| CHS:Eager:Aiding Reasoning about Correlation and Causation | People are increasingly exposed to data and datasets in everyday life, in domains from health and science to news and policy This raises important questions about how to help non-specialists make sense of those data, in particular, around understanding how to think about correlation and causation These concepts can be slippery confounding correlation with causation may lead people to assume causality when there is none, but correlations do often provide precious hints to causation This project will investigate how theories of cognition that emphasize the relationship between thinking and physical action can be used to design full-body and tangible ways to interact with data-based museum installations that prime people to think in ways that improve their understanding of causation and correlation The goal is to develop bridges between theories of embodied cognition, the design of data visualizations, and long-term learning effects about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts discussed in the installations The project will be deployed in real contexts, having direct potential impacts on visitors understanding, and will be used to inform educational curricula in ubiquitous computing and design for informal learning
The project is organized in four phases that will be conducted at Discovery Place, a science museum in Charlotte, NC In part one, the team will design visualizations of geo-referenced datasets on a wall-size projected screen Using a semi-experimental design, groups of visitors will interact with one of several variations of the installation, including full-body and tangible interaction styles based on different physical metaphors for correlation as well as a tablet-based control condition In part two, the team will experiment with different styles of data visualization (eg, line charts or heat maps), and in part three visitors will be asked personalize the dataset on display these extensions are necessary to assess the generalizability of the results from phase one to different data presentations and domains Part four addresses transferability of learning across time and to other contexts, following up with museum visitors weeks or months after their visit and asking them to evaluate the likely correctness of data-based claims about correlation and causation in science articles in domains such as health remedies
This award reflects NSFs statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundations intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria |
| Extraction and Integration of Physical Illumination in Dynamic Augmented Reality Environments | Although current augmented, virtual, and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) systems are facing advanced and immersive experience in the entertainment industry with countless media forms Theses systems suffer a lack of correct direct and indirect illumination modeling where the virtual objects render with the same lighting condition as the real environment Some systems are using baked GI, pre-recorded textures, and light probes that are mostly accomplished offline to compensate for precomputed real-time global illumination (GI) Thus, illumination information can be extracted from the physical scene for interactively rendering the virtual objects into the real world which produces a more realistic final scene in real-time This work approaches the problem of visual coherence in AR by proposing a system that detects the real-world lighting conditions in dynamic scenes, then uses the extracted illumination information to render the objects added to the scene The system covers several major components to achieve a more realistic augmented reality outcome First, the detection of the incident light (direct illumination) from the physical scene with the use of computer vision techniques based on the topological structural analysis of 2D images using a live-feed 360o camera instrumented on an AR device that captures the entire radiance map Also, the physics-based light polarization eliminates or reduces false-positive lights such as white surfaces, reflections, or glare which negatively affect the light detection process Second, the simulation of the reflected light (indirect illumination) that bounce between the real-world surfaces to be rendered into the virtual objects and reflect their existence in the virtual world Third, defining the shading characteristic/properties of the virtual object to depict the correct lighting assets with a suitable shadow casting Fourth, the geometric properties of real-scene including plane detection, 3D surface reconstruction, and simple meshing are incorporated with the virtual scene for more realistic depth interactions between the real and virtual objects These components are developed methods which assumed to be working simultaneously in real-time for photo-realistic AR The system is tested with several lighting conditions to evaluate the accuracy of the results based on the error incurred between the real/virtual objects casting shadow and interactions For system efficiency, the rendering time is compared with previous works and research Further evaluation of human perception is conducted through a user study The overall performance of the system is investigated to reduce the cost to a minimum |
| Extended Reality (XR) making Immersive Technologies in Training and Repair: The Key to Unlocking Industry 40 | One of the most widely used technologies in the 21st century is Extended Reality (XR) It has been regarded as one of the key components of the Industry 40 revolution The use of extended reality systems including Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Augmented Virtuality (AV), has been on the rise due to the increasing availability of high-end hardware and the ease of implementing these systems This technology can be used for various applications, such as safety training and repair (Alizadehsalehi 2020) (Santi 2021) Despite the increasing number of publications about the use of XR in manufacturing training, there is still room for improvement in the current state of the art of this technology To this end, our project aims to investigate the use of XR technologies in training personnel in the field of manufacturing and provide guidance for machinery repair In this research, we first will discuss the need for extended reality in manufacturing, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) (Doolani 2020) We then present various key application domains where it can be utilized, such as maintenance training, assembly, and repair We are eager to develop a complete system for specific machinery at Neom in collaboration with the Industrial Innovation and Robotics Center for the purpose of this project The proposed framework aims to provide a clear guideline on the steps involved in implementing and evaluating the use of extended reality in manufacturing and education for training and repair It also strengthens the importance of a user-centered approach in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) (Sarkis 2020) |
