Participatory Design Environment for Mobile Applications through Simulated Disaster Experiences in Virtual Space

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K12867
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Design science
• Research Institution: The University of Tokushima
• Principal Investigator: SASAO Tomoyo 徳島大学, 人と地域共創センター, 助教 (60789733)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: Google Street View / ユーザ評価 / 位置情報 / 空間認知

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Mobile disaster assistance apps that use location information must be able to function properly in a pinch, but evaluating usability in real situations is challenging given the costs of recreating the environment of an emergency and the difficulty of including a diverse array of users. For the present research, we constructed an experiment environment that allows for comparisons between the usability of mobile apps in a virtual space extended from Google Street View. We also conducted experiments to explore the features, strengths, and limitations of the virtual space. As a result of these experiments, we were able to visualize walking, body movements during use, and the status of the user's smartphone within the virtual space, as well as demonstrate its potential for supporting the discovery of information useful for making judgments about usability.

Free Research Field

デザイン学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果により、位置情報を用いたモバイルアプリケーションの評価を仮想空間内で実施する可能性について、メリットとデメリットを踏まえて今一度検討がされるようになると考えられる。例えば、実空間での実証実験の難しい災害時支援を目的としたアプリケーションが問題なく意図通りに機能しているかをチェックしたり、その場所を訪れた経験のない人の行動・操作を多くのサンプルを集めて定量評価することを支援できる可能性がある。