Augmented architectural space system for the creation of casual connections with people

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the increasing social isolation has become a major problem in Japan because of the growing trend toward nuclear families. In addition, further social isolation is concerned caused by a decrease on face-to-face communication opportunities due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection. Therefore, it is necessary to create connections among people. On the other hand, opportunities for people to communicate online have increased rapidly. However, various information obtained the face-to-face is missing online, which degrades the quality of communication and causes physical and mental fatigue to users. To solve these problems, this study aims to minimize the gap that exists between online and the face-to-face, and to propose an Augmented Architectural Space that creates casual connections between people within their living space. By comparing the results of impression evaluation experiments using questionnaires for the face-to-face environment, the video conferencing system environment, and the proposed system environment, we demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed Augmented Architectural Space system for creating casual connections between people. © 2023, Association of American Publishers. All rights reserved.