Modifying and co-creating the urban soundscape through digital technologies

Sound is one of the most dynamic elements of the public open space in cities. The perception and understanding of this sonic environment by its users or society as a whole is commonly referred to as the soundscape. It depends on the noticeability of the composing sounds; the preference, expectations and beliefs of the users; and the overall context that is set by the visual environment and the envisaged use of the space. The local character and the volatility of the soundscape make it an ideal subject for co-creation involving citizens. Digital technologies are applicable for audiovisually predicting the impact of design options. Auralisation, either ab initio or based on multichannel recordings, still involves technological challenges that will be explored in this chapter. Digital technologies can also be used for adding sound accents that allow to change the character of the soundscape, e.g. making it livelier or increasing its mental restoration potential. Such digitally augmented soundscapes can be the direct result of a co-creation effort with the users of the public open space. The innovative combination of creating a tailored soundscape and the ability to achieve this through a co-creation process has a promising potential impact on the user experience in public open spaces

Integrating passive ubiquitous surfaces into human-computer interaction

Mobile technologies enable people to interact with computers ubiquitously. This dissertation investigates how ordinary, ubiquitous surfaces can be integrated into human-computer interaction to extend the interaction space beyond the edge of the display. It turns out that acoustic and tactile features generated during an interaction can be combined to identify input events, the user, and the surface. In addition, it is shown that a heterogeneous distribution of different surfaces is particularly suitable for realizing versatile interaction modalities. However, privacy concerns must be considered when selecting sensors, and context can be crucial in determining whether and what interaction to perform.Mobile Technologien ermöglichen den Menschen eine allgegenwärtige Interaktion mit Computern. Diese Dissertation untersucht, wie gewöhnliche, allgegenwärtige Oberflächen in die Mensch-Computer-Interaktion integriert werden können, um den Interaktionsraum über den Rand des Displays hinaus zu erweitern. Es stellt sich heraus, dass akustische und taktile Merkmale, die während einer Interaktion erzeugt werden, kombiniert werden können, um Eingabeereignisse, den Benutzer und die Oberfläche zu identifizieren. Darüber hinaus wird gezeigt, dass eine heterogene Verteilung verschiedener Oberflächen besonders geeignet ist, um vielfältige Interaktionsmodalitäten zu realisieren. Bei der Auswahl der Sensoren müssen jedoch Datenschutzaspekte berücksichtigt werden, und der Kontext kann entscheidend dafür sein, ob und welche Interaktion durchgeführt werden soll

Virtual Reality, a Method to Achieve Social Acceptance of the Communities Close to Mining Projects: A Scoping Review

"Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology is an effective, interactive and immersive type of communication since it produces greater interest and attention in the user, thereby allowing greater understanding and comprehension than with more traditional methods. On the other hand, not much information is known about the application of this novel technology in the context of social acceptance as far as the mining sector is concerned; our approach and methodology were based on scoping review (Prisma-SrC, Daudt et al., Arksey, and O’Malley). The research terms were also planned before, with the aim of carrying out three posterior screening levels, among which was the use of EndNote 20 and the PICO framework. Exhaustive research was carried out in nine databases. We obtained n=2 research articles of n=923 initially found, all of which went through three levels of filtering. The chosen articles were evaluated according to Hawker et al. 's methodological rigor, to be included in the review. This scoping review could be the starting point for a series of further investigations that would fill the gap in the literature on this topic, emphasizing experimental articles to confirm the impact of virtual reality technologies on the communities within the sphere of influence of a mining project.

Optimising digital nature for wellbeing

The global burdens of negative psychological states such as stress, anxiety, and burnout represent a growing public health concern. As the incidence of these conditions has risen so too has awareness that natural environments might provide cognitive and affective benefits. Yet unrelenting urbanisation, unprecedented species extinction, and rampant ecological degradation are fostering a creeping extinction of experience, straining the links between people and planet. In an increasingly technologically mediated world, growing emphasis is being placed on how digital forms of nature could impact health. Understanding how simulated contact with the natural world might be optimised for positive wellbeing outcomes is vital if ‘virtual nature’ is to be used as a therapeutic tool. This thesis consists of three original studies – conducted with large samples and as part of national broadcast initiatives – that aimed to address this burgeoning need. We first investigated nuances in the way natural soundscapes are experienced. Through an award-winning collaboration with the BBC Natural History Unit, a novel podcast series and experiment generated responses from 7,596 participants. Results indicated how the composition of nature-based soundscapes can affect their restorative potential, demonstrated the crucial role that memories play in these relationships, and suggested that appraisals of restoration can exert an important mediating effect on pro-environmental behaviour. Next, a similar level of granularity was applied to landscape aesthetics. An online experiment probed how ephemeral features such as sunrise, sunsets, and storms can impact appraisals of virtual environments. Data from 2,509 people supported the familiar urban-nature dichotomy yet revealed substantial momentary and diurnal heterogeneity in measures of beauty and awe. Changes in these metrics also partially mediated participants’ willingness to pay to visit these locations in the ‘real world’. Partnering again with the BBC on a multi-platform broadcast initiative called Soundscapes for Wellbeing, our third experiment assessed how the visual and acoustic elements of a digital nature experience, including music, might influence viewer emotions. Analyses from 7,636 respondents suggested that whilst music could enhance high arousal feelings such as excitement, natural sounds were integral to eliciting restoration, calmness, awe, and nostalgia. Again, these data revealed a substantial moderating effect of memories, underlining the importance of lived experiences in determining outcomes. Taken together, these findings reveal important distinctions in the way natural soundscapes are perceived, demonstrate the potential for both ephemeral features and natural sounds to elicit the complex emotions of awe and nostalgia, and highlight the profound moderating effects of personal memories. Future work might focus on expanding understanding of how awe, nostalgia, and memories could represent a hitherto under-recognised depth to the therapeutic potential of encounters with nature in both virtual and real settings.Wellcome Trus

Experiential Perspectives on Sound and Music for Virtual Reality Technologies

This thesis examines the intersection of sound, music, and virtuality within current and next-generation virtual reality technologies, with a specific focus on exploring the experiential perspectives of users and participants within virtual experiences. The first half of the thesis constructs a new theoretical model for examining intersections of sound and virtual experience. In Chapter 1, a new framework for virtual experience is constructed consisting of three key elements: virtual hardware (e.g., displays, speakers); virtual software (e.g., rules and systems of interaction); and virtual externalities (i.e., physical spaces used for engaging in virtual experiences). Through using and applying this new model, methodical examinations of complex virtual experiences are possible. Chapter 2 examines the second axis of the thesis through constructing an understanding of how sound is designed, implemented, and received within virtual reality. The concept of soundscapes is explored in the context of experiential perspectives, serving as a useful approach for describing received auditory phenomena. Auditory environments are proposed as a new model for exploring how auditory phenomena can be broadcast to audiences. Chapter 3 explores how inauthenticity within sound can impact users in virtual experience and uses authenticity to critically examine challenges surrounding sound in virtual reality. Constructions of authenticity in music performance are used to illustrate how authenticity is constructed within virtual experience. Chapter 4 integrates music into the understanding of auditory phenomena constructed throughout the thesis: music is rarely part of the created world in a virtual experience. Rather, it is typically something which only the audience – as external observers of the created world – can hear. Therefore, music within immersive virtual reality may be challenging as the audience is placed within the created world.The second half of this thesis uses this theoretical model to consider contemporary and future approaches to virtual experiences. Chapter 5 constructs a series of case studies to demonstrate the use of the framework as a trans-medial and intra/inter-contextual tool of analysis. Through use of the framework, varying approaches to implementation of sound and music in virtual reality technologies are considered, which reveals trans-medial commonalities of immersion and engagement with virtual experiences through sound. Chapter 6 examines near-future technologies, including brain-computer interfaces and other full-immersion technologies, to identify key issues in the design and implementation of future virtual experiences and suggest how interdisciplinary collaboration may help to develop solutions to these issues. Chapter 7 considers how the proposed model for virtuality might allow for methodical examination of similar issues within other fields, such as acoustics and architecture, and examines the ethical considerations that may become relevant as virtual technology develops within the 21st Century.This research explores and rationalises theoretical models of virtuality and sound. This permits designers and developers to improve the implementation of sound and music in virtual experiences for the purpose of improving user outcomes.<br/

Visualisation and auralisation for perception-driven decision supports in planning: A comparative review

Visualisation and auralisation are among the essential technologies for perception-driven decision support in landscape planning and soundscape planning, respectively. By making proposed developments and environmental changes visible and audible, they allow decision-makings based on perceptual experience, providing a “common language” that all the stakeholders are capable of using to communicate and to exchange ideas. While they share common function and criteria when used for decision support in planning, they are not in parallel developments and have been approached differently regarding their applications. This chapter comparatively reviews the developments and applications of visualisation and auralisation for perception-driven decision support in planning, aiming to provide technological and methodological insights into the two interconnected yet somewhat independent subjects. This led to indications for new developments and optimized applications in the near future. The chapter addresses three issues: validity, contents to present, and ways to present

Cultural Heritage Storytelling, Engagement and Management in the Era of Big Data and the Semantic Web

The current Special Issue launched with the aim of further enlightening important CH areas, inviting researchers to submit original/featured multidisciplinary research works related to heritage crowdsourcing, documentation, management, authoring, storytelling, and dissemination. Audience engagement is considered very important at both sites of the CH production–consumption chain (i.e., push and pull ends). At the same time, sustainability factors are placed at the center of the envisioned analysis. A total of eleven (11) contributions were finally published within this Special Issue, enlightening various aspects of contemporary heritage strategies placed in today’s ubiquitous society. The finally published papers are related but not limited to the following multidisciplinary topics:Digital storytelling for cultural heritage;Audience engagement in cultural heritage;Sustainability impact indicators of cultural heritage;Cultural heritage digitization, organization, and management;Collaborative cultural heritage archiving, dissemination, and management;Cultural heritage communication and education for sustainable development;Semantic services of cultural heritage;Big data of cultural heritage;Smart systems for Historical cities – smart cities;Smart systems for cultural heritage sustainability