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publication in Urban Rail Transit journal

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Paper published in the Urban Rail Transit journal

Tang, Ming, and Christopher Auffrey. “Advanced Digital Tools for Updating Overcrowded Rail Stations: Using Eye Tracking, Virtual Reality, and Crowd Simulation to Support Design Decision-Making.” Urban Rail Transit, December 19, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40864-018-0096-2.

This paper describes an innovative integration of eye-tracking (ET) with virtual reality (VR), and details the application of these combined technologies for the adaptive reuse redesign of the Wudaokou rail station in Beijing. The objective of the research is to develop a hybrid approach, combining ET and VR technologies, as part of an experimental study of how to improve wayfinding and pedestrian movement in crowded environments such as those found in urban subway stations during peak hours. Using ET analysis, design features such as edges, and color contrast are used to evaluate several proposed rail station redesigns. Through VR and screen-based ET, visual attention and related spatial responses are tracked and analyzed for the selected redesign elements. This paper assesses the potential benefits of using ET and VR to assist identification of station design elements that will improve wayfinding and pedestrian movement, and describes how the combination of VR and ET can influence the design process. The research concludes that the combination of VR and ET offers unique advantages for modeling how the design of rail transit hub interiors can influence the visual attention and movement behavior of those using the redesigned station.  This is especially true for crowded conditions in complex interior spaces. The use of integrated ET and VR technology is shown to inform innovative design approaches for facilitating improved wayfinding and pedestrian movement within redesigned rail stations.

Full paper: download PDF, read HTML

Check out Tang’s eye-tracking research with transit hub design studio ARCH4002, Spring 2018.

paper published in inForma

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Ming Tang’s paper “Architectural visualization in the age of mixed reality” is published by the architectural journal inForma.

Tang, Ming. 2018. “Architectural Visualization in the Age of Mixed Reality.” informa 11: 82–87.

Having been a promising visualization tool since the 1950s, ironically, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) were not widely used in the architectural design and evaluation process due to the high cost of equipment and complicated programming process required. However, with the recent development of head-mounted displays (HMD) such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, and easy-to-use game engines, both VR and AR are being reintroduced as Mixed Reality (MR) instruments into the design industry. This paper explores research related to VR concepts “essential copy” and “physical transcendence” (Bicocca, Levy. 1995), and their use in architectural design studios at the University of Cincinnati. We explored various methods to integrate MR in the architectural design process. This paper discusses two main aspects: (1) how to integrate MR into the design process as a design instrument, and (2) how to valuate MR methods for communicating architectural data, based on the workflow efficiency, rendering quality and users’ feedback.

This issue “Hybrid Realities“of inForma explores architectural discourse by looking at how twenty-first century economic, academic, technological and political shifts have set up conditions for architectural hybridity. We define ‘hybrid’ as points of convergence between different ‘breeds’, resulting in the creation of dynamic architectures and frameworks. Parting from the premise that disciplinary and theoretical crossovers can produce alternate readings and conceptualisations of space, ‘Hybrid Realities’ seeks to discuss the effectual offsprings between two different components, wether typological, disciplinary, idealistic, or others. Similarly, it aims at discussing works and research which places these crossovers in a wider, contextual discussion representative of our current moment in time. Borrowing ‘hybrid’ from biology, the issue situates it within the discussion of the built environment to challenge notions of architectural singularity and highlight the diverse ways in which the field is expanding.  

Interview featured at the Building Design + Construction magazine

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Ming Tang’s interview was featured in the article “The human touch“, by David Malone, editor of the Building Design + Construction magazine. Vol. 31. 04. 2018. The issue is about the TECH REPORT 5.0: Cognitive Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Real-time Rendering, Digital Media.  Tang discussed the emerging research on eye-tracking and way-finding in Architecture and interior design. 

Project featured in the IDSA’s Innovation magazine

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Our project is featured in the summer edition of IDSA’s Innovation quarterly. “Design for ________”. by Jacqueline Kern. The article discussed the UC and Live Well Collaborative’s Boeing Onboard project which was covered at UC Magazine in Spring 2018.

Book available: MetroLAB

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MetroLAB is a public-interest design/build program at the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design. This book highlights the mission, participants and projects from 2011-2017. The book is available for preview / order at Blurb.

 

Prof Tang’s ITSC RENOVATION project is featured in the book. This Metro Lab studio addressed the renovation of an existing interior space in the Information Technology Solution Center (ITSC) on the UC west campus. ITSC is an initiative of the School of Information Technology (SoIT) at the College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services and Information Technology (CECH), combining student workers with experienced full-time staff to create innovative technology solutions and reliable support. The objective of the renovation is to create a new high-tech look and an identity for the center and meet the growing needs for client meetings, demonstrations as well as for the staff of ITSC to produce their work.

The proposed design includes new interior surfaces, furniture, and other interior elements. The team also need to complete all fabrications and assembling job within a limited $9,000  budget.  The SAID design-build team utilized the cutting-edge computer-aided design (CAD) tools as well as computer-aided manufacture (CAM) tools and completed the entire project under the budget in only thirteen weeks.

In the design phase, students were required to develop a sequence of iterations to reflect the interior surface tessellation and optimization process of plywood panels. Parametric design software Rhino and grasshopper were used to form a network of triangular shapes and optimized the orientation of each panel based on the material performance and the relation to the daylight. This process created a smooth transition between frame-like panels to solid sheet panels. Later, the similar tessellation approach was used to create the table. The same triangular pattern is adjusted to achieve desired aesthetics on the new partition walls.

The inputs for the CAM pipeline include cutting patterns, panel anchor points, labels, and sheet layout while the outputs are sets of flatted triangular panels ready for CNC milling in the rapid prototyping center at DAAP. In the final assembling, fifty-two different wood panels were installed precisely on the wall.

Check more details on Prof. Tang’s MetroLAB studio here.

order the book online