Abstract: In recent days product design and review cycles are considerably held to many constraints and requirements. One of the main requirements regards the usability of solutions and the impact that design choices have on final users. Therefore, it is becoming crucial to anticipate human factors concerns in the preliminary phases of product development process. Also, since human factors affect the users subconsciously and influence the decision making in a significant way, they need to be enabled to observe the users while interacting with the product in real-time. In this framework, the platform that the human factors expert and the users use plays a vital role in influencing the human factor assessments and evaluations. Latest developments in Extended Reality opened the way toward the possibility to conceive new simulation platforms that allow experts to deeply explore the products in real-time through collaborative and interactive environments before the physical mockup of the product. The purpose of this paper is to outline a Mixed Reality (MR) tool in the field of aircraft interior design to demonstrate it as a potential co-creative platform for involving human factor experts in the loop while the task is ongoing. An MR multi-user, co-located, collaborative and interactive environment of an aircraft galley is developed where the HF specialist and flight crew member can co-exist to visualize the real scale model of the galley and perform an operational task. Such co-creative tool is foreseen to execute usability tests during design review phase and reduce time, costs of product development cycle while meeting the user requirements.

Keywords: Co-creation | Design review | Human factors and ergonomics | Mixed reality

Abstract: Airports are a fundamental node in the aviation system. The growth of this sector undergoes the evolution of the airports procedures and infrastructures. Air traffic control is considered to be one of the most important activity performed in an airport. This often involves numerous personnel, construction and maintenance costs etc. With the ongoing digitalisation process in various fields, the concept of remote and virtual control towers (RVT) has emerged owing to the innovation in this field. Technologies such as augmented reality (AR) have successfully paved their smooth way to bring in improvements to an RVT. The current work aims to enhance and improve the controller work in an RVT exploiting the adaption of virtual reality and AR systems. In particular, this concept is under investigation within the EU funded SESAR project: RETINA (Resilient Synthetic Vision for Advanced Control Tower Air Navigation Service Provision) and DTT (Digital Technologies for Tower). AR content generation by virtue of various display technologies are studied and, Optical Spatial See-through displays (O SSTDs) have been considered for its own advantages in developing this application. One of the necessary requirements of AR in this configuration is identified as the tracking of the operator’s point of view (eye-tracking), to provide virtual content consistent with its real position. Thus, this paper elaborates the design of specific eye-tracking system using Microsoft Kinect V2 for the virtual control tower application. The need to have binocular vision to use AR content is assessed and the interface has been tested with few subjects to evaluate the precision of the measurements detected through the proposed solution.

Keywords: Air traffic control | Augmented reality | Eye-tracking | Microsoft kinect | Remote control tower | Spatial see-through displays

Abstract: With technological innovation and advancements, especially in autonomy, battery and digitization, the future of air transport and mobility is transiting towards a broader spectrum of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM). UAM envisions safer, faster, and more sustainable air mobility for smarter cities and urban environments including passenger transport and goods delivery. Nevertheless, this concept is still considered extremely breakthrough and several technological and operational aspects are mostly undefined. In this context, a comprehensive approach to AAM/UAM may be to adapt cutting-edge technologies in developing sustainable framework and Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) in order to realize the challenges, benefits, and conditions of such transport system in advance for future safer, more reliable and globally approved operations. One of the technologies that can contribute to accelerate advancements through human centred simulating UAM processes and operations is XR (eXtended Reality). This paper presents the early steps of a multidisciplinary study performed under the framework of PNRR (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza) and MOST (Centro Nazionale Mobilità Sostenibile) project in analyzing the perspectives of XR based HMIs for UAM paradigm and potential AAM/UAM use case scenarios that can be simulated with XR in view of attaining efficient and effective future solutions. Furthermore, the work introduces the state-of-the-art overview on XR facilitated UAM applications and considers prospective potential use cases that can be developed through PNRR research study in demonstrating XR as an enabling technology in promising areas of the UAM framework.

Keywords: Advanced Air Mobility | Extended Reality | Human Machine Interfaces | Immersive Technologies | U-Space | Unmanned Aerial Systems | Urban Air Mobility

Abstract: In the recent times the concept of Co-creation, involving stakeholders, customers, and partners in the design, development, and delivery of products and services, has gained importance in various industries, including aviation. This PhD research paper presents the concept of cocreation in the aviation sector, focusing on its key elements and the potential of extended reality (XR) technologies as enablers. The paper highlights collaboration, interaction, and user experience as the essential elements of co-creation and discusses existing co-creation platforms and tools. Traditional co-creation platforms have limitations, prompting the proposal to leverage XR technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) as future co-creative platforms. These immersive technologies offer the potential to enhance collaboration, visualization, and engagement in a virtual environment. The study explores how XR tools can aid digital co-creation methods and whether XR systems can induce effective co-creation sessions. In this context, the research develops a multi-user real-time XR environment that fosters collaborative and interactive co-creation aiming to enhance engagement, communication, and idea generation. This paper includes use-case scenarios for adapting such environments in view of investigating the potential of XR tools to improve the quality and novelty of ideas, reduce communication challenges, and decrease time and costs in the aviation industry's co-creation process.

Keywords: Aviation Industry | Co-creation | Digital Methods | Extended Reality

Abstract: Successful aircraft cabin design depends on how the different stakeholders are involved since the first phases of product development. To predict passenger satisfaction prior to the manufacturing phase, human response was investigated in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment simulating a cabin aircraft. Subjective assessments of virtual designs have been collected via questionnaires, while the underlying neural mechanisms have been captured through electroencephalographic (EEG) data. In particular, we focused on the modulation of EEG alpha rhythm as a valuable marker of the brain’s internal state and investigated which changes in alpha power and connectivity can be related to a different visual comfort perception by comparing groups with higher and lower comfort rates. Results show that alpha-band power decreased in occipital regions during subjects’ immersion in the virtual cabin compared with the relaxation state, reflecting attention to the environment. Moreover, alpha-band power was modulated by comfort perception: lower comfort was associated with a lower alpha power compared to higher comfort. Further, alpha-band Granger connectivity shows top-down mechanisms in higher comfort participants, modulating attention and restoring partial relaxation. Present results contribute to understanding the role of alpha rhythm in visual comfort perception and demonstrate that VR and EEG represent promising tools to quantify human–environment interactions.

Abstract: In the last two decades a huge number of interactive and collaborative applications of Virtual Environments for designing products has been proposed. Such applications have been recommended as tools to implement Human Centered Design Approach in experiments where potential users are involved in participatory design sessions before going for production. In this kind of experiments, we observe that users are mainly involved in the validation of solutions previously elaborated by designers while in the last decade the most innovative approach in the creation of solutions seems to be moving from a user centered design to a co-design or co-creation process. Thus, it is essential to have a platform where the elements of co-creation can be fulfilled in building a successful project. The purpose of this paper is to outline the concept of co-creation and the significance of co-creation platforms alongside of proposing innovative tools for building the co-creative environments. The paper aims to layout a classification of the Extended Reality (XR) tools currently available and of their functionality as valuable means to actually embed co-design and co-creation concepts in Virtual Environments evaluating the advantages that this can bring to Industry through field studies. A review of innovative solutions like Virtual, Augmented and Mixed reality technologies is examined and drawn towards the requirements of the concept through a literature research. Additionally, a co-creative environment for designing aircraft cabin interiors is conceived and discussed a with company representative.

Keywords: Co-creation | Collaboration | Extended reality | Interaction platforms

Abstract: In the past decades there is a lot of heed towards Human Centered Design (HCD) Approach in which users are involved for needs collection or validation sessions of the prototypes for problem identification. A successful design relies also on how well different stakeholders are proactively involved since the beginning or even in the creative phase of product development. Therefore, in the recent times, innovative organizations are shifting their ideation strategies towards the concept of 'co-creation' in order to improve their creative businesses. Co-creation is known to draw in final users or customers in the design process to collaborate and interact in jointly generating solutions and creating value. Thus, the platform where co-creators engage plays an influential role in improving the creative participation and thus user experience. Traditional co-creation platforms limit a user in various forms. The immense growth of innovative technologies such as Extended Reality (XR) tools have expanded to interactive and collaborative environment developments regulating new ways of working. My PhD research proposes XR tools as potential digital co-creation platforms and focuses on establishing the key factors that influence 'co-creation' process in XR by laying out a methodology and developing number of applications fulfilling these factors during product development process promoting the idea. This paper describes the principles of co-creation, the importance of cocreation platforms, elements of co-creation and outlines few application scenarios developed in the context of product development process striving to demonstrate XR environment as a co-creation space. The research will also provide interesting insights into emerging design practices and expects to study the factors that affect a user in this innovative co-creative XR world and collect practical recommendations. Through ISMAR'22 Doctoral Consortium, I would like to gain expert inputs on validation methods for the applications developed that can strengthen the concept proposal.

Keywords: Co-Creation | Collaboration | Extended Reality | Interaction | Product Development | User Experience | virtual

Abstract: Noise has affected aircraft since the dawn of aviation. Aircraft noise reduces comfort for passengers and crew inside the cabin and the cockpit, in addition to the structural problem created by the vibration on the aircraft structures. Acoustic characteristics of an aircraft are traditionally represented with numerical data or are in the form of pressure maps and color maps calculated at particular positions taking into account several parameters. Audializing this data, involving potential users, is possible on physical prototypes at the end of the product development requiring considerable time and cost resources. From the past decade, innovative technologies such as Extended Reality (XR) have paved their way towards digital transformation of the products augmenting Human Centred approach. In this paper, we present a novel adaptation of these technologies in developing a multi-sensory virtual aircraft cabin environment in order to provide realism and improve immersion for a user. A new concept to “auralize” the noise inside the virtual passenger cabin, combining numerical acoustics and XR technology has been proposed to develop a tool to evaluate passenger comfort and wellbeing before the prototypes are manufactured. Different solutions on modeling acoustics in a virtual reality cabin have been studied, developed and discussed.

Keywords: Acoustics | Auralization | Multi-Sensory | Realism | Virtual Reality