Federico Casalegno

The Three Dimensions of Book Evolution in Ubiquitous Computing Age: Digitalization, Augmentation, and Hypermediation

This paper suggests a framework for the book evolution in ubiquitous computing age. Based on the review of the academic researches and industrial development, we suggest the three dimensions of the evolution of books: digitalization, augmentation, and hypermediation. Based on the framework, we suggest three research and business development directions: 1) Open Hypermediation, 2) e-Book Augmentation, and 3) Mobile-Device Based Augmentation.

The Dynamic Façade Pattern Grammar

This paper presents a generative grammar producing a language of patterns for the south façade of a prototype sustainable house. The patterns are produced through the activation of the electrochromic material that is applied on the windowpanes of the façade. The class of the performatively effective configurations of the façade is approached as a visual language and the productive (generation), combinatorial (enumeration) and performative (verification) attributes of this language are examined. Random, performance driven, patterns could supply sufficient interior daylight without acknowledging the visual potential of façade pattern generation. The uniqueness of the chosen approach is that the shape grammar encodes the performative constraints pertaining to the generation of façade patterns in a visual manner by associating principles of two-dimensional pattern generation to levels of illuminance.

Interaction design with building facades

In this paper, we discuss our early studies with electronically activated variable transmission materials (e.g., electrochromic glasses and PDLC films) for the design of interactive, programmable building facades that exercise environmentally and socially sustainable building behaviors. We articulate on the different applications of these facades, such as automated climate moderation, lighting, view and privacy control, and discuss their aesthetic, social, and cultural implications in light of new interaction paradigms that shape the experience of the space that they are manifested in.

Locast Civic Media: Extending Civic Engagement Boundaries through Mobile Media and Hyper-Local Conversations

Always-on connectivity, video production capabilities, social networking, and location-based services make mobile phones important tools for citizen journalism. Drawing on emerging patterns, our research focuses on transposing global media production and circulation practices to local contexts. Our emphasis is on joining urban conversations with civic knowledge sharing practices to build information-based communities. We present an integrated, ubiquitous, mobile media and geo-social networking platform that proposes tools for open-publication, collaborative-authoring, and production. This framework allows social content dissemination through mobile devices and the web. In this paper, we discuss our recent findings from research on mobile civic media, presenting our design methods, implementation details, and a field study arranged in Porto Alegre (Brazil). Finally, we discuss our insights and future design considerations for platform development.

Locast H2Flow: contextual learning through mobile video and guided documentary production

In this paper we present the design considerations of Locast H2Flow, an educational tool created to guide learning in a local urban space. In particular, we explore the prospect of utilizing mobile devices to scaffold the learning process. Challenged by missions and guided by templates on a mobile phone, the students construct geo-referenced video reportages and documentaries about sustainable water issues within their community. A deployment with a class of high school students in Italy provides initial user feedback on the learning experience and the scaffolding overall of the learning process.

Locast H2flow: creative learning tool for participatory urbanism

This paper aims to show the contribution of participatory learning and co-design skills in making education more productive and personally fulfilling. The Locast H2flow Project is an educational learning experience for teenagers to develop an awareness of sustainable water usage in their community. The project incorporates the Locast platform as a tool for urban exploration, documentation, civic engagement, and ultimately participatory learning through technology. The Locast web and mobile application allows students to explore the issues surrounding water in their local context. This distributive approach further integrates the learning experience into the community through a hands-on workshop.

Safety++: Designing IoT and Wearable Systems for Industrial Safety through a User Centered Design Approach

In this paper, we describe Safety++, an IoT ecosystem of connected wearable elements aimed at improving safety in the workplace in the energy industry. Safety is a major concern for energy companies and, despite the large availability of protective equipment and the adoption of strict safety procedures, it still remains a problem. Unsafe behavior is the main cause of incidents and is not addressed by current solutions. We exploit advancements in IoT and wearable computing to design, build and test a platform aimed at improving awareness, peer supervision and emergency fast response in the workplace. We do this by following a user centered design approach, which takes into consideration the user needs and actual experience, in order to increase also the solutions acceptability and adoption. Results demonstrate that focusing on real time feedback, awareness and peer communication in IoT systems can reinforce safe practices and attitudes and lead to a safer environment in energy companies.

nRoom: an immersive virtual environment for collaborative spatial design

In this paper, we present the results of an experimental study aiming to explore the collaborative user experience in an immersive virtual environment. We designed and implemented an application that enables users to collaboratively design a spatial layout using head-mounted VR displays and hand tracking devices. With a strong emphasis on the relationship between spatial interaction and communication, we assert that a shared-view virtual environment allows collaborative articulation of spatial design problems and improves communication between designers. Our study combines qualitative and quantitative methods to test the usability of the proposed system, and to determine the aspects of spatial communication in virtual environments.

Designing a Platform for Participatory Urbanism: Transforming Dialogue into Action in Underserved Communities

Participatory urbanism platforms must balance stakeholder needs to both empower citizens and exact change from the local authority. While many platforms can trigger discussion, changes will only be achieved through successful collaborative efforts. This paper outlines the challenges and opportunities of designing for participatory urbanism, drawing on a case study completed with UNICEF and underserved communities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our design approach helped to generate physical changes in the community infrastructure, and the beginnings of behavioral changes for community residents.

CoCam: Real-time photo sharing based on opportunistic P2P networking

We describe a mobile application for sharing user-authored photo content in realtime called CoCam. CoCam is a collaborative content sharing framework based on opportunistic P2P proximal networking. CoCam users who are located in the same physical space can automatically share the photos they create as well as receive photos from other users around them. Since CoCam is based on an opportunistic P2P network middleware, users are not required to know each other in advance. It is also not necessary for them to agree on the same service provider nor coordinate the network configuration, infrastructure and security settings. This middleware automatically discovers other peers and handles the organization of ad-hoc network connections. With CoCam, we demonstrate that users are able to share and enjoy shared photos and video streams without the effort of manual setup and cost associated with the 3G/4G network.