CAREER: A Human-Building Interaction Framework for Responsive and Adaptive Built Environments

University Of Southern California, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

The purpose of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program grant is to advance knowledge about the impact of human-building interactions on energy use, and to explore intelligent, collaborative, and personalized approaches that connect built environments with their users to increase energy efficiency and awareness. Taxonomies of types, features, and patterns of human-building interactions will be developed, based on high-resolution building and human related data. The impact of human-building interactions on energy use and comfort will be quantitatively described using a simulation environment that incorporates multiple simulations and modeling technologies. The research will build on the concept of heterogeneous teamwork between building members and their users, through the use of computer agents that represent and interact with these building systems and their users. A model, capable of learning user preferences for automation, will be employed. A diverse set of communication strategies and styles will be evaluated through human subject experiments that address actions influencing energy and comfort, and increase the trust between humans and the built environment. If successful, the research will advance the understanding about the impact of human-building interactions on energy, and transform built environments into attentive and self-learning entities that adapt to user preferences of energy conservation. User-related information will be incorporated into building operations thus allowing for proactive accommodation of user needs. Knowledge of human-building interactions will support engineering design and management activities, and foster the evolution of built environments as eco-systems. To increase public engagement, energy related workshops will be organized bringing together parents, teachers and K-12 students to build hands on engineering projects. High school female students will develop computer applications related to energy conservation, attracting them to engineering and technology fields. The work will engage underrepresented students and develop new materials, modules, courses, test beds for research and education.