Joshua Radinsky

I see you there!: developing identity-preserving embodied interaction for museum exhibits

Museums are increasingly embracing technologies that provide highly-individualized and highly-interactive experiences to visitors. With embodied interaction experiences, increased localization accuracy supports greater nuance in interaction design, but there is usually a tradeoff between fast, accurate tracking and the ability to preserve the identity of users. Customization of experience relies on the ability to detect the identity of visitors, however. We present a method that combines fine-grained indoor tracking with robust preservation of the unique identities of multiple users. Our model merges input from an RFID reader with input from a commercial camera-based tracking system. We developed a probabilistic Bayesian model to infer at run-time the correct identification of the subjects in the cameras field of view. This method, tested in a lab and at a local museum, requires minimal modification to the exhibition space, while addressing several identity-preservation problems for which many indoor tracking systems do not have robust solutions.

How planners and stakeholders learn with visualization tools: using learning sciences methods to examine planning processes

Planning researchers traditionally conceptualize learning as cognitive changes in individuals. In this tradition, scholars assess learning with pre- and post-measures of understandings or beliefs. While valuable for documenting individual change, such methods leave unexamined the social processes in which planners think, act, and learn in groups, which often involve the use of technical tools. The present interdisciplinary research program used Learning Sciences research methods, including conversation analysis, interaction analysis, and visualization of discourse codes, to understand how tools like agent-based models and geographic information systems mediate learning in planning groups. The objective was to understand how the use of these tools in participatory planning can help stakeholders learn about complex environmental problems, to make more informed judgments about the future. The paper provides three cases that illustrate the capacity of such research methods to provide insights into planning groups’ learning processes, and the mediating roles of planning tools.

RFID localization for tangible and embodied multi-user interaction with museum exhibits

RFID is usually used for identification but with some post-processing it can also be used for localization. These properties expand the typical range of possible interactions with digital displays in museums. Our goal is to encourage the collaborative investigation of a rich information space presented on an Ambient Display in a museum exhibit. We consider two different models of interacting with an exhibit: Tangible Control, wherein passive RFID tags are embedded in some artifacts and multiple users can control the information on the screen by moving those artifacts, and Embodied Control, wherein people directly carry an RFID tag and interact with the information by walking within the simulation space. Each model has different implications for how the visitors might relate (a) to the information being displayed, and (b) to one another. Here we present preliminary results on the suitability of a single-reader and passive tag setup for providing localization input.

Learning as inquiry

Learning as inquiry foregrounds the question rather than the answer and places the locus of learning in the learner, not in material transmitted by the teacher. The many approaches to inquiry learning address all the core subjects taught in schools and share a defining feature: the learners engagement with the processes of answering one or more questions. Professional, discipline-based inquiry and classroom inquiry differ in a number of important ways. In classrooms, inquiry cycles are a dominant approach to implementing learning as inquiry. Classroom implementation of learning as inquiry presents challenges related to the developmental levels of students, teachers’ preparedness to guide the process, and classroom interaction patterns.

Reconsidering Scale: Using Geographic Information Systems to Support Spatial Planning Conversations

ABSTRACT How do planners compose plans that fit complex environmental systems? How do they align mismatched ecological and governance landscapes? We studied a small group of practitioners planning for groundwater sustainability to explore these questions. We recorded and transcribed their talk as they worked with geovisualization tools to diagnose and resolve future water shortages. Our findings showed how these planners crossed scales and levels as they reconsidered the relationships between groundwater supplies and consumers. While they recognized the urgency of aquifer overdraft, they complained about a lack of fine-grained hydrogeologic data, which they rely on for managing local water shortages.