Influencing occupant's choices by using spatiotemporal information visualization in Immersive Virtual Environments

Abstract Feedback systems are useful to increase occupant awareness and disrupt their wasteful behaviors. The study presented in this paper explores the opportunity for feedback system designers to use information visualization to guide occupants to a desired option without reducing the occupant's control over the environment. In contrast to previous studies, we utilize spatiotemporal information visualization, that not only contradicts with occupants' initial choices but also presents the consequences of their choices. The information visualization is presented in a 1 to 1 scale, where the visualization coexists with the occupants over the office space in an immersive virtual environment. In total, 80 participants' data were collected. Two visualizations were presented to the participants, one relating to energy consumption and another relating to light distribution in the room. The results show that the information visualizations made the participants reconsider their choices. Our results also show that the energy consumption information visualization was more effective on guiding the participants towards an option that supported by the visualization, compared to the visualization that focused on room lighting. The results support the idea of using information visualization to drive occupant behavior towards desired outcomes and could help in the design of future feedback systems targeted at influencing occupant behavior.

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