Method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment

Abstract

The present invention concerns a method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment, comprising the steps of: providing at least one electronic acquisition apparatus configured to obtain a plurality of georeferenced and physiological, and / or psychological, and / or environmental, and / or perceptual and / or demographic data, and to take a frame of the physical or extended reality environment, detect physiological variations and / or environmental variations; calculating a behaviour indicator comprising at least one positioning parameter for each user from the georeferenced data acquired by means of electronic acquisition apparatus; calculating a perception indicator comprising at least one or more physiological and / or environmental parameters for each user by means of electronic acquisition apparatus; providing a relationship identifying algorithm; identifying for each user one or more statistically significant physiological and / or environmental parameters by means of the relationship identifying algorithm by identifying a relationship between the positioning parameter and the aforesaid physiological and / or environmental parameters; associating for each user the positioning parameter with the identified, statistically significant parameters to define respective data units; defining a positioning threshold and a physiological and / or environmental threshold; grouping into respective experience sets data units having respective statistically significant physiological and / or environmental parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the respective threshold and respective positioning parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the positioning threshold, calculating at least one isovist for each experience set; representing each isovist calculated in a graphic interface of an electronic display apparatus.

Description

[0001] Title: “Method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment”

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates to a method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment. The isovist calculated by means of the method of the present invention can be used, for example, to evaluate the perceptual experience of one or more users about a physical or extended reality environment, which are grouped on the basis of common physiological, psychological, environmental, demographic and / or perceptual characteristics and positions.

[0005] Description of the prior art

[0006] It is known in the state of the art to calculate an isovist of a physical environment, that is, the calculation of the set of all the points visible by one or more users at a given positioning point, or in the vicinity of it, within that physical environment. An example of a method for calculating one or more isovists is shown in documents WO 2023 / 275679 Al and “Benedikt, M. L.” (1979), “To Take Hold of Space: Isovists and Isovist Fields”, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 6(1), 47-65”.

[0007] In particular, it is known from document WO 2023 / 275679 Al to reconstruct, starting from a positioning point or from the vicinity of it within a physical environment, the portion of that environment potentially visible to one or more users. With further detail, the method described in the aforesaid document simplifies reading the calculated isovists for a large number of users, calculating partial isovists for a set of users, called cluster, having common location characteristics.

[0008] It is also known from document WO 2023 / 275679 Al to associate the calculated isovists to some elements characterizing the users' experience in the physical or extended reality environment, such as for example the average psychological reaction of the users belonging to a respective set, or cluster.

[0009] Problem of the prior art

[0010] In the prior art, however, the isovists are calculated for clusters made on the basis of heterogeneous data. The isovists thus calculated therefore do not take into consideration any psychological, physiological involvement, socio-demographic data (for example, age and gender) and / or different environmental perceptions of the users, as they only take under examination behavioural parameters, i.e. Positioning ones. In particular, the representation of the isovists on the basis of psychological reactions is carried out downstream of the creation of the clusters and the calculation of the isovists through the use of respective average values calculated for the entire cluster of users. In this way, the clusters can exhibit a high variance, and the isovists calculated for the aforesaid clusters are not truly representative of the overall experience of the users.

[0011] In other words, the isovists of the prior art are calculated taking into consideration only the behavioural parameters of the users, derived from position and aim data, but not any physiological and / or environmental data that define a more faithful representation of the perception of the aforesaid users.

[0012] In addition, the state-of-the-art methods limit the calculation of the isovists only to points visible to a user, without taking into consideration any additional senses and / or environmental conditions.

[0013] Summary of the invention

[0014] In this context, the technical task underlying the present invention is to provide a method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.

[0015] In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment that allows to increase the homogeneity of the clusters underlying the calculation of the isovists, so as to obtain isovists more representative of the users’ experience. It is also an object of the present invention to propose a computer programme to calculate one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment.

[0016] The specified technical task and the specified purposes are substantially achieved by a method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment and by a respective computer program comprising the technical features set forth in one or more of the appended claims.

[0017] Advantages of the invention

[0018] The described method allows to calculate isovists representative of both the behaviour and the perceptual experience of the users of the physical or the surrounding extended reality environment, reducing the own variance of the clusters underlying the calculation of the isovists. In detail, it is possible to take into consideration the psychological and / or perception aspects of the users upstream of the creation of the isovists, and not downstream thereof. In this way, there is a significant and faithful representation of the users' experience even in the presence of values related to psychological, physiological and / or environmental perception factors that are strongly discordant with each other.

[0019] An advantage of the method of the present invention is to allow to calculate global isovists, i.e. representative of everything that is perceived by the users, without being limited only to the points actually visible. In this way, it is possible to calculate isovists not limited only to the sense of sight but also extendable to further senses.

[0020] In addition, the described method allows to reduce the computational cost associated with the calculation of the isovists taking into consideration in the calculation of the isovists the physiological parameters and / or environmental parameters perceived by the users considered statistically relevant for the creation of a cluster.

[0021] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the approximate and thus non-limiting description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0023] - Figure l is a schematic representation of a physical environment and of isovists calculated with the method subject-matter of the present invention in comparison with an isovist calculated with a method of the known prior art;

[0024] - Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the physical environment of Figure 1 and of different isovists calculated with the method subject-matter of the present invention.

[0025] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Object of the present invention is a method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment.

[0027] Within the scope of the present description, the term isovist refers to the set of all the points that are visible or perceptible by one or more users at a given positioning point within such physical or extended reality environment. In particular, for the purposes of the present description, a distinction is made between partial isovists, calculated on the basis of the respective aim directions of the users, and global isovists, calculated on the basis of the conditions that can be perceived by the users (by sight, smell, touch, hearing, or variations of climatic or environmental conditions) in all directions. In other words, the partial isovist defines an aim angle comprised in a range approximately comprised between 50° and 200° along a horizontal direction, and between 50° and 130° in a vertical direction, with respect to the one or more users, while the global isovist defines a perception angle equal to 360° around the one or more users. An example of two partial isovists A, B is illustrated in Figure 1, while an example of three global isovists A’, B’, C is illustrated in Figure 2. Note that in the attached figures, the represented isovists A, B and A’, B’, C’ are geometrically coincident with each other and, for ease of visualization, they have been represented staggered along a vertical direction of the illustrated physical or extended reality environment.

[0028] Note that isovists are calculated based on the distance of the one or more users from a given stimulus, as better detailed below.

[0029] As is known per se to the skilled person in the sector, the term “Extended Reality (XR)”, refers to technologies that include all possible combinations of real and virtual environments. The various extended reality technologies differ according to the relation between the real and virtual world. Extended reality technologies include, for example, “Mixed Reality (MR)” - including, among others, “Augmented Reality (AR)” - and “Virtual Reality (VR)”.

[0030] At the same time, as is well known to the person skilled in the art, the augmented reality technology makes it possible, for example, to overlap virtual objects and information onto the real world, while virtual reality technology makes it possible to create a completely computer-generated environment.

[0031] An extended reality environment thus means, for example, a physical environment onto which one or more virtual structures are overlapped by means of augmented reality technology or a completely virtual environment generated by means of virtual reality technology. The extended reality environment corresponds, for example, to a simulation of the appearance of a physical environment after redeveloping and / or renovating that physical environment.

[0032] The method subject-matter of the present invention comprises the step of providing at least one electronic acquisition apparatus configured to obtain a plurality of georeferenced data, such as time, position, orientation, and to take frames of said physical or extended reality environment. The electronic acquisition apparatus is also configured to obtain a plurality of individual data, comprising at least physiological data, and / or a plurality of environmental data associated with the physical or extended reality environment and detect physiological variations of the one or more users and / or environmental variations perceptible by the one or more users.

[0033] Preferably, the individual data of a respective user comprises physiological data, among which one or more of heartbeat, electrocardiogram, skin conductance, electroencephalogram, psychological data, among which emotional and cognitive reactions to the surrounding environment, and demographic personal data, among which gender, age, residence of the respective user.

[0034] Within the scope of this description, psychological data refers to data related to stable characteristics of the individual users (so-called “trait” ones, which can be considered as a psychological component adapted to integrate sociodemographic characteristics) or to temporary conditions (so-called “state” ones, whose duration can vary from a few moments to longer periods). The state psychological data comprises, for example, reactions to the conditions of a physical environment and / or data of reaction to the foreign or virtual reality environment. The psychological data may also comprise data related to cognitive aspects (i.e. related to the processing of information present in the environment) and / or emotional aspects (related to the sensation of activation and pleasure aroused).

[0035] It should be noted that the aforesaid physiological data, possibly combined with psychological data, allow to define the psychological state of the respective user, analysing the collected data and correlating them with each other according to one or more different criteria, for example by means of theoretical models adapted to describe emotional or cognitive reactions. The demographic data, on the other hand, allows to have a better perception of the demographic variety of the users present in the real or extended reality environment.

[0036] Still preferably, the environmental data comprises one or more climatic data, among which temperature, relative or absolute humidity, wind direction and speed, and / or one or more urban planning data, among which morphology of the physical or extended reality environment, urban materials, odours or sounds coming from the urban environment, restoration, i.e. the ability of the environment itself to reduce stress. It should be noted that the environmental data therefore represent all the stimuli perceptible by the users in one or more directions as a function of the distance of the users from said stimuli.

[0037] According to the preferred aspect, the electronic acquisition apparatus comprises at least a first device for the acquisition of the georeferenced data, and at least a second device for the acquisition of the individual data, among which physiological data, and / or environmental data.

[0038] Preferably, the first device comprises a smartphone comprising a GPS tracker and orientation sensors such as accelerometer and gyroscope. Still preferably, the first device comprises a camera configured to acquire single images and / or sequential images of the physical or extended reality environment. Still preferably, the first device comprises, alternatively or in addition to the above, an augmented reality visors which, when worn by a user, makes it possible to the aforesaid user to explore a virtual environment. Alternatively, or in addition to the above, the first device comprises a computer which, via a graphical interface, makes it possible to a user to explore images of a real environment, and / or of a virtual environment and / or images of a real environment to which virtual elements have been overlapped.

[0039] Still preferably, the second device comprises one or more of heartbeat detection sensors, e.g. electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes, breathing sensors configured to detect duration and frequency of a user's breathing acts, skin conductance sensors, activity tracker devices, eye monitoring and / or image acquisition devices, e.g. eye tracker, encephalography device for detecting EEG waves, e.g. EEG headset. It should be noted that all the sensors or devices described above are preferably wearable by one or more users and easily transportable. Still preferably, the second device comprises computational means, for example a computer, provided with an interface usable by the users to receive the respective demographic data, and a database in data communication with the computational means adapted to store said demographic data.

[0040] Still preferably, the second device comprises tools for collecting psychological data by means of one or more of psychometric scales, questionnaires, or other tools for collecting empirical data related to variables of the theoretical models adapted to describe emotional or cognitive reactions. For example, the tools for collecting psychological data comprise web applications or services that can be used by the one or more users.

[0041] Alternatively, or in addition, the second device comprises one or more of pressure sensors, temperature sensors, odour and / or sound detection devices, sensors for detecting wind speed and / or direction and / or intensity, e.g. anemometers, relative and / or absolute humidity sensors, e.g. hygrometers, ambient light and / or UV ray sensors or meters.

[0042] According to the preferred aspect, the method foresees to provide said electronic acquisition apparatus to each considered user.

[0043] Next, the method foresees to calculate a behaviour indicator for each user. The behaviour indicator comprises at least one positioning parameter representative of a positioning point of a respective user in said physical or extended reality environment, determined from respective georeferenced position data acquired when the respective user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to take a frame of the physical or extended reality environment. In other words, each positioning parameter is representative of the positioning point at which the respective user takes a frame of a portion of the physical or extended reality environment by means of the respective first device of the electronic acquisition apparatus.

[0044] It is worth underlying that the frame may be taken by a user using a smartphone camera or by simply observing a portion of an extended reality environment with an augmented reality visor or via the graphical user interface of a computer.

[0045] It should be noted that in the event that the first device of the electronic acquisition apparatus comprises for example a smartphone, each positioning parameter is calculated from a respective georeferenced position data processed from latitude, longitude and altitude data acquired by the GPS tracker of said smartphone. If, on the other hand, the electronic acquisition apparatus corresponds to a computer or an augmented reality visor, each positioning parameter is calculated from a respective georeferenced position data processed from data obtained by a user's localisation software in an extended reality environment.

[0046] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the performance indicator further comprises an aim parameter. Each aim parameter is representative of the direction of a respective frame of the physical or extended reality environment taken by a user at the respective positioning point and is calculated from the respective georeferenced orientation data acquired when the respective user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to take the aforesaid frame. In other words, each aim parameter is representative of the aim direction, i.e. of the frame direction in which the respective user takes a frame of a portion of the physical or extended reality environment by means of the respective first device of the electronic acquisition apparatus.

[0047] According to an aspect of the aforesaid embodiment, in case the first device of the electronic acquisition apparatus comprises for example a smartphone, each aim parameter is calculated from a georeferenced orientation data processed by gyroscope data (yaw, pitch and roll) of said smartphone. If the first device of the electronic acquisition apparatus comprises a computer or an augmented reality visor, each orientation parameter is calculated from a respective georeferenced orientation data processed, for example, from data obtained by a user's software calculating the frame direction.

[0048] The method of the present invention comprises the further step of calculating a perception indicator for each user. Each perception indicator comprises one or more physiological parameters representative of the physiological state and / or at least in part of the psychological state of a respective user, determined from the respective physiological data acquired when the respective user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to detect respective physiological variations. It should be noted that from the physiological data acquired it is possible to estimate the emotional and / or cognitive state of the users. Optionally, each perception indicator further comprises one or more psychological parameters representative at least in part of the psychological state, determined from the respective psychological data. Each perception indicator further comprises one or more environmental parameters representative of the environmental conditions of the physical or extended reality environment that are perceived by a respective user, determined from the environmental data acquired when the user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to detect environmental variations.

[0049] It is worth underlying that the environmental variations are representative of what is perceived by the user through the sense of sight, hearing, touch or smell along any direction, therefore regardless of the possible aim direction of the user.

[0050] According to one aspect, the perception indicator further comprises one or more demographic parameters, representative of the user's demographic information. It should be noted that these parameters allow users to be classified according to age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or place of residence, in order to have a more complete evaluation of the perception of users and the influence that any perceived stimulus has on the users. In fact, depending on the age or gender, different users can react in different ways.

[0051] After calculating the behaviour and perception indicators, which are representative of sociodemographic and / or physiological information of the users and / or of the environmental conditions perceptible by the users, the method foresees to provide a relationship identifying algorithm configured to identify a relationship between two or more parameters and to identify statistically significant parameters on the basis of the identified relationship. It should be noted that the relationship identifying algorithm preferably comprises one or more functions known to the person skilled in the art as a cause-effect relationship type between two or more parameters. The known functions comprising, by way of non-limiting example, one or more among: linear correlation mathematical function, non-linear correlation function, multiple regression function, logical function, function based on machine learning models.

[0052] According to one aspect, therefore, the relationship identifying algorithm is implemented with one or more relationship functions known to the person skilled in the art. These functions must be calibrated to the specific case of interest.

[0053] The method therefore comprises the step of identifying for each user one or more physiological parameters and / or one or more environmental parameters, and possibly one or more psychological and / or demographic parameters, statistically significant of the respective perception indicator by means of the relationship identifying algorithm, identifying a relationship between the positioning parameter and the statistically significant parameters of the perception indicator identified by the relationship identifying algorithm, and identifying a further relationship subsequently, if present, between said statistically significant parameters and the respective aim parameter.

[0054] In other words, the present method makes it possible to identify those parameters which, together with the parameters of the behaviour indicator, show significant relationships between them.

[0055] According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the aforesaid step comprises the step of defining a relationship coefficient between the one or more physiological parameters and / or the one or more environmental parameters, and possibly between the one or more psychological and / or demographic parameters, and the positioning parameter, and possibly the aim parameter, by means of the relationship identifying algorithm. Still according to the same embodiment, the step of identifying one or more statistically significant physiological and / or environmental parameters comprises the step of classifying each relationship coefficient by means of one or more statistical tests. For example, it is possible to compare each relationship coefficient with a respective threshold defined by the one or more statistical tests.

[0056] Still, the step of identifying comprises the step of selecting one or more physiological parameters and / or one or more environmental parameters, and possibly demographic and / or psychological parameters, which are statistically significant on the basis of the classification of the respective relationship coefficient.

[0057] Advantageously, the method of the present invention allows to reduce the computational cost associated with the calculation of isovists, taking into consideration the parameters of interest, i.e. those parameters that influence the psychological state of the users and therefore contribute to grouping the users into appropriate clusters, as better defined in the following of the present description.

[0058] The method therefore foresees to associate, for each user, the positioning parameter of the behaviour indicator with the statistically significant parameters of the perception indicator to define respective data units.

[0059] In other words, the method allows to select the physiological and / or environmental parameters, and possibly demographic and / or psychological parameters, which, compared to the positioning parameter, are actually representative of a perceptual effect on the users located in the same area. In this way, it is possible to exclude any parameters that are not significant for grouping users or that are representative of psychological, emotional or perceptual states of mutually heterogeneous environmental conditions. Advantageously, therefore, the method of the present invention reduces the variance between the data based on the parameters considered.

[0060] According to a possible embodiment, the step of associating for each user the positioning parameter of the behaviour indicator with the identified, statistically significant parameters of the perception indicator to define respective data units further foresees to associate the positioning parameter with a respective aim parameter.

[0061] The method then comprises the step of defining a positioning threshold for the positioning parameter of each behaviour indicator and a physiological threshold and / or an environmental threshold, and possibly a demographic threshold and / or a psychological threshold, respectively for each physiological parameter and / or for each environmental parameter, and for each possible demographic and psychological parameter, of each perception indicator.

[0062] According to the same embodiment mentioned above, the step of defining the aforementioned thresholds also foresees to define an aim threshold for the target parameter of each behaviour indicator.

[0063] The method therefore comprises the step of grouping into respective sets, or clusters, experience data units having respective physiological parameters and / or environmental parameters, and possibly demographic and / or psychological parameters, statistically significant differing from each other by a value lower than the physiological threshold and / or the environmental threshold and / or the demographic threshold and / or the psychological threshold respectively, and respective positioning parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the positioning threshold. In other words, the data units are grouped not only as a function of the spatial distance between the positioning points of the respective users, and possibly the respective frame direction, but also as a function of the psychological and emotional aspects of the users, obtained from the physiological and / or demographic and / or psychological parameters and / or the environmental conditions perceived by these users.

[0064] According to the aforementioned embodiment, the step of grouping into respective experience sets also foresees to group the data units as a function of respective aim parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the aim threshold.

[0065] It is worth noting that the method of the present invention allows users who have experienced significantly comparable experiences to be grouped into clusters, taking into consideration the psychological, emotional and perceptual aspects.

[0066] Consequently, two data units having respective positioning parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the positioning threshold, and possibly having respective aim parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the aim threshold, can be grouped into two distinct experience sets in the event that the respective physiological and / or environmental and / or demographic and / or psychological parameters differ from each other by a value higher than the respective thresholds. In other words, data units related to nearby users and oriented along the same aim direction in the physical environment but characterized by different psychological and / or emotional states, can be grouped into distinct experience sets.

[0067] After defining the experience sets, the method comprises the step of calculating at least one isovist for each experience set as a function of the respective positioning parameters and the respective physiological parameters and / or environmental parameters, and possibly demographic and / or psychological parameters. Note that the isovist is calculated as a function of the stimulus perceived by the users and the users' emotional, cognitive or physiological reaction to said stimulus, and as a function of the distance between that stimulus and the users.

[0068] According to the aforementioned embodiment, said step foresees to calculate a partial view, shown by way of example in Figure 1, as a function of the aim parameter and to define a respective angle with respect to the one or more users. Preferably, the partial isovist is directed along an average aim direction defined by the average of the values associated with each aim parameter, which falls within the angle defined for the aforesaid partial isovist.

[0069] It should be noted that, if one or more aim parameters are not present, and / or statistically significant environmental parameters are present, the step of calculating at least one isovist foresees to calculate a global isovist, shown for example in Figure 2, defining a round angle with respect to the one or more users.

[0070] Each calculated isovist takes into account the occluding effect of any elements present in the physical or extended reality environment, or of any stimuli coming from a single direction or from several distinct directions, allowing to represent the portion of the physical or extended reality environment actually perceptible by one or more users, for each experience set as a function of the respective behaviour and perception indicators.

[0071] Following the calculation of the isovists, the method comprises the step of representing each isovist calculated in a graphical interface of an electronic display device. For example, such an electronic display device corresponds to a smartphone or a computer.

[0072] It is worth underlying that each calculated isovist may be a two- or three- dimensional isovist and thus be represented in a two- or three-dimensional graphical representation of the physical or extended reality environment.

[0073] It is worth noting that in the absence of statistically significant physiological parameters and / or environmental parameters, if the method is unable to identify them, the method of the present invention substantially coincides with the method described in document WO 2023 / 275679 Al by the same holder. In fact, in this case the method would allow one or more isovists to be created based solely on the behaviour indicator, i.e. the positioning parameter and possibly the aim parameter. In fact, it should be noted that the method described in this previous document is advantageous for the analysis of only behavioural data, i.e. position and / or aim data, of the users, or alternatively in the presence of a limited number of users and related inhomogeneous data that would not allow to calculate isovists with reduced variance.

[0074] According to one embodiment, prior to the step of calculating at least one isovist for each experience set, the method comprises the step of calculating a path parameter for each user.

[0075] Each path parameter is representative of the path made by a respective user in said physical or extended reality environment to reach the respective positioning point and is calculated from georeferenced position data acquired during said path made by said respective user in said physical or extended reality environment using the electronic acquisition apparatus. In other words, the path parameter is representative of the path made by a respective user between a starting point in the physical or extended reality environment and the positioning point.

[0076] It is worth underlying that the path made by each user can be seen as a set of discrete points between the respective starting point and the positioning point. For each discrete point of the path, it is possible to obtain a respective positioning parameter and possibly a respective aim parameter.

[0077] Still according to the same embodiment, the method further comprises the step of adding each defined path parameter to a respective data unit.

[0078] Still in accordance with the aforesaid embodiment, the method further foresees to define a path threshold.

[0079] After defining the path threshold, the method comprises the step of comparing the path parameters of the data units of each experience set to group into respective observation sets data units of a respective experience set having respective path parameters that differ from each other by a value lower than the path threshold. Each observation set therefore constitutes a subset of a respective experience set. Consequently, two data units grouped into the same experience set can be grouped into distinct observation sets.

[0080] In accordance with the aforesaid embodiment, the step of calculating at least one isovist for each experience set foresees to calculate an isovist for each observation set according to the respective positioning indicators and perception indicators. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method of the present invention comprises the further step of defining geometric parameters related to the calculated isovists. The geometric parameters comprise, for example, an extension angle of the partial or global isovist, the coordinates of the isovist with respect to the physical or extended reality environment, the coordinates of the positioning points of the users.

[0081] Still according to the aforesaid preferred embodiment, the method comprises the step of defining an identity threshold for the geometric parameters.

[0082] Thereafter, the method preferably comprises the step of identifying two or more substantially coincident isovists by comparing their respective geometric parameters. Two or more substantially coincident isovists have a difference between their respective geometric parameters lower than the identity threshold.

[0083] In this way, the method effectively allows to identify two or more geometrically coincident isovists, or substantially coincident less than a given tolerance, but which differ from each other in the emotional and / or psychological states and / or in the environmental conditions defined by means of the physiological parameters and environmental parameters.

[0084] Advantageously, the method therefore allows to effectively identify and compare different experience sets related to users located in the same area of the physical or extended reality environment but having different emotional reactions and / or psychological states. In this way, it is possible to evaluate how a given stimulus has affected the emotional and / or psychological state of users located substantially in the same area, by comparing different reactions to each other.

[0085] In fact, it should be noted that, as illustrated in Figure 1, the present method allows to represent two different isovists, for example the isovists A and B, geometrically coincident with each other but representative of different emotional or psychological states, which would alternatively be grouped into a single isovist, for example the isovist C, by means of the method described in document WO 2023 / 275679 Al.

[0086] In more detail, the method of the cited prior art document allows to calculate an isovist on the basis of the average position and aim angle values of a cluster, which potentially have a high variance. The present method, on the other hand, allows to take into consideration the physiological and / or environmental, and optionally demographic and / or psychological parameters, statistically significant in the creation of the isovists, thus possibly obtaining different clusters intrinsically presenting a greater homogeneity.

[0087] For a better understanding, an example of parameters considered in the creation of the isovists of Figure 1 is described. The isovist A is related to a first sample of users with high EEG and restoration values of the perceived environment, while the isovist B is related to a second sample of users with low EEG and perceived restoration values. The users of the two samples are positioned substantially in the same area and have the same aim direction. The isovist C, on the other hand, is related to the users of the first and second samples, grouped into a single cluster, for which a single isovist is calculated. Note that the isovist C is uniquely representative of the users', spatial and directional, behaviour but does not give any information about the users' psychological, cognitive or emotional reaction to the physical or extended reality environment that surrounds them.

[0088] It is worth noting that with respect to the prior art, and in particular with respect to document WO 2023 / 275679 Al, more homogeneous isovists are obtained that are more faithfully representative of the real experience of the users of a given cluster.

[0089] By way of example, a possible example of application of the described method is described below.

[0090] In particular, the method of the present invention can be applied to evaluate the emotional and / or psychological reaction of different users with respect to a real or virtual urban planning work inserted in a physical or extended reality environment, displayed by means of the electronic acquisition apparatus.

[0091] By applying the method subject-matter of the present invention, the georeferenced data and physiological and / or environmental data are collected and respective behaviour and perception indicators are defined accordingly.

[0092] Still through the method subject-matter of the present invention, the users subjected to the evaluation set out above are grouped into different experience sets. In particular, the experience sets are defined not only on the basis of the users' position in the physical or extended reality environment, but also on the basis of the physiological and / or environmental data collected.

[0093] In the present example, the relationship identifying algorithm identified the heartbeat as a statistically significant physiological parameter.

[0094] Consequently, the method of the present invention allows to group into a first experience set a first group of users having a heartbeat comprised in a certain range, for example between 70 and 120 beats per minute, and into a second experience set a second group of users having a heartbeat comprised between 120 and 150 beats per minute.

[0095] In the example under examination, two distinct psychological and / or emotional states are defined for the first and second group of users on the basis of their respective physiological reactions.

[0096] Consequently, the method of the present invention allows to calculate respective isovists as a function of such psychological and / or emotional states. Optionally, the isovists calculated for the first and second groups may be geometrically coincident but calculated as two distinct isovists in light of the distinct psychological and / or emotional states.

[0097] An alternative example can be given by identifying any odour or temperature variations that can be perceived by the users and identified as statistically significant environmental parameters. In detail, a first group of users detected an environmental odour or temperature variation, while a second group of users did not.

[0098] On the basis of this, the method of the present invention allows to calculate distinct isovists on the basis of the different perception of the users, as defined above. Also in this case, the calculated isovists may eventually coincide geometrically, although they are distinct from each other due to the different perceptions of the two user groups.

[0099] A computer programme for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment is also an object of the present invention.

[0100] Such a computer programme comprises program codes adapted to perform the steps of the described method when the programme is run on a computer.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Method for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment, each isovist being related to one or more users, said method comprising the steps of:- providing at least one electronic acquisition apparatus configured to:- obtain a plurality of georeferenced data, such as time, position, orientation,- take frames of said physical or extended reality environment,- obtain a plurality of individual data, comprising at least physiological data, and / or a plurality of environmental data associated with the physical or extended reality environment,- detect physiological variations and / or environmental variations;- calculating a behaviour indicator for each user, the behaviour indicator comprising at least one positioning parameter representative of a positioning point of a respective user in said physical or extended reality environment, determined from said georeferenced position data acquired when said respective user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to take a frame of the physical or extended reality environment;- calculating a perception indicator for each user, each perception indicator comprising at least: one or more physiological parameters representative of the physiological and / or emotional state of a respective user, determined from said physiological data acquired when said respective user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to detect physiological variations, and / or one or more environmental parameters representative of the environmental conditions of the physical or extended reality environment perceived by a respective user, determined from the environmental data acquired when said user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to detect environmental variations;- providing a relationship identifying algorithm configured to identify a relationshipbetween two or more parameters and identify statistically significant parameters on the basis of the identified relationship;- identifying for each user one or more statistically significant physiological parameters and / or one or more statistically significant environmental parameters of the respective perception indicator by means of the relationship identifying algorithm, correlating the positioning parameter of the behaviour indicator with the respective parameters of the perception indicator;- associating for each user the positioning parameter of the behaviour indicator with the identified, statistically significant parameters of the perception indicator to define respective data units;- defining a positioning threshold for the positioning parameter of each behaviour indicator and a physiological threshold and / or an environmental threshold for each physiological parameter and / or for each environmental parameter of each perception indicator, respectively;- grouping into respective experience sets data units with respective statistically significant physiological and / or environmental parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the physiological and / or environmental threshold respectively, and respective positioning parameters differing from each other by a value lower than the positioning threshold,- calculating at least one isovist for each experience set according to the respective positioning parameters and respective physiological and / or environmental parameters;- representing each isovist calculated in a graphic interface of an electronic display device.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein:- the individual data of a respective user comprise physiological data, among which one or more of heartbeat, electrocardiogram, skin conductance, psychological data, amongwhich emotional and cognitive reactions, and demographic data, among which gender, age, residence of the respective user;- the environmental data comprise one or more climatic data, among which temperature, humidity, wind direction and speed, and / or one or more urban data, among which morphology of the physical or extended reality environment, urban materials, urban odours.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the step of identifying for each user one or more statistically significant physiological parameter(s) and / or one or more statistically significant environmental parameter(s) of the respective perception indicator by means of the relationship identifying algorithm foresees to:- define a relationship coefficient between the one or more physiological and / or environmental parameter(s) and the one or more positioning parameter using the relationship identifying algorithm;- classify each relationship coefficient by means of one or more statistical tests;- select one or more statistically significant physiological parameter(s) and / or one or more environmental parameter(s) on the basis of the classification of the respective relationship coefficient.

4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of calculating at least one isovist for each experience set according to respective positioning parameters and respective physiological parameters and / or environmental parameters foresees to calculate at least one global isovist, the global isovist defining a round angle around the one or more users.

5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the behaviour indicator further comprises an aim parameter, the aim parameter being representative of the direction ofa respective frame of the physical or extended reality environment taken by a user at the respective positioning point and being calculated from the georeferenced orientation data acquired when said respective user uses the electronic acquisition apparatus to take said frame.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein:- the step of associating for each user the positioning parameter of the behaviour indicator with the identified statistically significant parameters of the perception indicator to define respective data units comprises the sub-step of associating the positioning parameter with a respective aim parameter;- the step of defining a positioning threshold for the positioning parameter of each behaviour indicator and a physiological threshold and / or an environmental threshold respectively for each physiological parameter and / or environmental parameter of each perception indicator also provides to define an aim threshold for the aim parameter of each behaviour indicator;- the step of grouping into respective experience sets also provides to group the data units according to different aim parameters by a value lower than the aim threshold;- the step of calculating an isovist for each experience set according to the respective positioning parameters and physiological and / or environmental parameters provides to calculate a partial isovist as a function of the aim parameter, the partial isovist being directed along an average aiming direction defined by each aim parameter.

7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein prior to the step of calculating at least one isovist for each experience set, the method comprises:- calculating a path parameter for each user representative of the path made by a respective user in said physical or extended reality environment to reach the respective positioning point and being calculated from georeferenced position data acquiredduring said path made by said respective user in said physical or extended reality environment using the electronic acquisition device;- adding each defined path parameter to a respective data unit;- defining a path threshold;- comparing the path parameters of the data units of each experience set to group into observation sets data units of a respective experience set having path parameters that differ from each other by a value lower than the path threshold; and wherein the step of calculating at least one isovist for each experience set comprises calculating an isovist for each observation set according to the respective positioning indicators and perception indicators.

8. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising the steps of- defining and associating a psychological and / or emotional state with each isovist according to the physiological and / or environmental parameters of the respective users;- defining a respective graphic pattern for each psychological and / or emotional state;- associating each calculated isovist with its respective graphic pattern, and wherein the step of representing each isovist provides to represent each isovist and the corresponding graphic pattern in a representation of the physical or extended reality environment and displaying this representation in the graphic interface of the electronic display device.

9. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the further steps of- defining geometric parameters related to the calculated isovists;- defining an identity threshold for said geometric parameters;- identifying two or more substantially coincident isovists by comparing their respective geometric parameters, two or more substantially coincident isovists having a difference between their respective geometric parameters lower than the identity threshold.

10. Computer programme for calculating one or more isovists of a physical or extended reality environment adapted to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, when the programme is run on a computer.

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