Natural Language Processing Research Group

Research group specialised in Natural Language Interaction and Text Understanding

About us Watch video

Research Labs

The group is organised into two research labs

Learn more

The TALN group participates in several Postgraduate and Undergraduate Programs

More information

Back MindSpaces to create urban “neuro-environments” with an emotional impact

MindSpaces to create urban “neuro-environments” with an emotional impact

A Horizon 2020 project with a new approach to urban and architectural design will generate immersive content in 3D virtual reality that adapts to emotions. The Natural Language Processing Research Group (TALN), under the direction of Leo Wanner, is part of the consortium.
21.01.2019

 

MindSpaces is a new H2020 project of the European Union in the field of Information and Communication Technologies led by the Center for Research and Technology, Hellas (CRTH) of Greece. The project kick-off meeting took place on 14 January 2019 at the headquarters of the CRTH in Thessaloniki (Greece) and will be carried out over the next three years.

MindSpaces aims to improve the design of outdoor public spaces and work on the interiors of homes

MindSpaces’ primary aims concern the growth of the urban ecosystem by developing a new paradigm of cooperation between artists, technology, research, industrial partners and users in a common working model that allows initiating innovative projects. It seeks to improve the design of outdoor public spaces and work on the interiors of homes through participatory design involving and integrating multisensory measurements of end users’ responses.

It will generate immersive content in 3D virtual reality that adapts to emotions

MindSpaces is a multidisciplinary initiative that integrates the arts, neuroscience, natural language technologies, architecture, 3D modelling, visual and textual fields, electroencephalography, physiological detection analysis, and augmented and virtual reality, with the participation of a wide range of end users. It will generate immersive content in 3D virtual reality that adapts to emotions. The emotional aspects of the environment will be obtained through the use of headphones, microphones, mobile electroencephalography (EEG); bracelets, watches and other physiological sensors that will be incorporated in a virtual reality experience. Then, the virtual space will adjust according to the neuroresponse of each individual, which will result in the creation of a space tailored emotionally to the user.

MindSpaces will provide a cross-cutting combination of unconventional skills and ideas by artists and creative artists from the empirical and pragmatic perception of real users of urban spaces

Intended to improve the emotional significance of urban spaces as regards the use, comfort and functionality of space, ‘neuro-environments’ will be experienced by two levels of user. In the first level, they will be made available to artists and creative artists, that is to say individuals who have a very well developed perception of aesthetics in terms of symmetry and harmony and at the same time think outside the box, thus providing unexpected solutions.

In the second level, the neuro-environments will be experienced by potential users of urban space: local residents, tourists, elderly people living independently, etc. This approach will enable the MindSpaces project a cross-cutting combination of unconventional skills and ideas by artists and creative artists from the empirical and pragmatic perception of real users of urban spaces in order to develop innovative, unexpected solutions in the design and architecture of cities. The resulting art installations, design tools and methodologies will be able to be developed and used in the future within this urban ecosystem.

Leo Wanner, ICREA research professor and head of the Natural Language Processing (TALN) Research Group of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC) at UPF, is part of the consortium and will have a budget of €282,527.

The MindSpaces consortium involves:

Centre for Research and Technology, Hellas, Certhia, Greece

University of Maastricht, The Netherlands

Pompeu Fabra University, Spain

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

McNeel Europe SL, Spain

Up2Metric, Greece

Nurogames, Germany

Zaha Hadid Architects, UK

Maurice Benayoun, France

Analog Native , Denmark

Espronceda, Center for Art and Culture, Spain

i-Sèniors, France

The town of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain

The city of Hong Kong, China

Multimedia

Categories:

SDG - Sustainable Development Goals:

Els ODS a la UPF

Contact