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- HomeTree: an art inspired mobile eco-feedback visualizationPublication . Quintal, Filipe; Nisi, Valentina; Nunes, Nuno; Barreto, Mary; Pereira, LucasThis paper presents HomeTree a prototype of an art-inspired mobile eco feedback system. The system is implemented on a tablet PC and relies on a non intrusive energy-monitoring infrastructure to access consumption and power event information. Our prototype addresses an important problem in eco feedback, which is the fact that users loose interest about their energy consump tion after a period of several weeks. To accomplish this HomeTree implements a dual visualization strategy. Initially HomeTree presents users with a screensa ver that shows energy consumption mapped in a dynamic illustration of the lo cal forest. Through this strategy we leverage the emotional connection between the short-term energy consumption and the long-term effects on nature through the local depicted landscape. In a second mode of operation users can interact with HomeTree directly by checking the historical records of their consumption data, and check which days or weeks they have reduced or increased consump tion. Furthermore a comparison with a more objective baseline, such as the city of Funchal energy consumption is provided, in order to give users a sense of the level of their consumption in a wider context.
- Beanstalk: a community based passive wi-fi tracking system for analysing tourism dynamicsPublication . Nunes, Nuno; Ribeiro, Miguel; Prandi, Catia; Nisi, ValentinaThis paper presents Beanstalk, an interactive platform to assist communities in easily running systematic analysis of mobility patterns of tourists at their destinations, contributing in new ways in visualizing spatio-temporal mobility data for forecasting, tracking trends, detecting patterns and noticing anomalies. The approach takes advantage of a combination of passive Wi-Fi tracking and ground truth data provided by tourism authorities. By analyzing a large dataset for a medium sized European island, we provide evidence of the accuracy and effectiveness of this low-cost method in inferring topological characteristics of tourist behavior and relevant typologies of trip itineraries. This helps decision makers in the touristic sector to plan and manage actions geared towards improving the sustainability and competitiveness of their touristic regions. In particular, we argue that in a world where sensing data is becoming inexpensive, there is an opportunity to use this approach to deliver data back to local communities which are empowered to act and leverage this information.
- Learning and Teaching Biodiversity Through a Storyteller RobotPublication . Ferreira, Maria José; Nisi, Valentina; Melo, Francisco; Paiva, Ana. This research project proposes the use of Child-Robot Inter action principles to boost the interest and engagement of young children in the biodiversity curriculum. We propose an architecture where a robot learns from children through an Interactive Story, while at the same time teaches them previous knowledge acquired in past interactions.
- Teaching Social History through Locative Media: A Case Study in Austin, TexasPublication . Silva, Cláudia; Palmer, Lucia; Nisi, Valentina; Straubhaar, JosephThis paper explores the combination of formal and informal learning coupled with locative media principles; we research the potential of this specific type of media to reinforce and expand learning goals out-of-class time, equip ping students with lifelong learning attitudes. We report on the findings from and observations on how a class of undergraduate students used locative media for the first time to learn about the effects of spatial segregation in a specific underserved area of Austin, Texas, usa. Students were asked to visit several locations and produce multi media stories with a focus on the local history. Results from the study show that using locative media is highly effi cient for learning purposes. Students get to experience the content learned in the classroom in a physical setting, which fosters ‘situated learning’, a theory we used as theoretical framework. Our findings also suggest that rather than local history or history in general, current societal issues with a strong spatial component are more effective in engaging students with the assignment off the classroom. Hence, segregation and gentrification were found in this study to be useful subjects to be explored and taught through the principles of locative media.
- DreamScope Catcher: a Touch Sensitive Interface to Catch DreamsPublication . Dionisio, Mara; Bala, Paulo; Trindade, Rui; Nisi, Valentina; Nunes, Nuno JardimDream Scope is the interactive, stand alone, self contained portion of a bigger Art installation named Lucid Peninsula. The goal of the installation is to offer a way for people to experience the future through a physical interactive installation. To achieve this aim we designed and developed the interactive DreamScope device, while the Time’s Up collective designed and built the physical installation. On one side with the DreamViewer binoculars enable participants to see the Lucid Peninsula fictional world and absorb data relating to factors such as air quality, presence of plant and other life forms, etc. On the other side of the installation, the audience will be able to borrow mobile devices (DreamCatchers) and ‘catch’ the dreams of the inhabitants of the peninsula, which are mixed with memories of the world before it was transformed.
- Appropriating Video Surveillance for Art and Environmental Awareness: Experiences from ARTiVISPublication . Mendes, Mónica; Ângelo, Pedro; Correia, Nuno; Nisi, ValentinaArts, Real-Time Video and Interactivity for Sustainability (ARTiVIS) is an ongoing collaborative research project investigating how real-time video, DIY surveillance technologies and sensor data can be used as a tool for environmental awareness, activism and artistic explorations. The project consists of a series of digital contexts for aesthetic contemplation of nature and civic engagement, aiming to foster awareness and empowerment of local populations through DIY surveil lance. At the core of the ARTIVIS efforts are a series of interactive installations (namely B-Wind!, Hug@tree and Play with Fire), that make use of surveillance technologies and real-time video as raw material to promote environmental awareness through the emotion generated by real-time connections with nature. Throughout the project development, the surveillance concept has been shifting from the use of surveillance technology in a centralized platform, to the idea of veillance with distributed peer-to-peer networks that can be used for science and environmental monitoring. In this paper we present the history of the ARTiVIS project, related and inspiring work, describe ongoing research work and explore the present and future challenges of appropriating surveillance technology for artistic, educational and civic engagement purposes.
- Towards using Low-Cost Opportunistic Energy Sensing for Promoting Energy ConservationPublication . Nunes, Nuno J.; Pereira, Lucas; Nisi, ValentinaThis position paper discusses how to leverage low-cost energy sensing to opportunistically develop activity-based approaches to energy conservation. Based on our extensive experience developing low-cost sensing infrastructures and long term deployment of ecofeedback systems, we discuss the possibility of unobtrusively inferring domestic activities from the overall aggregated energy consumption of households. We then postulate how the combination of this information with daily household activities could lead to more effective and meaningful ways to re-aggregate residential energy consumption for the purpose of ecofeedback. Here we briefly present a practical approach towards this new research direction that leverages HCI related methods, in particular using the day reconstruction method to provide semi-supervised approaches for automatic detection of household activities.
- When the Elephant Trumps": A Comparative Study on Spatial Audio for Orientation in 360◦ VideosPublication . Bala, Paulo; Masu, Raul; Nisi, Valentina; Nunes, NunoOrientation is an emerging issue in cinematic Virtual Reality (VR), as viewers may fail in locating points of interest. Recent strategies to tackle this research problem have investigated the role of cues, specifically diegetic sound effects. In this paper, we examine the use of sound spatialization for orien tation purposes, namely by studying different spatialization conditions ("none", "partial", and "full" spatial manipulation) of multitrack soundtracks. We performed a between-subject mixed-methods study with 36 participants, aided by Cue Control, a tool we developed for dynamic spatial sound edit ing and data collection/analysis. Based on existing literature on orientation cues in 360◦ and theories on human listening, we discuss situations in which the spatialization was more ef fective (namely, "full" spatial manipulation both when using only music and when combining music and diegetic effects), and how this can be used by creators of 360◦ videos.
- Enhancing sustainable mobility awareness by exploiting multi-sourced data: the case study of the Madeira islandsPublication . Prandi, Catia; Nunes, Nuno; Ribeiro, Miguel; Nisi, ValentinaIn this paper we present a low-cost infrastructure to collect a variety of location-based multi-sourced data with the aim of providing personalized services and raising awareness for sustainable mobility solutions. The gathered data can be used to provide: (i) citizens and tourists with personalized location-based services to increase sustainability awareness; (ii) local authorities and tourism boards with a tool to identify and prevent mobility issues; and (iii) transport companies with an instrument to support urban mobility planning decisions. To collect data, we exploited a low-cost Wi-Fi passive tracking system and we augmented this infrastructure using sensors for detecting environmental conditions. To achieve this, we provided 60 points of interest and 20 buses with our solution, to spread out the sensors over the entire Madeira Island. Using the gathered data, we developed different scenarios to prove that in a world where sensing data is becoming inexpensive, there are opportunities to use our approach to deliver data back to the citizens, empowering local communities, with the goal of promoting sustainable mobility and tourism.
- Modeling Adoption, Security, and Privacy of COVID-19 Apps: Findings and Recommendations From an Empirical Study Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of TechnologyPublication . Nunes, Nuno; Adamo, Greta; Ribeiro, Miguel; Gouveia, Bruna R.; Gouveia, Élvio Rúbio; Teixeira, Pedro; Nisi, ValentinaBackground: The global health crisis caused by COVID-19 has drastically changed human society in a relatively short time. However, this crisis has offered insights into the different roles that such a worldwide virus plays in the lives of people and how those have been affected, as well as eventually proposing new solutions. From the beginning of the pandemic, technology solutions have featured prominently in virus control and in the frame of reference for international travel, especially contact tracing and passenger locator applications. Objective: The objective of this paper is to study specific areas of technology acceptance and adoption following a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) research model. Methods: We presented a research model based on UTAUT constructs to study the determinants for adoption of COVID-19–related apps using a questionnaire. We tested the model via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) using travelers’ data from an insular tourist region. Results: Our model explained 90.3% of the intention to use (N=9555) and showed an increased understanding of the vital role of safety, security, privacy, and trust in the usage intention of safety apps. Results also showed how the impact of COVID-19 is not a strong predictor of adoption, while age, education level, and social capital are essential moderators of behavioral intention. Conclusions: In terms of scientific impact, the results described here provide important insights and contributions not only for researchers but also for policy and decision makers by explaining the reasons behind the adoption and usage of apps designed for COVID-19.