Peyton Wesner

Dr. Christopher Ball

JOUR 460: Immersive Technologies

10 October 2019

XR for Good: Air Pollution

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I. Introduction of Topic

         Imagine waking up on a Saturday filled with excitement. After showering, brushing your teeth and putting on clothes, you sit on the couch to binge-watch your favorite television show. It is at this moment you smell rancid, pungent garbage. With the polyethylene bag in hand, you open your apartment door to be met by lingering grey smog in the ground-level ozone. Wheezing while rushing to dump the bag, your throat becomes dry and a headache develops (“Health Effects,” n.d.). Once back inside, there is no reason to return outdoors; yet, college classes or a professional job may force you on Monday.

         According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide each year (“World Health Organization,” n.d.). Places such as Cairo, Egypt, and Delhi, India, are notoriously hampered by the global ambient air pollution, in large part to each location’s high pollution measurements and large population. However, data indicates nine-of-ten people worldwide breathe air containing high levels of pollutants (“World Health Organization,” n.d.). This statistic, of course, includes people living in locations like Champaign, Ill., and Long Island, N.Y. Though, these locations do not even possess a fourth of the air pollution levels as Cairo and Delhi, per WHO. From greenhouse gases to smog, human activities, such as energy use and agriculture, most contribute to air pollution (Nunez, 2019). Thus, with society driving the issue, reducing air pollution has become essential to creating a cleaner environment and preserving human health in the long-term.

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II. Technology Selection

         For this topic, I believe the use of augmented reality (AR) is most appropriate. AR sits on the left side of the “virtuality continuum,” meaning such applications are a mixture of environments comprising, predominantly, of real objects with a virtual component (Milgram, 1994). Because AR is closer to the real environment, computer graphics are an element that acts in a complementary fashion. The aforementioned is imperative to consider when applying technology to air pollution. To elaborate, air pollution is an issue centrally located in a specific place since the severity varies around the world. My rationale is AR allows for seamless use of one’s physical position to create relatability and localization. Hence, the use of a person’s real environment becomes essential and aligns with the concept of the “virtuality continuum” (Milgram, 1994). After all, if this idea were to show an American citizen the air pollution in India, he or she would likely have no connection to the issue. But, if the AR capabilities were to emphasize the severity of India’s air pollution and produce a render of its effects on a familiar place – for University of Illinois students, the main quad is an example – a person would interact more with the issue.

         Moreover, AR is effective in creating engagement, empathy and action – all of which is extremely necessary to spur social progress (Crawley, 2018). Through engaging a person locally, the user is more likely to focus on the “attention grabber” and the unique AR content (Crawley, 2018). Plus, by way of the same local connection, the audience fully comprehends a remote location’s devastation and becomes emotionally cognizant of how civilians are affected. Ultimately, this empathy translates to a call to action, which in the case of this application will entail the reduction of human activities that contribute to air pollution.

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III. XR Idea & Application

         As illustrated in the mock-ups below, my XR idea will feature an AR filter of the world’s worst air pollution, such as that in Cairo, and its effect on a person’s present location – obtained through the user’s cell phone or tablet camera. To begin, however, the program will use a narrative structure to succinctly describe the fatal impact of air pollution, such as its contribution to brain, heart and lung disease (“World Health Organization, n.d.). Then, the filter will join the user’s real environment via the electronic device, which emphasizes the significant impact air pollution has on a community. Such a connection will accentuate the likely changes in lifestyle (i.e. time spent outdoors, physical limitations) as well as the menacing health consequences of inhabiting such a location. My application will proceed to supply an accurate reading of the air pollution levels in a person’s given location, which will likely be a positive contrast. Finally, the user will be called to action with the recommendation of individual steps that would make a positive impact. Unfortunately, air pollution is a collective action problem, or an issue in which some people do not make contributions and rely on their peers to carry the responsibility. In this regard, I do not expect an extraordinarily high rate of people making contributions in the immediate aftermath.

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IV. Conclusion and Impact

         I am extremely confident my AR feature will have a positive influence, similar to that discussed in Jeremy Bailenson’s Experience on Demand. In chapter four, Bailenson states his belief that “interactions might be useful in educating people about the consequences of what I believe to be the greatest peril facing our planet: climate change” (Bailenson, pg. 111). Despite the author’s programs using VR to highlight energy use and ocean acidification, I find my use of AR to be equally effective. My rationale derives from how digital interactions can spur an empathetically deep engagement, similar to the enlightening real-world experience Kristy Kroeker’s father had when seeing “the deleterious effects of high CO2 concentrations” (Bailenson, pg. 128). This is the strived experience of my AR application.

         Presently, Champaign, Ill., is in no immediate danger from air pollution. However, its current status is not necessarily guaranteed a decade from now. An estimated seven million people die each year from air pollution, which is more than the combined population of Los Angeles, Calif., and Chicago, Ill. ("The 200 Largest Cities in the United States by Population," 2019) Through AR, my hope is the current generation as well as its youth can understand the threat of air pollution and, also, the invaluable impact of small actions like traveling by foot and conserving electricity (“Actions You Can Take to Reduce Air Pollution,” n.d.).

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Sources & References

Actions You Can Take to Reduce Air Pollution (n.d.). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from https://www3.epa.gov/region1/airquality/reducepollution.html.

Air pollution and health (n.d.). World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/airpollution/en/.

Bailenson, J. (2018). Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, And What It Can Do. W.W. Norton & Company. Print.

Crawley, C. (2018, April 17). Augmented Reality For Good. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/04/17/augmented-reality-for-good/#1eddce8aad1b.

Health Effects (n.d.). Sacramento Region Spare The Air. Retrieved from http://www.sparetheair.com/health.cfm.

Milgram, P. (1994, July 8). A taxonomy of mixed reality visual displays. IEICE Transactions on Information System. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-VsTognstBF3Y8xUIk13dZgnk7ZOoIrF/view.

Nunez, C. (2019, February 4). Climate 101: Air Pollution. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/pollution/.

Osseiran, N. & Landmeier, C. (2018, May 2). 9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, but more countries are taking action. World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/02-05-2018-9-out-of-10-people-worldwide-breathe-polluted-air-but-more-countries-are-taking-action.

The 200 Largest Cities in the United States by Population 2019 (n.d.). World Population Review. Retrieved from http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/.