VARCITIES

Visionary Nature-based Actions for Health, Well-being and Resilience in Cities

Type
Funded Project

PI for TUC
Prof. Dionisia Kolokotsa

Scientific Collaborator (AR)
Prof. Katerina Mania
Minas Katsiokalis (M.Sc.)

Research Domain
• Data Visualization
• Augmented Reality
• Audio Augmentation

Abstract

VARCITIES is composed of 25 partners under the lead of TUC. Seven Pilot Cities will test and implement a series of innovative nature-based actions.

The vision of VARCITIES is to implement real, visionary ideas and add value by establishing sustainable models for increasing the health and well-being of citizens: women, children, young people, middle aged, and the elderly, who are exposed to diverse climatic conditions and challenges in and around Europe. VARCITIES sets the ambitious target to advance innovation across different urban scales by fully exploiting nature-based solutions from a digital, social and cultural perspective. Public spaces are envisioned as people-centered areas that support creativity, inclusivity, health, and happiness for the citizens.

In the scope of the project, SURREAL TEAM has implemented GoNature AR: an innovative multimodal AR experience integrating interactive narration based on a virtual companion, gestures, accurate hands’ recognition, gaze and voice commands, while a citizen is wearing a head-worn AR display, promoting environmental awareness, health and wellness.

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Publications

Minas Katsiokalis, Elisavet Tsekeri, Aikaterini Lilli, Dionysia Kolokotsa and Aikaterini Mania. GoNature AR: Air Quality & Noise Visualization Through a Multimodal and Interactive Augmented Reality Experience. In ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX ’23), June 12–15, 2023, Nantes, France. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 4 pages.

Tsekeri E., Lilli A., Katsiokalis M., Gobakis K., Mania A., Kolokotsa D., “On the integration of nature-based solutions with digital innovation for health and wellbeing in cities.” 2022 7th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech), 2022.

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