Exploring humanity combining Data Visualization with Digital Art

The paper presents two interactive installations that make use of datasets about the University of the Republic of San Marino to increase its visibility through Digital Art and meaning. Vibrancy translates sound in a continuously updated materic flow. Its goal is to show the vivacity of the University, quite isolated and located in an ancient monastery in the inner city of San Marino. This, to tell the restless movement that characterizes the School. Vibrancy’s software detects, processes and translates noises into movement. Metadata Juice explores human relationships mediated by the Internet, representing invisible data and digital relations generated in the virtual web space. The stream of information comes from the University firewall and its representation is associated with the binary code syntax. Data are translated into a hydraulic circuit, creating simultaneously a connection between analogue and digital realities

Sustainable Data-Driven Strategies and Active Well-Being: A Case Study

Nowadays the world is characterized by an increasingly aging society. This phenomenon represents a risk for the sustainability of the healthcare system. One of the factors that can accelerate the consequences of the aging process is sedentary behavior. Currently, there is a large availability of wearable smart devices and mobile applications, that can collect data. However, some social and functional problems were observed, therefore we believe that there is great room for improvement (Mincolelli et al., 2018). In addition, the paradigm of the Internet of Things is enabling those applications to share data with other programs and smart devices, which, in turn, can generate an ecosystem of services that can improve the quality of life, not only of the single user, but of many groups of a determined social context. The contribution presents a case study (PLEINAIR project) that focuses specifically on the development of Human-Centered outdoor smart technologies that can adapt themselves to the necessities of people of all ages and abilities in order to encourage them of taking care of their health

HABITAT: An IoT Solution for Independent Elderly

In this work, a flexible and extensive digital platform for Smart Homes is presented, exploiting the most advanced technologies of the Internet of Things, such as Radio Frequency Identification, wearable electronics, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Artificial Intelligence. Thus, the main novelty of the paper is the system-level description of the platform flexibility allowing the interoperability of different smart devices. This research was developed within the framework of the operative project HABITAT (Home Assistance Based on the Internet of Things for the Autonomy of Everybody), aiming at developing smart devices to support elderly people both in their own houses and in retirement homes, and embedding them in everyday life objects, thus reducing the expenses for healthcare due to the lower need for personal assistance, and providing a better life quality to the elderly users

Limita(c)tion – How to use the limit as a concept tool of sustainable development in Shkodra

Starting to the considerations made by the famous economist Serge Latouche about the meaning of limit, the article takes in exam the southwest part of the town of Shkodrä, in particular the part which is located along the lower shore of the homonymous lake, in order to create some own reflections around the concept of this important word. The idea is to understand the meaning of limit and its boundary and then produce many possibilities to discover and use them, to drag a border between what are the limitations and what are the possibilities of the selected area. For the French economist there are some different types of limit which are economical, geographical, political, cultural, ecological, moral and of knowledge and then we have to know what are those better for our situations and use them to improve the whole system that manages the urban development. Recently, Albania is experiencing a strong economic growth which is allowing a great overall development rather quickly. This factor allows the country to gain importance and competitiveness outside the national borders, but in the other side, it has to tackle the uncontrolled and confused urban growth which is producing informal urbanization, many infrastructure problems within the cities and incognizance of the environment preservation, in particular of the landscape. Indeed, the potential of the examined area is geographically limited by the disconnection from the main center of Shkodrä owing to the weak infrastructure of the territory, while his landscape is exposed to the urban informality derived by the political limits that are not strong enough to really control the edification in that area. The aim is to raise the border of the economic possibilities of the fragment, stimulating one of the most profitable activities of the zone, as the tourism, through the creation of new infrastructure connections and facilities around the villages. This chance can initialize the communication between the fragment and the center to facilitate the exchange flow among visitor and residents. To increase the value of the fragment, it’s also necessary rethink the mobility and its experience starting both from the ecological limits of the local ecosystem and from the laws of the general local plan, in order to preserve and promote a new sustainable development with a low impact multimodal mobility

Computational art experiments for the university: revealing culture, community and social spaces

Universities are social entities that produce cultural and narrative environments. They are made up of people whose daily activities create datasets in the form of raw data, concealing information about their origins. We are often unaware of this flow of potential information as it is usually intangible, unexpressed and hence unutilized. To highlight and reveal this hidden quantity of data, there are many contemporary tools and specific digital data-mining processes at our disposal. This paper presents two experimental concepts resulting from a course at the University of San Marino Design School, located in the Santa Chiara monastery, in the City of San Marino. The two works explore the physical building through two different datasets characterizing the institution. They focus on revealing the invisible behaviours related to the social life of the University. To do this, two different dimensions have been considered, virtual space and physical space

Nàiade: autoprogettare l'orto urbano. Una proposta di trasformazione degli orti urbani attraverso l'esplorazione degli spazi d'acqua

L’agricoltura urbana si occupa del disegno, recupero, utilizzo e gestione di aree urbane, destinate alla produzione agroalimentare rivolta a singoli individui o intere comunità. Fin dall’era industriale, l’orto è stato utilizzato per contrastare l’artificialità delle fabbriche e il degrado urbano tramite la valorizzazione del proprio tessuto naturale, minacciato dal progresso tecnologico. Nel tempo l’orto ha assunto un ruolo sociale nelle comunità cittadine come fonte di alimentazione, aggregazione e sostenibilità, ma è stata necessaria una trasformazione spaziale per potersi integrare negli spazi architettonici orizzontali e verticali, per contrastare la mancanza di terreno. Proprio la carenza di spazio ha condotto la ricerca nel ripensare l’orto urbano e il suo modello di produzione alimentare al fine di trovare nuove soluzioni socialmente e tecnologicamente innovative attraverso l’uso e lo sfruttamento delle superfici acquatiche. Partendo da modelli storici e presenti in differenti culture come le Chinampas messicane, i giardini galleggianti degli Intha in Myanmar o le cosiddette Baira in Bangladesh, la soluzione della ricerca si è orientata verso l’autocostruzione di un abitacolo orticolo galleggiante che possa offrire uno spazio alla produzione alimentare, sfruttando la digital fabrication. Attuando un atteggiamento resiliente di fronte a problematiche ambientali critiche, il progetto si rivolge alle popolazioni che vivono in zone costiere e a rischio di allagamento

From Driver to Passenger: Exploring New Driving Experiences for Older Drivers in Highly Automated Vehicles

The progressive advancement of highly automated vehicles is expected to make self-mobility more accessible and comfortable for the elderly population, because the potentialities of this technology allow older drivers to drive longer and safer. In that case, since autonomous driving is able to disengage drivers from the driving task, it opens a unique opportunity to develop new interactions that could completely change the use and the experience of traveling. Considering this scenario, the contribution explores the design space related to autonomous driving, specifically investigating new driving experiences that can be aligned with the older drivers’ necessities, in order to support them in maintaining their self-independence and autonomy as long as possible. Therefore, the paper analyzes some case studies that focus on novel forms of in-car activities and transportation-related services, which, in turn, are trying to offer a new perspective on the use of highly automated technology. In particular, the first two examples focus on changing the perceived cost of traveling by exploring unedited and playful non-driving-related activities. Instead, the other cases focus on redefining the relationship with the space of traveling, by proposing new services that provide to older drivers new exploratory and shareable commuting experiences

Nàiade: a project proposal for the exploration of water surfaces for the spatial rethink of urban gardens in urban fabrics

Starting from Industrial Era, urban garden has been used to fight the artificiality of factories and urban degradation through the enhancement of own green fabric, threatened by technological growth. Over time, it has played a social role in urban communities as a source of aggregation and sustainability but it has needed to reconfigure its spaces, integrating itself with architectural spaces to oppose it against the loss of green areas. The lack of space has led the research into rethinking the urban garden and its food production model in order to find new socially and technologically innovative solutions through the use and exploitation of aquatic surfaces. Starting both from historical and present solutions in different cultures such as Mexican Chinampas, Floating Gardens of Intha in Myanmar or the so-called Baira in Bangladesh, the design solution of the research has turned into a self-construction of a floating greenhouse that can offer a green space and food supply for communities that live in coastal areas and at risk of flooding by adopting a resilient attitude towards the surrounding environments

Auto indipendente. L'interazione applicata al veicolo urbano

Negli ultimi decenni il controllo del veicolo sia stato svolto totalmente dall'uomo, però oggi la tecnologia permette di dotare le automobili con sistemi di sicurezza attiva (definiti ADAS - Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems), che consentono di riconsiderare i compiti e le responsabilità di guida del conducente. Il delicato sviluppo di tali strumenti ha spinto l'ente di normazione SAE - Society of Automobile Engineers a categorizzare il grado d'intervento e responsabilità degli ADAS tramite diversi livelli di automazione, divisi da "zero", guida manuale, a "cinque", completamente svolta da una intelligenza artificiale di bordo in tutte le condizioni dinamiche di guida. Tuttavia, le rapide capacità percettive e decisionali dei software ad alta automazione, rendono lo stato reale del sistema poco trasparente, dove agli occhi del guidatore può risultare imprevedibile e di conseguenza inaffidabile, causando tensioni e timori durante il tragitto, in quanto esso stesso è allontanato dal processo di guida. Il contributo propone ed esamina alcune metodologie e soluzioni progettuali rivolte alle interfacce di guida, che consentono di condividere simultaneamente i compiti di guida. Ciò è possibile grazie a opportune forme d'interazione che possano supportare sinergicamente il dialogo tra persona e sistemi di guida altamente avanzati, attraverso l'uso della collaborazione, colmando nello stesso tempo i limiti percettivi e decisionali di entrambe le parti

Digital Manufacturing For Strategic Green Infrastructures

Urban garden practise is a self-production and social activity that acts at different scales, starting from a single family to the involvement of entire communities. It ensures food security and fights urban degradation, even in developing countries, where it is possible to find poverty and critical environmental situations. Nowadays, the European Commission recognises urban gardens as green infrastructures that represent a strategic design tool - already inserted in several international urban policy programmes - to tackle both the soil reduction, due to the increasing of urban density, and the progressive consumption of natural resources aimed at food supply. However, the lack of space needs technological solutions that allow them to integrate urban gardens with horizontal and vertical spaces of buildings and the urban fabric. Having clarified these concepts, through the definition of some case studies, this contribution wants to outline possible guidelines to develop strategic sustainable projects for green infrastructures within the cities, integrating urban agriculture with additive and subtractive digital manufacturing tools. Moreover, because of the current digitisation, it is possible to extend the concept of community and propose the elaboration of open source projects ¬¬– such as greenhouses, architectural components or design objects – to be uploaded in sharing platforms. Following this procedure, everyone could actively collaborate to modify/optimise the available digital data, in order to define constantly updated projects, which are set and customisable to different economic, environmental and social conditions. Through this democratization of digital production tools, indeed, it is possible to offer adaptable design solutions, which deviate from mass production standards with a view to achieving resilient products, which can be efficiently dropped in different contexts, optimising, at the same time, the use of resources and production costs