Designing Interfaces to Display Sensor Data: A Case Study in the Human-Building Interaction Field Targeting a...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Smart Buildings
• Environmental Monitoring

Background:

• Smart buildings generate vast sensor data via Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Management Systems (BMS).
• This data is typically restricted to authorized personnel, limiting occupant awareness of building environmental conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To qualitatively evaluate if a community-specific user interface enhances occupant context-awareness of environmental issues.
• To determine if increased awareness supports more informed decision-making among building occupants.

Main Methods:

• Designed a user interface for a smart campus student community using an Iterative Design Cycle methodology.
• Conducted structured interviews with 48 students to gather qualitative feedback and analyze their engagement with environmental data.

Main Results:

• Students expressed significant interest in accessing environmental data within smart campus buildings.
• Preferences leaned towards data such as temperature and brightness over humidity.
• Map-based user interfaces were identified as effective for presenting this information.

Conclusions:

• Tailored user interfaces can effectively increase occupant awareness of building environmental factors.
• Design recommendations for map-based interfaces can improve user engagement with smart building data.
• Empowering occupants with environmental data supports better-informed decisions and potentially more sustainable building use.