Autodesk Research is delighted to be sponsoring a PhD studentship at The Bartlett School of Architecture - part of University College London (UCL) - to research better, more equitable ways of modelling human navigation.
Image courtesy of Hugo Spiers / UCL.
The application deadline is short - it closes in just 2 weeks, on January 28th 2025 - so please do share this post with interested parties (or send them this LinkedIn posting). Information on applying can be found here.
Here’s a summary of the project from the main UELA (which stands for UCL EPSRC Landscape Award, recently renamed from UCL EPSRC DTP or Doctoral Training Programme) website:
Current models of human movement are generally based on “average” members of the population in “typical” spaces. Although it is critical to understand and account for these, current models generally overlook individuals with unique movement behaviour, as well as people navigating atypical environments. It is also the case that similar movement patterns can result from different navigation strategies or ways of processing space and existing models may therefore be based on assumptions that do not hold true for everyone.
This PhD project will advance and diversify our understanding of how people navigate space, by developing novel and appropriate AI models and simulations of human movement behaviour. In collaboration Autodesk Ltd., a leading AEC technology developer, the student will focus on differences between individuals and between groups, as well as different types of environments, to expand existing models of movement and spatial analysis and aim to improve both accuracy and diversity.
The project builds on a unique, cutting-edge data set. Collected in a large human movement study conducted in 2024 at UCL’s Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL), over 100 people were tracked in a controlled environment and data collected of their movement, brain activity, physiological responses, eye movements, as well as subjective spatial experience; additional studies are planned in the coming years. The PhD student will have unique opportunity to use these to develop the tools and technology to improve the design of spaces that support diverse populations in future smart cities and built environments.
Check out this article if you’d like more information on the experiment at PEARL that captured the dataset this project will initially focus on. If you prefer audio, there’s a great segment in this BBC podcast from 10m14s to 17m02s. And if you prefer video, it’s also covered at 18m24s in this BBC Click episode, although as I’m not in the UK my colleague Dagmara Szkurlat kindly scanned through and found it.
In fact Dagmara participated in the experiment, back in September, and shared some photos of the experience.
Dagmara is working on a guest post where she’ll talk more about her experience at PEARL.
Here's some more information about the studentship from the PDF linked to from the UCL Job Opportunities website:
UCL EPSRC Landscape Award (UELA) Studentship in The Bartlett School of Architecture
Project: Equitable movement and navigation modelling (2531ac1460)
Applications close at 13:00 GMT on 28 January 2025
Overview
This PhD project will advance and diversify our understanding of how people navigate space, by developing novel and appropriate AI models and simulations of human movement behaviour.
The project builds on a unique, cutting-edge data set. Collected in a large human movement study at UCL’s Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL), over 100 people were tracked in a controlled environment and data collected of their movement, brain activity, physiological responses, eye movements, as well as subjective spatial experience; additional studies are planned in the coming years.
In collaboration with Autodesk Ltd, the student will focus on differences between individuals and between groups, as well as different types of environments, to expand existing models of movement and spatial analysis and aim to improve both accuracy and diversity.
Specific research problem and potential impact
Current models of human movement are based on assumptions that may not hold true for everyone, and often overlook individuals with unique behaviour, as well as people navigating atypical environments. The knowledge and technology developed will improve the design of spaces that support diverse populations in future smart cities and built environments.
Timeline and scope
September 2025 to September 2029
The PhD is supervised by Sean Hanna, Professor of Design Computing, and Fiona Zisch, Associate Professor in Architecture and Director of Design for Performance and Interaction. The successful applicant will join the new Centre for NeuroArchitecture & NeuroDesign jointly launched by UCL and RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden)
We’re really looking forward to this collaboration with UCL and with the successful applicant. Please let me know if you have any questions!