John P. Isaacs

Sustainable urban development in practice: : the SAVE concept

The need for sustainable development of the urban environment presents the research community with a number of challenges and opportunities. A considerable volume of research has been undertaken into the constituent parts of this complex problem and a number of tool kits and methodologies have been developed to enable and encourage the application of specific aspects of research in practice. However, there is limited evidence of the holistic integration of the body of knowledge arising from the research within real-life decision-making practices. In this paper we present an overview of the existing body of knowledge relating to sustainable development of the urban environment and propose a generic framework for its integration within current practices. This framework recognises the need to: understand social, economic, and environmental issues; understand the decision-making processes; provide a means of measurement, assessment, or valuation of the issues; provide analytical methods for the comparative assessment of complex data to enable an evaluation of strategies and design options and to communicate effectively throughout the process with a wide range of stakeholders. The components of a novel sustainability assessment, visualisation and enhancement (SAVE) framework, developed by the authors to ‘operationalise’ the body of knowledge are presented and justified. These include: decision-mapping methods to identify points of intervention; indicator identification and measurement approaches; appropriate mathematical and analytical tools and an interactive simulation and visualisation platform which integrates and communicates complex multivariate information to diverse stakeholder groups. We report on the application of the SAVE framework to a major urban development project and reflect on its current and potential impact on the development. Conclusions are also drawn about its general applicability.

The Online Dissemination of Nature–Health Concepts: Lessons from Sentiment Analysis of Social Media Relating to “Nature-Deficit Disorder”

Evidence continues to grow supporting the idea that restorative environments, green exercise, and nature-based activities positively impact human health. Nature-deficit disorder, a journalistic term proposed to describe the ill effects of people’s alienation from nature, is not yet formally recognized as a medical diagnosis. However, over the past decade, the phrase has been enthusiastically taken up by some segments of the lay public. Social media, such as Twitter, with its opportunities to gather “big data” related to public opinions, offers a medium for exploring the discourse and dissemination around nature-deficit disorder and other nature–health concepts. In this paper, we report our experience of collecting more than 175,000 tweets, applying sentiment analysis to measure positive, neutral or negative feelings, and preliminarily mapping the impact on dissemination. Sentiment analysis is currently used to investigate the repercussions of events in social networks, scrutinize opinions about products and services, and understand various aspects of the communication in Web-based communities. Based on a comparison of nature-deficit-disorder “hashtags” and more generic nature hashtags, we make recommendations for the better dissemination of public health messages through changes to the framing of messages. We show the potential of Twitter to aid in better understanding the impact of the natural environment on human health and wellbeing.

Representing heritage

Cultural heritage is increasingly being viewed as an economic asset for geographic areas who aim to capitalise in the surge in interest in local history and heritage tourism from members of the public. Digital technologies have developed that facilitate new forms of engagement with heritage and allow local areas to showcase their history, potentially broadening interest to a wider audience, thus acting as a driver for cultural and economic resilience. The research presented in this paper explores this through interdisciplinary research utilising laser scanning and visualisation in combination with social research in Elgin. 3D data capture technologies were used to develop and test 3D data visualisations and protocols through which the urban built heritage can be digitally recorded. The main focus of this paper surrounds the application and perceptions of these technologies. Findings suggest that the primary driver for cultural heritage developments was economic (with an emphasis on tourism) but further benefits and key factors of community engagement, social learning and cultural resilience were also reported. Stakeholder engagement and partnership working, in particular, were identified as critical factors of success. The findings from the community engagement events demonstrate that laser scanning and visualisation provide a novel and engaging mechanism for co-producing heritage assets. There is a high level of public interest in such technologies and users who engaged with these models reported that they gained new perspectives (including spatial and temporal perspectives) on the built heritage of the area.Cultural heritage is increasingly being viewed as an economic asset for geographic areas who aim to capitalise in the surge in interest in local history and heritage tourism from members of the public. Digital technologies have developed that facilitate new forms of engagement with heritage and allow local areas to showcase their history, potentially broadening interest to a wider audience, thus acting as a driver for cultural and economic resilience. The research presented in this paper explores this through interdisciplinary research utilising laser scanning and visualisation in combination with social research in Elgin. 3D data capture technologies were used to develop and test 3D data visualisations and protocols through which the urban built heritage can be digitally recorded. The main focus of this paper surrounds the application and perceptions of these technologies. Findings suggest that the primary driver for cultural heritage developments was economic with an emphasis on tourism but further benefits and key factors of community engagement, social learning and cultural resilience were also reported. Stakeholder engagement and partnership working, in particular, were identified as critical factors of success. The findings from the community engagement events demonstrate that laser scanning and visualisation provide a novel and engaging mechanism for co-producing heritage assets. There is a high level of public interest in such technologies and users who engaged with these models reported that they gained new perspectives including spatial and temporal perspectives on the built heritage of the area.

Mobile technology and e-inclusion

This paper will describe work funded by the European Union (Intereg NSR) iAge project which attempts to address the issues surrounding accessibility to mobile devices and services. The project takes the approach of combining three approaches directed at allowing greater inclusion in mobile technologies for our increasingly aging population. Focus groups sessions are used to ascertain the real problems the older generation has with mobile devices. An iterative design process is then used to create assistive applications which not only assist the user but give them a purpose to interact with the technology. Workshops are then used to provide developers and service providers with an interactive experience of how the elderly feel when using mobile technology. Finally the paper describes how the combination of these approaches will create a transnational framework of best practice for future developers.

Streaming and 3D mapping of AGRI-data on mobile devices

A mobile app for delivery of context aware data for crop monitoring and scouting is presented.Data intensive streaming methods were evaluated for delivering in-field AGRI-data.Customisable interactive 3D visualisation methods were evaluated for displaying AGRI-data.Testing highlights that different users prefer different 3D interactive visualisation methods.Testing highlights that data streaming and rendering is possible in low connectivity environments. Farm monitoring and operations generate heterogeneous AGRI-data from a variety of different sources that have the potential to be delivered to users on the go and in the field to inform farm decision making. A software framework capable of interfacing with existing web mapping services to deliver in-field farm data on commodity mobile hardware was developed and tested. This raised key research challenges related to: robustness of data steaming methods under typical farm connectivity scenarios, and mapping and 3D rendering of AGRI-data in an engaging and intuitive way. The presentation of AGRI-data in a 3D and interactive context was explored using different visualisation techniques; currently the 2D presentation of AGRI- data is the dominant practice, despite the fact that mobile devices can now support sophisticated 3D graphics via programmable pipelines. The testing found that WebSockets were the most reliable streaming method for high resolution image/texture data. From our focus groups there was no single visualisation technique that was preferred demonstrating that a range of methods is a good way to satisfy a large user base. Improved 3D experience on mobile phones is set to revolutionize the multimedia market and a key challenge is identifying useful 3D visualisation methods and navigation tools that support the exploration of data driven 3D interactive visualisation frameworks for AGRI-data.

Scan To BIM: The Development Of A Clear Workflow For The Incorporation Of Point Clouds Within A BIM Environment

The emergence in recent years of technology to support the use of data rich models within architecture has significantly aided the uptake of building information modelling. Simultaneously, there has been a rapid expansion in the capabilities and widespread use of 3D high definition laser scanning technology. Although laser scanning has often been associated with industries outside of architecture and building (including heavy engineering and oil and gas installations), the potential to record the existing built environment is clear. Indeed, well-established concepts within building and materials conservation concerning the importance of being able to accurately monitor and recognise the importance of surface characteristics are well suited to the use of scanning to capture geometrical idiosyncrasies as well as designed detail. Likewise, the ability to capture structures which are well outside the physical reach of the expert makes the accurate recording of large scale buildings and streetscapes possible, and at a speed and level of accuracy which was not feasible even 15 years ago. This paper concerns a series of workflow stages which are required to incorporate the output of laser scan data within a BIM environment. Although it is possible to import point clouds within industry standard BIM software, in order to make best use of the highly accurate and often massive data files a certain amount of post-processing and modelling is required. We describe a process whereby cloud data can be transformed to produce representative surface meshes, and explore how the resultant models can be linked with meta data within the BIM environment. The development of methods to help the incorporation of already existing environments within BIM will be of great value within FM, building conservation and new design alike. Therefore, the refinement and adoption of clear methods to support such work is a vital step towards BIM maturation. Item was a conference paper presented at the conference of same name held in Bristol, 9-11 September 2015.

Building Bridges Between User and Designer: Co-creation, Immersion and Perspective Taking

Designing for users rather than with users is still a common practice in technology design and innovation as opposed to taking them on board in the process. Design for inclusion aims to define and understand end-users, their needs, context of use, and, by doing so, ensure that end-users are catered for and included, while the results are geared towards universality of use. We describe the central role of end-user and designer participation, immersion and perspective to build user-driven solutions. These approaches provided a critical understanding of the counterpart role. Designer(s) could understand what the user’s needs were, experience physical impairments, and see from other’s perspective the interaction with the environment. Users could understand challenges of designing for physical impairments, build a sense of ownership with technology and explore it from a creative perspective. The understanding of the peer’s role (user and designer), needs and perspective enhanced user participation and inclusion.

Comparison of Advanced and Standard Real-Time 3D Rendering Methods for Interactive Landscapes (Short Paper Version)

The use of games-based visualisation technology allows for the development of sophisticated interactive 3D decision support tools. Components of these tools are the various real-time rendering methods that are implemented to facilitate the interactive 3D aspect of the visualisations. Modern graphics hardware allows for the implementation of both simple and complex GPU shader programs. Shaders can be used to compute material and lighting properties that can greatly influence the visual style of a 3D scene. The research presented here shows that more sophisticated 3D shading methods increase user preference when used to render close up scenes. The research also shows that simpler shading methods can still be used to render distant scenes with less visual details present.