SiteLens: situated visualization techniques for urban site visits

ABSTRACT

Urban designers and urban planners often conduct site visits prior to a design activity to search for patterns or better understand existing conditions. We introduce SiteLens, an experimental system and set of techniques for supporting site visits by visualizing relevant virtual data directly in the context of the physical site, which we call situated visualization. We address alternative visualization representations and techniques for data collection, curation, discovery, comparison, manipulation, and provenance. A real use scenario is presented and two iterations of evaluation with faculty and students from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation provide directions and insight for further investigation.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.1 Multimedia Information Systems
          Subjects: Artificial, augmented, and virtual realities

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
augmented reality, data curation, mobile computing, site visits, situated visualization, urban design, urban planning