglichen? Was sind geeignete Methoden, um verschiedene Designs zu erforschen? Wie kann man Technologiebegeisterte bei der Erstellung von Prototypen unterstützen?
Für eine systematische Untersuchung stützt sich die Arbeit auf einen designorientierten, explorativen und iterativen Entwicklungsprozess unter Verwendung digitaler Fabrikationsmethoden und neuartiger Materialien. Im Hauptteil werden vier Forschungsprojekte vorgestellt, die verschiedene visuelle und interaktive Prinzipien entlang realer Anwendungen diskutieren. Die Szenarien reichen von digital angereichertem Papier, interaktiven Kordeln über visuelle Erweiterungen von Uhrarmbändern bis hin zu neuartigen Prototyping-Tools für intelligente Kleidungsstücke. Um neue Designansätze aufzuzeigen, integrieren nahezu alle visuelles Feedback und haptische Eingaben, um Alternativen zu Standard-Eingabemodalitäten auf starren Pixelbildschirmen zu schaffen. Die Dissertation hat gezeigt, wie wertvoll es sein kann, bekannte, analoge Anwendungen zu überdenken und sie dabei gleichzeitig mit Bedacht digital zu erweitern. Dabei umfasst die vorliegende Arbeit sowohl realisierte technische Forschungsplattformen als auch übergreifende konzeptionelle Arbeiten, Nutzerstudien und technische Experimente sowie die Analyse existierender Forschungsarbeiten
Mixed Reality Interfaces for Augmented Text and Speech
While technology plays a vital role in human communication, there still remain many significant challenges when using them in everyday life. Modern computing technologies, such as smartphones, offer convenient and swift access to information, facilitating tasks like reading documents or communicating with friends. However, these tools frequently lack adaptability, become distracting, consume excessive time, and impede interactions with people and contextual information. Furthermore, they often require numerous steps and significant time investment to gather pertinent information. We want to explore an efficient process of contextual information gathering for mixed reality (MR) interfaces that provide information directly in the user’s view. This approach allows for a seamless and flexible transition between language and subsequent contextual references, without disrupting the flow of communication. ’Augmented Language’ can be defined as the integration of language and communication with mixed reality to enhance, transform, or manipulate language-related aspects and various forms of linguistic augmentations (such as annotation/referencing, aiding social interactions, translation, localization, etc.). In this thesis, our broad objective is to explore mixed reality interfaces and their potential to enhance augmented language, particularly in the domains of speech and text. Our aim is to create interfaces that offer a more natural, generalizable, on-demand, and real-time experience of accessing contextually relevant information and providing adaptive interactions. To better address this broader objective, we systematically break it down to focus on two instances of augmented language. First, enhancing augmented conversation to support on-the-fly, co-located in-person conversations using embedded references. And second, enhancing digital and physical documents using MR to provide on-demand reading support in the form of different summarization techniques. To examine the effectiveness of these speech and text interfaces, we conducted two studies in which we asked the participants to evaluate our system prototype in different use cases. The exploratory usability study for the first exploration confirms that our system decreases distraction and friction in conversation compared to smartphone search while providing highly useful and relevant information. For the second project, we conducted an exploratory design workshop to identify categories of document enhancements. We later conducted a user study with a mixed-reality prototype to highlight five board themes to discuss the benefits of MR document enhancement
Implementation of technological innovations within the South African construction industry
In South Africa the construction industry has grown by more than 15% per annum over the past five-years and the construction industry is facing several pressures to decrease costs, improve productivity and to develop a competitive edge in terms of quality of service and customer satisfaction. Faced with a growing demand for service delivery the industry must seek new and improved ways to stay competitive in this market space. By effectively analysing the construction market all role players within the AEC industry can adopt new trends and techniques being implemented by either their foreign counterparts or direct competitors. One of these trends within the industry is technological innovations; each designed to play a beneficial role in construction industry advancements. It is clear that our industry is moving forward at an alarming rate, yet our foreign counterparts seem to be one step ahead. Based on the 2010 Soccer World Cup it was clear that the South African AEC Industry had the ability to conform and deliver on world class infrastructure, yet we still seem to have a slow adoption rate surrounding technological innovations. Investigating the depth of knowledge based around the most popular technological innovations currently being implemented can provide a clear view as to what S.A industry role players see as potentially profitable within our marketplace and the steps that could be taken to provide further research pertaining to those technological innovations which are being overlooked. Establishing the most prominent barriers preventing technological adoption within the South African AEC Industry can effectively be compared with those faced by foreign counterparts to mirror their solutions to similar problems. Finally, by establishing whether resistance to a changing environment plays a vital role in the hindrance to technological adoption one can access the extent to which the AEC Industry may effectively change based on a projected industry time frame.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, 202
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