Virtual, augmented and mixed reality as participatory urban planning tools - Cariboni Group
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04 December 2019

Virtual, augmented and mixed reality as participatory urban planning tools

The use of augmented, virtual and mixed reality is of particular interest in the field of participatory urban planning, particularly when dealing with choices regarding lighting.
Virtual, augmented and mixed reality as participatory urban planning tools

Augmented, virtual and mixed reality can become instruments for participatory urban planning. These are all technologies capable of altering the perception of reality, but each with its own different level of immersion and interaction.

Augmented reality – AR

Augmented reality allows the superimposition of digital content onto the real environment. The information that augments reality can be viewed on the screen of a computer or mobile device (smartphone, tablet, smart glass) through the use of dedicated apps and a camera to film the surrounding environment. Devices recognise the markers (AR tags) and immediately superimpose additional content such as text, video, audio or 3D objects directly over the real image.

Virtual reality – VR

Virtual reality allows a user to experience an environment that is completely different from that which actually surrounds them. By wearing a visor, the user is isolated from the real world, and is immersed in a different space that they can explore with their senses (sight, sound, touch or even smell) in all directions, and in which they can interact with objects or other people through manual control devices.

Mixed reality – MR

The most interesting technology is probably mixed reality, which adds digital content to the real environment, while allowing for a more immersive and interactive experience. Through the use of visors and control devices, it is possible to observe or interact with stereoscopic representations of virtual objects placed in real situations. Movement sensors installed both on the visor and outside follow the movements of the user, updating their view according to their position.

Using the various realities for urban development

By choosing the technology best suited to the specific situation, architects, urban planners or lighting designers can use AR, VR or MR to render their projects visible and understandable to all and encourage citizens to play an active role in urban development.

The feedback from the community therefore becomes an integral part of the planning process.

2D designs or renderings can also be used to present development projects for urban space to the relative users, but the results are not the same. It should not in fact be taken for granted that a common citizen without any specific sector skills knows how to interpret a technical drawing, and renderings often present a distorted view of what the actual final result will be (via points of view that are captivating but unrealistic for a pedestrian, the use of greenwashing, photographic post-production techniques and so-on). On the other hand, augmented, virtual or mixed reality offer a more realistic view of the project and how it will adapt to the existing environment.

The 1:1 scale view, the human point of view and the possibility to explore the new space in fact allow for an egocentric rather than allocentric vision of the proposed projects. By basing oneself on subjective experiences, one can express more informed opinions on factors such as lighting, traffic flow, or the visual impact of new buildings. Furthermore, planning proposals can be rendered visible in-situ and accessible to the public.

Augmented, virtual or mixed reality can therefore facilitate the participatory processes of planning through more immersive and democratic experiences. Furthermore, the involvement of citizens in urban development can encourage social bonds within the community. 

Scenarios for the use of AR, VR and MR

This approach is still not used extensively, also due to the complexity of development, but it could be facilitated by the diffusion of the BIM (Building Information Modeling) method in the construction sector, which provides designers with three-dimensional parametric models to which a range of descriptive information is already associated. The advantages are evident, above all with regards to the lighting sector because light is a complex medium and its effects are best expressed through experience rather than theory. We in Cariboni Group already provide BIM models for our products in order to allow designers to use them in their projects.

During the project experience, one can, for example, accelerate time in order to assess the environment at all times of the day and throughout the seasons, or modify the intensity, distribution or colour of the light in order to choose the option that is most appreciated in terms of quality of perception, vision ergonomics and sense of security.

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