In the last years, the availability of environmental data has increased exponentially thanks to the information and communication technologies that provide advanced tools and channels for monitoring, publishing and communicating air quality data as well as meteorological conditions.
The research OASI focuses on designing new user centered design solutions for communicating the environmental data published by the Osservatorio Ambientale della Svizzera Italiana (www.ti.ch/oasi).
The research goals are the following:
- conceiving a series of advanced services based on web maps, multichannel platforms and mobile applications for communicating air and acoustic pollutants or traffic and meteorological conditions, to non expert users such as citizens, tourists, people with health problems etc;- re-designing the interface and information visualization system of the OASI client software by developing a set of interface design solutions and graphic guidelines that improved the usability of the software and the data visualization for a target of expert users
OASI – Advanced services
Starting from the analysis of the use scenarios and communication contexts, different kinds of service concepts have been generated.
These services are integrated in a multichannel portal, called OASI Ecosystem, allowing users:
- to access to the environmental data through an interactive map featured by multilayer data visualization;
- to receive customized information or alarms about environmental conditions on mobile devices and according to the user’s position;
- to develop other services based on the data and the documentation provided by OASI;
- to share the data on social network platforms in real time and to create customized annual, monthly and weekly reports about data in different formats.
The OASI Ecosystem proposes an innovative way to communicate the environmental data by providing users with services allowing the access and the fruition of the data according to their preferences.
Sketch of the homepage of the OASI Ecosystem.
Sketch of the service OASI Maps, access to the air quality information.
Sketch of the service OASI Cal, access to daily environmental data.
OASI – OASI Client and AQC2
OASI Client is the desktop application by the Osservatorio Ambientale della Svizzera Italiana allowing academic people and professionals to access the environmental data of the Ticino territory. AQC2 is a control system that allows users to visualize, manipulate and validate environmental data clusters for publishing and dissemination. The research phases consisted in:
– the analysis of the OASI client interface in order to recognize further developments of the software and to integrate coherently newer modules;
– the design of the interface for the data validation, taking into account the control system AQC2 and the related information;
– the design of the module for the data clusters management through the definition of the interface, the functionalities and the work-flow in use contexts of the software OASI Client.
Interface grids of the software module for the data cluster management.
Interface of the software module for the data cluster manipulation and validation.
Interface of the software module for the data cluster management.
OASI – Data visualization
The third module of the research OASI focuses on the visualization modalities of the environmental data. The study pointed at designing the graphic system for the data visualization generated through both processing algorithms and standard techniques of information visualization.
The result is the definition of guidelines for the data visualization addressed to the publication of graphs, bulletins and tables on the web and printed products or on the software OASI Client.
Typologies of diagrams.
Visualization of
Air quality bulletins.
Institution Laboratory of Visual Culture DACD SUPSI
Research Team Massimo Botta (Lead) / Serena Cangiano / Andrea Franchi
Partners ISAAC – Institute for Applied Sustainability to the Built Environment
Status Archived
Financing Dipartimento del Territorio del Canton Ticino, Divisione dell’ambiente – Sezione protezione aria, acqua e suolo
Lectures and Publications Serena Cangiano 2009, Envisioning new scenarios of environmental data communication through the advanced service design, Proceedings of the fifth Swiss Design Network Symposium, Multiple Ways to Design Research, Swiss Design Network, et al./EDIZIONI, Geneva-Milan, pp. 337-339.