Large-scale shape-changing interfaces (SCIs) such as shape-changing walls offer opportunities for enhancing user experiences within buildings, e.g., for navigation. However, due to the embryonic nature of SCI technologies, designing and explaining the shape features that are beneficial to users is challenging. Previous work used virtual platforms (2D video or Projected Augmented Reality) to design SCI. This paper explores how Virtual Reality (VR) can provide an immersive experience that can help in designing large-scale SCI. We follow a co-design approach in which we use VR to obtain users’ impressions of shape-changing walls. Then, we conduct co-design sessions to understand how shape-changing walls can be designed to become ambient and blend with the environment. We report our results to guide the design of shape-changing walls as well as discuss how our approach can provide valuable insights into how a VR experience, prior to design, and can help in the design process.

It is well established that the presence of other people and the physical traces of their activities impact our navigation decisions, e.g. following a path in a park where trails are worn by frequent passage. Here we investigate such effect within a digital setup where social cues are displayed on the floor. We contribute the first lab study (n=24) investigating how social cues, presented as footprints on an interactive floor display, can impact navigation decisions. We particularly explore two task-based scenarios: exploration and search. A direct comparison of path choices did not reveal significant effects in both tasks but a further qualitative analysis showed that social cues affected path choices depending on how participants interpreted them. Additionally, results revealed a pattern of direct decision-making behaviours when social cues were present. We discuss how these insights can contribute to designing engaging floor interfaces that guide navigation decisions using social cues.

Environmental cues influence our spatial behaviour when we explore unfamiliar spaces. Research particularly shows that the presence/actions of other people affects our navigation decisions. Here we examine how such social information can be integrated digitally into the environment to support navigation in indoor public spaces. We carried out a study (n=12) to explore how to represent traces of navigation behaviour. We compared 6 floor visualisations and examined how they affect participants' navigational choices. Results suggest that direct representations such as footprints are most informative. To investigate further how such visualisation could work in practice, we implemented an interactive floor system and used it as probe during one-to-one design sessions (n=26). We particularly focused on four design challenges: the overall visual representation, representation of multiple people, designing more prominent visualisations and the incorporation of non-identifying information. Our results provide insights for designers looking to develop history-enriched floor interfaces.