This paper describes the work that is done by a group of I3 students at Philips CFT in Eindhoven, Netherlands. I3 is an initiative of Fontys University of Professional Education also located in Eindhoven. The work focuses on the use of computer vision in motion control. Experiments are done with several techniques for object recognition and tracking, and with the guidance of a robot movement by means of computer vision. These experiments involve detection of coloured objects, object detection based on specific features, template matching with automatically generated templates, and interaction of a robot with a physical object that is viewed by a camera mounted on the robot.
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The enhancement of GPS technology enables the use of GPS devices not only as navigation and orientation tools, but also as instruments used to capture travelled routes: as sensors that measure activity on a city scale or the regional scale. TU Delft developed a process and database architecture for collecting data on pedestrian movement in three European city centres, Norwich, Rouen and Koblenz, and in another experiment for collecting activity data of 13 families in Almere (The Netherlands) for one week. The question posed in this paper is: what is the value of GPS as ‘sensor technology’ measuring activities of people? The conclusion is that GPS offers a widely useable instrument to collect invaluable spatial-temporal data on different scales and in different settings adding new layers of knowledge to urban studies, but the use of GPS-technology and deployment of GPS-devices still offers significant challenges for future research.
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Large cities in the West respond to an ever-increasing shortage of affordable housing by accelerating the process of urban densification. Amsterdam, for instance, aims to increase its housing stock by 10 percent in the next 15 years as its population is expected to grow by 20 percent. As in other cities, it seems inevitable that high-rise buildings with higher skyscrapers than in the past will be built within the existing urban fabric. Such large-scale (re)development projects shape the conditions for inhabitants’ eye-level experiences, perception of place and overall well-being. The new hybrid field of neuroarchitecture offers promising eye-tracking technology and theories for measuring inhabitants’ visual experiences of the city and rethinking the effectiveness of applied design principles across the globe. In this paper, the ‘classic’ design solutions for creating streetscapes on a human scale in densified areas have been assessed by eye-tracking 31 participants in a laboratory setting, all of whom viewed photographs of 15 existing streetscapes in high-rise environments. The study drew on theories from the field of neuroarchitecture and used input from a panel of (landscape) architects and urban designers to design the research and analyze the eye-tracked patterns. The results indicate that the classic design principles (horizontal–vertical rhythms and variety; active ground floor; tactile materials) play a significant role in people’s appreciation of the streetscape and that their attention is unconsciously captured by the presence of these principles. The absence of the design principles seems to result in a scattered ‘searching’ eye movement pattern. This also suggests that a coherent design of streetscapes in high-rise environments may contribute to a human scale at eye-level.
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In the small village of Nuenen in the Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh, the legendary artist, resided with his parents for two years in the late 19th century. Today, visitors can literally walk in Vincent’s footsteps and hear stories about that period of his life. There is also a renovated indoor museum in the village showcasing many beautiful and inspiring objects.We carefully studied the visitor experience over two rounds of data collection: one in 2018 and another in 2023 after the museum's renovation. In the second round, 40 students from Breda University of Applied Sciences were invited to spend a day in Nuenen. The participants, aged mostly between 20 and 30 years, came from the Netherlands and 16 other countries. None of them had visited the previous museum setup in Nuenen, although two-thirds had visited at least one other Vincent-centered attraction or had researched Vincent and his life prior to the visit.During their visit, research participants were tracked using Bluetooth beacons (indoors) and GPS tracking (outdoors), while wearing wristbands that measured their level of emotional engagement in real time. They toured the museum and the village and provided feedback on their experience through questionnaires administered before and after the visit.The results of the research showed that visitors were emotionally touched at certain stops of the tour more than others, enjoyed interacting with specific elements in the museum, and spent more time in particular areas of the museum. Most participants could vividly imagine themselves back in the days (narrative transportation), felt closer to Nuenen residents as a result of the visit, and generally found the visit to be quite meaningful. Learning and self-expansion were high, with some visitors even finding the visit transformative, leading to changes in attitude, behavior, and identities. We also found a strong correlation between these measures and the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Recommendations and emotion maps were presented to the museum as they continue to refine their visitor experiences.Research carried out for Van Gogh Village Museum Nunen.
