Cybernetics Approach to Virtual Emotional Spaces An electrodermal activity actuated adaptive space Sayyed Amir Hossain Maghool1, Mitra Homolja2, Marc Aurel Schnabel3 1,2,3Victoria University of Wellington 1,3{sayyedamirhossain.maghool|marcaurel.schnabel}@vuw.ac.nz 2mitra.homolja@gmail. com In contrast to reductionist investigating of interrelation between emotion and architecture, we have proposed a new concept for creating an adaptive architecture system that employs biosensors and virtual reality (VR). We have generated a dynamic audio-visual Virtual Environment (VE) that has the potential of manipulating the emotional arousal level of the users measured via electrodermal activity (EDA) of skin. Much like the second-order cybernetics system, our simulations have actuators, sensors, and an adaptation mechanism, whereby participant's real-time biofeedback is interpreted and loops back into the simulation to moderate the user experience. The results of our preliminary test show that our system is capable of manipulating the emotional arousal level of the participants by using its dynamic VE. Keywords: Adaptive architecture, biosensor, virtual reality, cybernetic, emotion, physiological responses INTRODUCTION tions and health are interrelated. In fact, architec- Built environments are imbued with emotions; the tural design decisions are influential factors in re- qualities of spaces in the built environment impact gards to health, efficiency, and functionality of oc- profoundly on how we exist within them. While ar- cupants (Lehman 2016). Moreover, it has been sug- chitects intuitively negotiate with emotional quali- gested that emotions are closely linked to the be- ties in the context of architecture, we are far away haviour of inhabitants of a space (Mehrabian and from a comprehensive understanding of how the Russell 1974). built environment is mapped to our mental and emo- Emotion is a complex phenomenon (Berrios tional states (Eberhard 2009). 2019), and studying emotion is considered very sub- As people spend most of their time indoors jective; therefore, the investigation and conclusive (Robinson et al. 1972), it is crucial to observe how reporting on emotion are challenging (Schreuder et the qualities of interior spaces impact on a person’s al. 2016). It is only recently that psychologists and psychophysiological and emotional state. Simulta- neuroscientists have delved into a quantitative un- neously, there are many pieces of evidence that emo- derstanding of the exact bodily reactions to vari- D1.T6.S1. BIO DATA / BIO TECTONICS FOR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN - Volume 1 - eCAADe 38 | 537 ous stimuli in a built environment using advanced and Joslyn 2001); it focuses on how systems use sen- biosensors (Bower et al. 2019; Homolja et al. 2020). sors and actuators to steer towards a goal or maintain These studies provide valuable contributions for it. a better understanding of the interrelationship be- In the early 1970s, motivations for studying the tween humans and their surrounding environment. role of ‘observer’ in modelling self-regulating sys- Alongside that, they develop methodologies for tems initiated a movement known as second-order studying human’s emotion in the context of architec- cybernetics (Glanville 2004). This paradigm was ture from a quantitative perspective. However, these highly influenced by constructivism philosophy orig- studies are not capable of providing practical guide- inated from the works of Jean Piaget (Fischer and lines and criteria for architects and designers to engi- Herr 2019). neer emotions into their designs. Their reductionist Pask was one of the second-order cyberneticians approach to understanding the impact of architec- whose work shaped many ideas in architecture. Ac- ture on emotions is incapable of addressing the com- cording to Pask, a way cybernetics could impact ar- plex and multi-sensory nature of architectural expe- chitecture is that it provides a conceptual framework rience (Pallasmaa 2018). and meta-language for a new theory of architecture With all these in our mind, we have initiated a (Pask 1969). As Pask suggest (1969), a cybernetics de- research project to develop a conceptual framework sign paradigm has five stages: that tries to tackle the concept of emotion in the con- 1.Specification of the goal, 2. Choice of environ- text of architecture from an alternative perspective. mental materials, 3. Selection of invariants, 4. Spec- This perspective employs theoretical concepts from ification of what the environment will learn from in- cybernetics, system theories, and adaptive architec- habitants and how it will adopt, and 5. Choice of a ture to develop a system that adapts an environment plan for adaptation and development. (a virtual environment) to its inhabitants based on This paradigm overlaps with the definition of predefined emotional needs of the building behold- ‘adaptive systems’. Although It is challenging to de- ers. fine adaptive systems in just one statement, a defini- tion could be: “an adaptive control system is defined CYBERNETICS AND ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS as a feedback control system intelligent enough to In the 1930s, the concept of ‘General System The- adjust its characteristics in a changing environment ory’ was introduced by Bertalanffy to formulate a so as to operate in an optimum manner according to field of science that can be applied to systems of all some specified criterion” (Narendra and Annaswamy types (Bertalanffy 1969). This topic was later followed 1989). by the works of Weiner (Wiener 1965), who coined The definition of adaptive systems emphasizes the word ‘Cybernetic’; this influenced early thinking that the first step to designing an adaptive system about human and machine communications and be- is to set a ‘goal’. A goal in a system (a set of related came one the new fields of science in the 20th cen- variables), is a state or states (specific values for those tury. variables at an instance of time) that are selected in Cybernetics encompasses topics from various preference to others (Morlidge and Player 2010). fields such as psychology, computer science, engi- Furthermore, an adaptive system can automati- neering, management (Stanley-Jones and Stanley- cally act to seek the goal or the selected state; this Jones 2014). While conventional sciences try to ex- process is called regulation. Likewise, cybernetics fo- plain the world by studying the parts of it, Cybernet- cuses on self-regulation mechanisms using the sys- ics is concerned about how complex systems func- tem information (Morlidge and Player 2010). As de- tion rather than what systems consist of (Heylighen scribed in cybernetics, this process needs two com- 538 | eCAADe 38 - D1.T6.S1. BIO DATA / BIO TECTONICS FOR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN - Volume 1 ponents; a sensing component that reports on the could be responsive to inhabitant’s needs by being current state of the system, and an actuation compo- an adaptive system. But this project never became nent that steers the system toward the goal based on a reality due to technical limitations. However, Ex- the current state of the system. tended reality (Virtual reality and Augmented reality) that provides an immersive experience of a virtual en- ADAPTIVE ARCHITECTURE vironment can provide an opportunity to realize the Although frameworks for adaptive architecture that concept of adaptive architecture. have been conceptualized previously (Barrett 2017; Schnädelbach 2015), adaptive architecture is not a EMOTION REGULATING SYSTEMS well-established topic too. It is due to the multidis- Emotions could be reflected in all modes of human ciplinary nature adaptive architecture that encom- communication such as word choice, tone of voice, passes various fields of study such as architecture, facial expression, gestural behaviour, posture, skin computer science, system engineering, psychology, temperature, respiration, muscle tension, and more and social sciences (Schnädelbach 2015). (Picard et al. 2001). Despite the ambiguity in the Buildings can be designed to react to various definition of emotion, dominant theories of emo- data sources, including data of the environment itself tion such as the James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard or data related to the inhabitants. A significant por- theory, and Schachter-Singer theory all emphasise tion of literature about adaptive architecture is about that emotional responses are closely related to au- designing architectural elements that adapt them- tonomous physiological responses. Despite all the selves to environmental settings such as weather or differences between these models, what is constant solar radiations intending to minimize energy con- is that emotion felt never precedes the physiological sumption. However, few projects have tried to cre- reactions. ate spaces that adapt themselves directly to human This understanding of emotion provides great factors such as the emotional state. possibilities for measuring and quantifying emo- Adaptation of architecture could be a manual tion by measuring and quantifying physiological re- process, an automatic process or a mixture of both. sponses. Already, there are a variety of non-intrusive Moreover, a building can be adapted to its inhab- mobile data acquisition devices that can be used for itants, its exterior space, or its interior conditions. collecting various numerical physiological responses For this project, we want to adapt interior architec- while experiencing a condition or being exposed to ture to its inhabitants in regards to their emotional a stimulus. These commercially