VisPIE

Summary

VisPIE won the Deloitte ESG Innovation Award at HackUST 2022, the top prize under the ESG theme. We enable individuals to Perceive the environmental implications of their measurable activities, Immerse themselves in the impacts of climate change, and Empower both individuals and organizations to make climate-smart choices. We show people that every action matters and help create a more sustainable world together.

Features

We build a digital twin of our living environments with gamification and advanced Augmented Reality (AR) techniques. Our demo takes place on a green campus. We define measurable activities and map each activity to reward points to gamify climate-related choices. For example, each time students use stairs rather than elevators, they earn climate points to exchange for virtual trees to be planted in the digital twin campus.

They can explore the campus through both public displays and AR. The public displays show the overall digital campus, allowing students to see how their behaviors influence the degree of greening on the virtual campus. AR provides an immersive, first-person experience in which students can explore and observe the trees. The concept gives students greater awareness of climate-smart behavioral choices.

We first obtain the buildings’ BIM models to implement the digital twin. Then, with permission, we use automatic methods (e.g., sensors) and manual methods (e.g., self-reporting) to track students’ activities. Next, we develop a mobile AR app that allows students to plant and observe trees on the digital campus.

Benefits

For individuals, the previously invisible behaviors are quantified with digital tracking to make them aware of their actions’ meaning. Through intuitive visualizations, we amplify small, instantaneous behavioral choices to big, prolonged environmental impacts. AR provides novel immersive experiences and information about climate-friendly alternatives. Gamification creates a sense of community where healthy peer pressure can foster positive habit transformation. The reward system motivates us to adopt sustainable actions.

For organizations, granular and interconnected data are collected to facilitate efficient operational management. The digital twin acts as a simulation tool that supports resource optimization and climate-smart decision-making, such as eliminating inefficient power usage and rejecting consumables with high carbon footprints. Our solution creates new opportunities for digital-transformation initiatives that fulfill sustainability missions and for marketing campaigns that develop closer relationships with individuals. Sponsoring users’ rewards can also benefit organizations by contributing to higher ESG ratings.

Demo video

Contact us if you are interested in the project.