Search and rescue (SAR) is a complex teamwork environment that requires efficient spatial communication between commanders and field teams with heterogeneous perspectives and asymmetric information. Maps are central artifacts in SAR, yet they are also a space of technological tension due to constantly changing situation at disaster sites. Sketch mapping is an effective method of externalizing and communicating spatial understanding, increasing situation awareness in spatial decision-making tasks including SAR. Current paper-based sketch mapping in SAR struggles to handle the three-dimensional nature of physical space and remote collaboration. We propose CoMap, a collaborative 3D sketch mapping system validated in a virtual reality fire-rescue game. In a within-subject study with 13 commander–field team pairs, CoMap enabled more accurate and efficient spatial communication than conventional 2D sketch mapping. Communication analysis further showed that CoMap fostered proactive descriptions. We distill three design implications for next-generation mapping tools to advance SAR training and real-world operations.

Buildings increasingly incorporate sensing and actuation techniques to automate the regulation of temperature, lighting, ventilation, and more. This trend seeks to minimize human intervention, justified by the promise of enhancing energy optimization. However, it has been widely acknowledged that loss of control over environmental conditions can lead to a diminished perception of comfort and compromised long-term user awareness and satisfaction. How can we envision building systems that can interact with building inhabitants and engage them at the “right” time and place? In this work, we address this challenge through three key contributions: 1) AirSpecs, a novel smart glasses-based system that enables holistic sensing of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and physiological data, 2) an objective method for assessing environmental awareness using a peripheral LED light and a proposed comfort awareness process, and 3) design implications for addressing the fluidity of comfort. Over five days, 30 participants across three continents used the AirSpecs device and its accompanying mobile application. Through a mixed-methods analysis of user interactions, post-experience surveys, interviews, and co-design sessions, we present findings and design scenarios that demonstrate the potential of our contributions to enhance occupant engagement and comfort in smart buildings in the future. • Novel eyewear and apps enable access-anywhere interaction and personal attachment. • Comfort awareness transits between subliminal, preconscious, and conscious states. • Focus, ambient aid, and reflection modes can be designed for three awareness states. • Users prefer to interact with a semi-automated building system.

In 2020, we have witnessed global experimentation of remote co-working, co-learning, and co-habiting, leading to the re-emergence of a collective search for platforms and paradigms that can optimally coalesce the virtual and physical settings - what has been studied as "hybrid models". In this context, we examine the opportunities that the advances in Spatial Audio techniques can create to improve hybrid meetings. Concretely, we present a controlled study in which 84 participants used an online platform to follow six pre-recorded semi-scripted dialogues. The videos were around two minutes long and each of them simulated a piece of conversation in the physical meeting room among three actors who played the role of co-located attendees. The six videos represented six conditions: three auditive formats, (x2) once co-located attendees wore face masks, and once without masks. We compared the experiences of the participants (remote attendees) in these six conditions. Analyzing three types of data, namely, comprehension/memory test results, self-reported ratings, and eye-tracking, we have found reinforcing evidence that demonstrates the benefits of binaural audio in hybrid settings.

Repeated exposure to poor air quality in indoor environments such as office, home, and classroom can have substantial adverse effects on our health and productivity. The problem is especially recognized in closed indoor spaces shared by several people. We have studied the evolution of carbon dioxide level in office-meeting spaces, during 1007 meeting sessions. The collected data is employed to examine machine learning models aimed to indicate the CO2 evolution pattern and to forecast when fresh air should be supplied. In addition, to gain insight into the relations and interdependencies of social factors in meetings that may influence the users’ perception of an interactive solution, we have conducted a series of online surveys. Building on the results of the two studies, a solution is proposed that predicts the evolution of air quality in naturally-ventilated meeting rooms and engages the users in preventive actions when risk is forecast.

This paper presents 4D User Experience design principles (4D-UX), as well as a software implementation and applications of how to communicate spatial and temporal data. The foundation is built on tightly coupling multiple dimensions into one application, adding a sequential story line and finally decluttering the front-end to enhance the emotional and cognitive functions of audiences. The framework suggests a combination of a sequential story-telling approach with 2D, 3D, 4D elements such as interactive sliders added to the flow of argumentation. With those design principles in place, the authors then present a software platform called "Singapore Views" based on the "Unity" game engine. The communication challenge of research groups that had to convey the insights on their studies about the "Urban Heat Island Effect" and "Dense and Green Building Typologies" in Singapore to a diverse group of stakeholders were taken as examples. The paper presents a multi-disciplinary approach with authors from computer science, architecture, design, communication, business administration and urban development. It contributes to the current discussion of how to visualize knowledge and plan future cities.