A
context
aware
dynamic
lighting
system
for
the
SmartXp
CreativeTechnologyBachelorthesisby
Jeroen
Jansen
van
Rosendaal
Supervisedby
Ir.
Ing.
R.G.A.
Bults
Dr.ir.
E.J.
Faber
Abstract
Thegoalofthisprojectwastoresearchhowtodevelopacontextawaredynamiclighting systemthatsuitsthedifferentusecasesof theSmartexperiencelaboratory,SmartXpinshort. TheSmartXpisalargeroomorhall,attheUniversityofTwente(Zilverling building),thatactsas aneducationandresearchfacilityforEEMCSstudentsandresearchers.It hostsdifferentuse cases,likelectures,selfstudy,projects,etc.
Theprojectwassplitintotwoparts,oneofwhichfocussedonthetechnicalaspectsof
Acknowledgements
ThankstoHeleenKokforbeingareliableprojectpartner,whotookonthe partofthisproject whichwasrelatedtohumanfactorsand whoseworkintegrated seamlesslywithmine
throughoutthecourseof ourgraduationsemester.
Table
of
contents
Introduction 9
StateoftheArtonlightingsystems 11
2.1Effectsoflightingoncreativeperformance 11
2.2Lightingergonomicsandethics 13
2.3Featuresofacontext-awaredynamiclightingsystem 14
2.4Contextinalightingsystem 15
2.5Lightingarchitecture 15
2.6Conclusion 17
MethodsandTechniques 19
3.1CreativeTechnologydesignprocess 19
3.2Brainstormtechniques 21
3.3Stakeholderidentificationandanalysis 21
3.4Survey 22
3.5Requirementsanalysis 22
Ideation 23
4.1stakeholderidentificationandanalysis 23
4.2UsecasesoftheSmartXp 26
4.3Identifyingcontextsources 29
4.4RequirementsElicitation 31
4.5LightplanConcepts 33
4.6Conclusion 36
Specification 39
5.1Systemspecification 39
5.2Lightplanspecification 41
Realisation 43
6.1Generallightplanthirditeration 43
6.2Systemdesign 44
6.3ProgrammingDMXoutput 45
6.4Implementationofschedule 48
6.5Implementationofuserinput 48
6.6Functionality 49
Evaluation 53
Conclusion 55
8.1Answeringtheresearchquestion 55
8.2Futureworkandrecommendations 55
References 57
Appendix1 59
Appendix2 61
Appendix3 63
Appendix4 65
1.Introduction
AttheUniversityofTwenteinEnschede, theNetherlands,the studyCreativeTechnology (underEEMCSfaculty)makesuseoftheSmartexperiencelaboratory,the SmartXpinshort. Thiseducationandresearchfacilityisusedforseveraldifferentusecases . 1Accordingtothe client,theEEMCSfacultyoftheUniversityofTwente,theSmartXpismeantto beaplacewhere CreativeTechnologystudentscancometogether,beeducated,developinterestingideasand hostevents.TheSmartXpneedstobe anattractive,pleasant, productiveandcreative
environment.ExampleusecasesoftheSmartXpareworkshops,lectures,projectsupervised, projectunsupervised,study,meeting,activities.
Inordertohostthesedifferentactivities,the SmartXpisdividedintofoursections.Three
trusses,whicharemetalstructuresusedtomount lightingandaudioequipment,dividetheroom intothreerectangularsections.Thefourthsectionis abalconythatspansalongsideallthree trusses,overthelengthoftheSmartXp.Severaluse casesmaybehappening atthesametime, butdespiteoftheroomdivisionthereisoften unclarityaboutwhatuse caseisdesirable,or evenallowed,ineachsection.Thisunclarityoftenleadstounwanted ordisturbingbehaviour; forexample,noisefromoneusecase,like havingaconversationwhilestudying,maycause noisecomplaintsfromotherstudentsthataretryingtofollowa lecture.Anotherfrequently observedexampleiswhenstudentssitdownattablesinthe‘lecture’trussbeforeandwithout realizingalecturewillstartlateron.Thiscausesnuisancetothemorto thoseinvolvedwiththe lecture,becausetheywilleitherbesittinginalectureareawhentheyshouldn’t, ortheyneedto packupandmove.
AnadvancedtheaterlightingsystemispresentintheSmartXpbutunfortunatelynotusedtoits fullpotential.Theoperationofthelightingsystem takeseffortandrequiresanunderstandingof DMX2theater lightingprotocolsandcontrolsandthereis no properlightingplan forspecificuse cases. Thegoalofthisproject istoresearchhowtoutilizethepresentlightingsystemtoturn theSmartXpintoanenvironmentthatsuitsdifferentusecasesanddoessobybeingcontext aware;essentiallysensingwhatisthecurrentusecase andusingthelighting tohelpsteerthe behaviourofoccupantsoftheSmartXpto preventtheaforementioned conflictsandoptimize lightingconditionsfortheongoingusecase(s). Thereforetheresearch question,followedby threesub-questionsforthispaperare:
- Howtodevelopa context-awarelightingsystemthatsupportsthedifferent usecasesof theSmartXp?
- WhataretheSmartXp’susecases?
- WhichgenericlightplancanbeusedforallSmartXpusecases? - Whatlightconditionsarebestsuitableforeachusecase?”.
Thestructureofthisthesisissothatitschapters relatetothephasesinwhichtheprojectwas executed.Itstartswithaliteraturereviewtodeepen theunderstandingofthe topicinchapter2. Afterbackgroundresearchtheusedmethodsand techniquesaredescribed inchapter3,
followedbyfourchaptersthatdescribetheexecution oftheproject;4.Ideation,5.Specification,
1A
usecasedescribesadiscrete,standalone,activitythatanactorcanperformtoachieve someoutcomeofvalue.
2Digital
multiplexprotocolmakesuseofastringcontaining512channels(max.).Alllightfixturesaredaisychainedsothesignal
2.
State
of
the
Art
on
lighting
systems
Inordertocreatealightingsystemthatcaterstheneedsrelatedtodifferent usecases,itis imperativetogatherknowledgeaboutexistinglightsystems andtheeffectsthatlightcanhave onhumanbehaviour,moodsandwellbeing.Thisisachievedbytaking humanfactorsand ergonomicsregardinglightingintoaccount,notdisregardingpossible(ethical)issuesthatsuch alightingsystemmayinduce.Furthermore,forthesystem tobeableto adjustlightingtothe requiredusecase,itneedstobeabletodeterminewhatthisusecase isbyusingcontextual information.Inthischapter,existingworkregardingtheseaspectsisdiscussed, andthegained insightsareusedtostudywhatlightingconditionsandlightplansmayfittheSmartXp’suse cases.
2.1Effectsoflighting oncreativeperformance
Thequantityoflight,alsoreferredtoasbrightness,andthequalityoflight, whichcanbedefined astheleveltowhichlightisevenlydistributed, haveanimpactoncreativity ,3butresearch showsdifferentviewsoftheeffect’semergence.Steidleetal.[1]foundthatdimilluminationand primingdarknesshaveapositiveeffecton creativeperformance,due tothesubject
experiencingafeelingoffreedomfromconstraints.In contrast,Ceylanetal.[3]showedthat creativeperformanceisoptimalunderbrightlightingconditions.McCoyet al.[2]conducted studiesontheimpactofenvironmentalfactorsoncreativeperformanceand cametothe conclusionthatneitherquantitynorqualityoflight haveasignificanteffectoncreativity. Itmayseemthatthesethreestudieshave oppositeclaims,whereasuponcloserinspectionit turnsouttheydonotnecessarilydisagree.Steidleet al.[1]foundthat thepositiveeffecton creativitywaslimitedbylightsettingandthestageoftheinnovationprocessinwhichthey measuredcreativity.Thedarkness-relatedincreaseincreativitydisappearedwhenusingamore informalindirectlightinsteadofdirectlight,orwhenevaluatingideas insteadofgenerating creativeideas.WhatCeylanetal.[3]found wasthatwhenfocussingongeneratingideas, whereamanagerhadtosolveadifficulttask,brightlylitofficeseliciteda feelingofbeingfree fromconstraints.Theseofficeswereinfact,indirectly orevenlylit,aconditionwhich,according toSteidleetal.[1]causeddarkness-relatedincrease increativitytodisappear.Thismeansthat whenusingdirectlighting,creativitycanbeinfluencedpositivelyifthe surroundingareais relativelydarkandthelightisn’ttoobrightandthatwhenusingindirectorevenlydistributed lighting,ahigherbrightnessis desirabletostimulatecreativity.
WhencomparingthatconclusiontothestudybyMcCoy etal.[2],in whichtheyfoundno significantpositivecorrelationbetweenthequalitynorthequantityoflight andcreativity,their resultsdoshowsimilarresultstothoseofCeylanet al.[3].Bothshowthatthereisanegative correlationbetweenthebrightnessoflightingandthelevelofvisualdetail[2]orcomplexity[3], whicharesimilarconcepts.Thismeansthatifaroomisbrightlylit,the complexityoramountof visualdetailshouldbelowandvice versa,forthe highestcreativityrating.
3
Creativityisgenerallydefinedastheproductionofnovelandusefulideasaswellasproblemsolutions andrefersbothtothe
Thesetwostudiesalsohaddifferentresultsregarding colour,asMcCoyetal.[2]suggest warmercoloursandCeylanetal.[3]suggestcoolercolourstohaveapositiveeffecton creativity.Differencesincolourtemperaturemayhavetodowithmanagers feelingthatwarm colourshavetoomuchofastimulatingeffect[3].Thismayberelatedtomanagersgenerally beinginadifferentagegroupandhaving differentprioritiesintheircreativeprocesscompared tostudents.ThisisinagreementwithwhatCeylan etal.[3]hypothesize withregardstothe differencebetweentheirfindingsandthoseofMcCoyetal.[2],theydifferdue toanumberof reasons:
“McCoyandEvansalsostudiedthecreativitypotentialofphysicalenvironmentsby analyzingalargesetofphysical characteristics.However,theystudiededucational environments(classrooms,hallways,libraries,etc.)forundergraduatestudents.
Althoughbothstudiesshowedthatwindowsareassociatedwithhighcreativitypotential, theotherphysicalelementsthatweremeasured inbothstudies (complexity,light,color, plants,naturalmaterialsandfurniture)showedconsiderabledifferences.Probably,the twostudiesarenotcomparableintermsofstudypopulation(managersversus
students),environment(officesversuseducationalenvironments),culturaldifferences (TurkeyversusUnitedStates),andmethodological differences.Ifandhowthese
differencesbetweenthestudiescanexplain thedifferencesintheenvironment–creativity potentialrelationshipisstillunclearandopenforfurtherexplorationafterreplication studieshavebecomeavailable.One(theoretical)reasonforthedifferencebetweenthe resultsofbothstudiesmaybethatitis difficulttocomparestudies ontheeffectof physicalcharacteristicsiftherangeoflevels ofphysicalcharacteristics isdifferent.” Ceylanetal.[3]arenotsurewhatcausesthe differences,buttheydopointoutthatthereare manyfactorswhichcanhaveaninfluenceon testresults,havingtodowithtesting
environments,users,researchmethodsandculturaldifferences. Theyalsopoint outthatboth theyandMcCoyetal.[2]foundthatwindowshaveadistinctpositivecorrelationwithcreativity. Despiteofhavingmanydifferencesbetweenstudyresults, itisclearthatthedesiredbrightness oflightshowscorrelationwithboththetypeoflighting,whichcanbedirect orindirect,andmany surroundingfactors,ofwhichanimportantoneisenvironmentcomplexity.Thestudies
performedbySteidleetal.[1]andMcCoyet al.[2]showthe mostpromisingresultsfor applicationintheSmartXp,especiallybecauseMcCoyetal.testedwitheducational
2.2Lightingergonomicsandethics
Whenitcomestoincludingusersinthedesignofthecontext-awaredynamiclightingsystem,a furtherlookintoergonomicsoflightshowsthatlight caninfluencethehuman mindandbodyin severalways.Afsharietal.[4]highlight thefollowinghuman-related aspectsinlighting;
“Thehumaneyeandbodyrespondstolightinacomplexfashion.Lightnotonlyaffects vision,butalsothecircadianrhythm,moodandperception.”
InlinewithKülleretal.[9]andaccordingto FigueiroandRea[10],alackofshortwavelength light(blue)inthemorningnegativelyinfluences thesleepingpatterns ofstudents,thus
increasingtheamountofshortwavelengthlightinthemorningmay improvestudents’sleeping habits.
TwootherstudiesbySleegersetal.[11] andHathaway[12]concludethatbrightfluorescent lightinghaspositiveeffectsonstudents’concentration,attendanceandachievements,
Hathaway[12]evenclaimsthefluorescentlighttest grouphadlessdentalcavitiesformingthan underregularclassroomlighting.Combiningthis withthecreativity-relatedaspectsmentioned, thereareplentyofhuman-factorsthatcanand needtobetakenintoconsiderationwhen designingacontextawaredynamiclightingsystemfortheSmartXp.
StudentsarenottheonlyusersoftheSmartXpandofthissystem,but arethemaintarget users,becauseinfluencingtheirbehaviouris importanttootherstakeholders.Forexample, lecturers,researchersandothersworkingintheSmartXpcanbenefitfrombehaviour-steering lightingonstudents.Exampleideasonthisare;“Lecturerscanusethesystemtomonitoror evenincreasestudentattentionlevelswithlightcoloursorpatterns.”,”Researchersthatreserve asectionoftheSmartXptoworkinmaybeabletoincreasetheir focusbyusingappropriate lightingcoloursand/ordirectlightingandmayalsobe abletohighlighttheir areaas‘theirs’so thattheycanworkunbotheredbystudentsthatareunawareof thereservation.”“SmartXp manager/technicianA.deVriesmaybenefitfromthesystembylettingituseandsteerstudent behaviour,sohecanfocusonhismostimportanttasks.”
ThelightingsystemintheSmartXpwillmakeuseofdifferentcontextsourcesinorderto
determineusecasesandthenusethisinformation tochangelightingconditionstoanoptimum. Thiscomeswithseveralpotentialissues,regardingprivacyespecially.Ifthe systemusesdata suchasuserlocation,internetactivity(withregardsto‘if’and‘when’,not‘what’),camerafeeds, schedules,oranyotherkindofcontextinformation,usersmayfeel uncomfortableorupset knowingthattheyarebeingmonitoredbythesystem.It isimperativetonotonlyuseaslittleas possiblepersonaloridentifiableuserdata,butalso tocreatetransparencywhenitcomesto informingusers,sothattheyknowwhatthesystem knowsaboutthemand howitisused. Furtherspecificsofinformingusersstill needtobelookedinto.
