Drone traffic, consisting of anything from small quadcopters for video and photography to large eVTOL transporting people, is expected to grow rapidly as soon as the challenges currently barring urban flights can be solved. One of the main challenges is how to automate authorization while both keeping full control over where and how drones fly over specific areas, and at the same time allowing the operators the freedom they require to successfully provide their services. While restrictions are necessary, being overly restrictive on plans has a negative impact on capacity, safety and efficiency. In this article we propose the combination of no-fly zones and flight grids into design elements for airspace design, to be used only where and when necessary. City planners can use these design elements to make both strategic decisions and real-time updates, and thereby set the rules for an automated system for planning and authorization. We describe the design elements, how to automatically find the optimal end-to-end route between or through these elements, a set of modifications or extension to improve flexibility even more, and demonstrate the efficacy of the approach through example airspace design patterns and by showing the resulting traffic in a drone traffic simulator.

Multi Remote Tower Operations (MRTO), where one ATCO has the responsibility of two airports simultaneously, have become an important means to reduce the cost for air traffic control at small regional airports in Sweden without sacrificing safety or service levels. A challenge in MRTO is to keep normal movements operational on an airport while there is busy traffic on the second airport handled by the same ATCO. Earlier work has described the potential of using a digital tower assistant (DiTA), an automation that handles the communication and monitoring of e.g. a single, simple approach and landing on an airport with an otherwise empty sky, while the ATCO needs to focus their attention on the other airport. In this paper we let two interaction designers analyse the interview material from a recent study with five experienced ATCOs, each performing two scenarios using DiTA, and present the conclusions made from an interaction design perspective.

Recent research shows that infrared cameras can help students visualize and interpret notoriously challenging thermal concepts. This chapter describes the application of thermal visualization in a public setting. Specifically, we present the design and implementation of an augmented reality system for the real-time projection of thermal imagery onto objects. Examples of hands-on activities for visualizing thermal processes with the system include conduction and insulation, rubber band thermodynamics, friction, impact heating, enthalpy of chemical reactions, radiation wavelength, mixing liquids, and heat of evaporation. We discuss how the interactive activities might provide pedagogical opportunities for accessing and engaging with thermal phenomena in a science center context. Practical considerations of the system for public exhibition spaces are also given attention.

The extended reality market has rapidly grown with a wide range of products for not only Virtual Reality applications, but also for advanced and multiple forms of Augmented Reality. In this paper we review the currently available complete solutions for Augmented Reality, divided into the primary display techniques used: Video See-through, using cameras to capture the real world subsequently presented with virtual overlays on a handheld or headworn display, Optical See-through, using semi-transparent display to allow real world view together with the virtual augmentations, and Projection-based AR or Spatial AR, the use of projectors to display augmentations directly on top of surfaces in the room.  First potential products were found using popular Internet search engines, after which products that are not complete solutions or not commercially available were filtered out. We present the different products together with a description of their presented or studied characteristics, and of their accompanying software solutions.

The roles of human operators are changing due to increased intelligence and autonomy of computer systems. Humans will interact with systems at a more overarching level or only in specific situations. This involves learning new practices and changing habitual ways of thinking and acting, including reconsidering human autonomy in relation to autonomous systems. This paper describes a design case of a future autonomous management system for drone traffic in cities in a key scenario we call The Computer in Brussels. Our approach to designing for human collaboration with autonomous systems builds on scenario-based design and cognitive work analysis facilitated by computer simulations. We use a temporal method, called the Joint Control Framework to describe human and automated work in an abstraction hierarchy labeled Levels of Autonomy in Cognitive Control. We use the Score notation to analyze patterns of temporal developments that span levels of the abstraction hierarchy and discuss implications for human-automation communication in traffic management. We discuss how autonomy at a lower level can prevent autonomy on higher levels, and vice versa. We also discuss the temporal nature of autonomy in minute-to-minute operative work. Our conclusion is that human autonomy in relation to autonomous systems is based on fundamental trade-offs between technological opportunities to automate and values of what human actors find meaningful.

Public understanding of contemporary scientific issues is critical for the future of society. Public spaces, such as science centers, can impact the communication of science by providing active knowledge-building experiences of scientific phenomena. In contributing to this vision, we have previously developed an interactive visualization as part of a public exhibition about nano. We reflect on how the immersive design and features of the exhibit contribute as a tool for science communication in light of the emerging paradigm of exploranation, and offer some forward-looking perspectives about what this notion has to offer the domain.