Real-time measurement of perceptual qualities in conceptual design

Implications of design decisions are hard to oversee for designers. This is the case in particular with respect to decisions, which influence perception related qualities of designs. Such qualities are for example visual openness, visual privacy, and spatial intimacy. They are difficult to measure because of their subjective and soft nature. Measurements of such qualities are important because they are basis for user-oriented, optimal decisions in architectural and interior design. Existing attempts in the architecture domain to assess such qualities systematically are not based on models of visual space perception. Their ability to assess perception aspects of designs is limited. In this paper a novel real-time measurement system for design is presented, which is based on a computational model of visual space perception. This perception model consists of a vision model and a space cognition model. The vision model is based on retrieval of spatial depth data in scattered form. This process is termed random direction distance sampling (RDDS). The space cognition model consists of sample-wise mapping of depth data to perception data, which is space cognition, and exponential averaging, which is a time-series analysis method, for integration of the perception data to perception information, which is the measurement outcome.Architectural Engineering +TechnologyArchitecture and The Built Environmen

Towards computer-based perception by modeling visual perception: A probalistic theory

Studies on computer-based perception by vision modelling are described. The visual perception is mathematically modelled where the model receives and interprets visual data from the environment. The perception is defined in probabilistic terms so that it is in the same way quantified. Human visual perception mimicked by means of a computer is an important step in cybernetics as this is, generally speaking, one of the goals of cybernetics. At the same time, the measurement of visual perception is made possible in real-time. From the visual perception, some other derivates of it can be computed. One example is the visual openness which can be used for the movement of an autonomous robot. As to another application, mention may be made to spatial design, in building and construction engineering. The paper describes the novel probabilistic theory of visual perception and investigates various properties of it, via the vision model established. The computer experiments are carried out by means of virtual agent in virtual environment demonstrating the verification of the theoretical considerations being presented. At the same time, experimental studies are presented as to the derivates of visual perception demonstrating the far reaching implications of the studies.Architectural Engineering +TechnologyArchitecture and The Built Environmen