Innovation in Urban Planning

Härnösand and Nykarleby are two cities facing similar challenges: Sparsely populated regions, ageing population with young people moving away and society turning multicultural and -lingual. Both cities need to develop inclusive, digitally supported ways of including residents in planning and decisionmaking. Their regions share many similarities, but there are also differences in both circumstances and challenges that merit comparison and exchange. Urban planning is one example of a sector where there is need of new tools and ways of working to create paths towards a sustainable society.  

Åbo Akademi Experience Lab will focus on digital transformation, especially the meetings between human and technology including the context where they occur. We use user research methods and human-centred design to analyse and design not just digital interfaces but the processes where they are included as well. 

Innovation in Urban Planning will result in a pre-study on the need to develop new dialogue tools for the citizens, identify the potential of new technology and enhance the innovation capacities of the municipal organizations. 

Innovation in Urban Planning is funded by the Interreg Aurora programme. 

Contact: Kimmo Rautanen, project manager (ÅAU), Kimmo.rautanen (at) abo.fi 

SoRoMa

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Alla elever får inte det nödvändiga stöd som de behöver i klassrumsmiljön. Lärarna är ofta underbemannade, vilket gör det svårt att erbjuda den grad av individuell handledning som skulle behövas.

Med detta i åtanke syftar projektet SoRoMa (Sociala robotar i matematikundervisningen) till att ta några inledande steg mot att erbjuda individuell handledning till elever som behöver det. Genom att använda ett unikt tillvägagångssätt med ett matematikbaserat kortspel, använder detta projekt en social robot som handledare. Med hjälp av AI-teknologi anpassar sig roboten till situationen under handledningen.

Projektet finansieras av Högskolestiftelsen i Österbotten.

SoRoMa

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Not every student receives the necessary support within a classroom setting. While a one-to-one setting often would be for the best, the reality is that teachers often are understaffed, making this hard to achieve.

With this in mind, the project SoRoMa (Sociala robatar i matematikundervisningen) aims to make some preliminary steps towards providing individualized tutoring to students who need it. Using a unique approach involving a math-based card game, this project employs a social robot acting as a tutor. With the help of AI-techonlogy the robot is meant to adapt to the situation unfolding during the tutoring.

The project is funded by Högskolestiftelsen i Österbotten.

Mattias Wingren

VRVittne – Ögonvittnesstudie i Virtual Reality

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I rättsprocesser läggs stor vikt vid ögonvittnesmål. I många länder betraktas ögonvittnesidentifikationer som ett direkt bevis för skuld. På senare år har forskning dock visat att ögonvittnen inte alltid är så tillförlitliga som man tidigare antagit. Till exempel finns det globalt sett tusentals fall där dömda personer i efterhand med hjälp av DNA-bevis visats vara oskyldiga. Analyser av dessa fall visar att felaktiga ögonvittnesmål bidragit till domen i 70% av fallen.

För att höja vår rättssäkerhet behöver vi mer kunskap om vilka faktorer som påverkar tillförlitligheten av ögonvittnens identifikationer av gärningspersoner.

VRvittne är en rättspsykologisk studie där vi genom experiment i virtuell verklighet (VR) undersöker hur nivån av hotfullhet påverkar vittnens emotionella tillstånd och visuella uppmärksamhet, och hur dessa saker i sin tur påverkar vittnens förmåga att korrekt identifiera gärningsmän. Emotionella reaktioner mäts med hudkonduktans, och visuell uppmärksamhet med en ögonrörelsekamera.

Som en del i projektet har vi även utvecklat en AI-baserad mjukvara som analyserar videofiler och automatiskt identifierar ansiktens positioner och ger koordinater för dem, vilket kan användas för analyser av ögonrörelser.

Studien finansierades av Svensk-Österbottniska samfundet och genomförs i samarbete med forskare från New York University.

VRVittne – Eyewitness Study in Virtual Reality

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In legal proceedings, great importance is placed on eyewitness testimony. In many countries, eyewitness identifications are considered direct evidence of guilt. However, recent research has shown that eyewitnesses are not always as reliable as previously assumed. For example, globally, there are thousands of cases where convicted individuals have been later proven innocent with the help of DNA evidence. Analyses of these cases show that erroneous eyewitness testimony contributed to the verdict in 70% of the cases. To enhance our legal certainty, we need more knowledge about the factors that affect the reliability of eyewitness identifications of perpetrators.

“VR Witness” is a forensic psychological study where, through experiments in virtual reality (VR), we investigate how the level of threat affects witnesses’ emotional states and visual attention, and how these factors, in turn, affect witnesses’ ability to accurately identify perpetrators. Emotional reactions are measured using skin conductance, and visual attention is measured using an eye-tracking camera. As part of the project, we have also developed an AI-based software that analyzes video files and automatically identifies facial positions and provides coordinates for them, which can be used for eye movement analyses.

The study was funded by the Swedish-Ostrobothnian Society and is conducted in collaboration with researchers from New York University.

Daniel Ventus

Image by www.freepik.com

Att möta metaversum – att skapa nätverk för framtiden

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I dagens läge är Metaverse mera ett koncept än en verklig plattform, men förväntningarna är stora och många företag satsar ansenliga summor på att etablera sig virtuellt med sikte på ett kommande, stort Metaverse.

Syftet med detta projekt var att sammanföra aktörer för att orientera oss i olika aspekter av Metaverse, med sikte på ett framtida större forskningsprojekt. I Metaverse finns en mångfald av teman att förhålla sig till och orientera sig i: existerande plattformar, teknologins möjligheter och begräsningar, affärsmodeller, etik, innehållsproduktion och virtuella spelmiljöer, datasäkerhet, människans upplevelse av att agera i Metaverse etc.

Projektet gav ett flertal resultat:

• Experience Lab kom med som finländsk partner i ett europeiskt Urbact nätverk – https://urbact.eu/networks/metacity som utröner små och medelstora städers ingångar i metaverse. Arbetet i projektet sker tillsammans med Nykarleby stad.
• Experience Lab deltog i konferensen Smart City Expo and Conference med temat metaversum
• Experience Lab deltar i referensgruppen för Åbo Akademis projekt DUTAR kring virtuella miljöer för undervisning och forskning

Kontakt: Yvonne Backholm-Nyberg

Meeting the Metaverse – Creating Networks for the Future

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At present, the Metaverse is more of a concept than a real platform, but expectations are high, and many companies are investing substantial sums to establish themselves virtually in anticipation of a forthcoming, large-scale Metaverse.

The purpose of this project was to bring together stakeholders to explore various aspects of the Metaverse, aiming for a future larger research project. The Metaverse offers a variety of themes to consider: existing platforms, the possibilities and limitations of technology, business models, ethics, content production, virtual gaming environments, data security, human experience of acting in the Metaverse, etc.

The project yielded several results:

• Experience Lab joined as a Finnish partner in a European Urbact network – https://urbact.eu/networks/metacity which explores the entry points of small and medium-sized cities into the Metaverse. The work in the project is carried out in collaboration with the city of Nykarleby.
• Experience Lab participated in the Smart City Expo and Conference with the theme of the metaverse.
• Experience Lab is part of the reference group for Åbo Akademi’s project DUTAR on virtual environments for teaching and research.

Contact: Yvonne Backholm-Nyberg

Yvonne Backholm-Nyberg

Digital4All

The overarching aim of the project “DIGITAL4ALL – Building the capacity of universities to develop digital strategies to serve all learners” is to support higher education institutions in designing and providing digital learning experiences that are inclusive and equitable for all, through appropriate strategies and practices. The project supports a digital transition where participation of all students is established, especially those at risk of marginalisation due to diverse needs. It provides educators with digital and pedagogic competences and strategies needed to provide student-centred experiences.

To achieve the above objectives and address the priorities, the partnership creates a set of tangible outcomes, including an innovative toolkit, a training course, and an e-learning platform, and a repository of open education resources on digital inclusion in higher education.

In addition to being involved in all project activities, Experience Lab is co-leading a work package investigating the state-of-the-art of digital equity and inclusion in higher education. 

The project is co-funded by the European Union and the duration of the project is 1.12.2023-30.11.2025. It is led by Åbo Akademi University.

Project partners are:

National University of Ireland

Innovade LI LTD, Cyprus

All Digital, Belgium

International Hellenic University, Greece

University of Nicosia, Cyprus

Anette Bengs

Inclusivehubs

The purpose of the INCLUSIVE HUBS project is to help make school spaces places for inclusion where all learners will feel welcome, respected, and valued, particularly those with fewer opportunities like migrants. Through the project implementation, we will support holistic approaches to teaching and learning as well as collaboration among all actors relevant to schools (school staff, communities, migrant learners, and their families) to transform schools into inclusive hubs. According to the European Commission, low proficiency and early school leaving can be a result of the struggle in learning and social exclusion, a phenomenon faced by many European areas. Several European Union (EU) countries have already developed national strategies to facilitate stronger communication between schools and local communities, and provide measures to foster inclusion. Therefore, the project will contribute to those efforts by developing materials and tools focused on wellbeing, inclusion, mental health, and personal development.

Objectives

• Develop an evidence-based whole school and community program to transform schools into inclusive hubs
• Build the capacity of school leaders, teachers, school staff, and local actors to better support migrant learners’ inclusion in the education system and society at large.
• Develop the language skills, wellbeing, and resilience of migrant learners and their families.
• Build the capacity of migrant parents to act as cultural mediators and interpreters in local schools.
• 1 school per country participant will be developed into an inclusive hub.

https://inclusivehubs.eu/

Anette Bengs