A Fatah gen Schieck

Augmented reality meeting table: a novel multi-user interface for architectural design

Immersive virtual environments have received widespread attention as providing possible replacements for the media and systems that designers traditionally use, as well as, more generally, in providing support for collaborative work. Relatively little attention has been given to date however to the problem of how to merge immersive virtual environments into real world work settings, and so to add to the media at the disposal of the designer and the design team, rather than to replace it. In this paper we report on a research project in which optical see-through augmented reality displays have been developed together with prototype decision support software for architectural and urban design. We suggest that a critical characteristic of multi user augmented reality is its ability to generate visualisations from a first person perspective in which the scale of rendition of the design model follows many of the conventions that designers are used to. Different scales of model appear to allow designers to focus on different aspects of the design under consideration. Augmenting the scene with simulations of pedestrian movement appears to assist both in scale recognition, and in moving from a first person to a third person understanding of the design. This research project is funded by the European Commission IST program (IST-2000-28559).

VisAge: augmented reality for heritage

In this paper we describe the VisAge project, which explored how a community-based Augmented Reality (AR) system could be used to tell stories and cultural histories about urban environments. Our work focussed on two main themes --- user engagement and immersiveness of the experience. To address the first theme, we developed an online portal where anybody could upload digital content and create their own stories using routes through a physical environment. To address the second theme, we developed a flexible, reconfigurable mobile platform to investigate different types and kinds of displays. The performance of the system was assessed in a series of workshops, which have provided insights to inform the development of future systems.

Emojis on the facade: exploring social media graphics to transmit urban issues on media facades

This paper describes the experience of a workshop in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in which the participants explored emojis to transmit site-specific content on a media facade. The question was how to use the media facade to communicate a broad urban issue in a friendly, site-specific way. Exploring the theme of Belo Horizontes public transport, the participants developed an urban signage system that transmits, in real time, the level of occupancy of the buses passing by the media facade. Observations and interviews conducted in the area reveal that emojis were successful visual elements to attract peoples interest and curiosity. This project highlights the potential of exploring social media graphics in media facades to communicate city-wide topics in a more accessible and friendly language.