Suzan Oslin, Experiential Director at UXXR Design Elektra Grant, Lecturer at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Laura Garcia, Director of Clinical Design at Found Emerging Tech Immersive media has been shown to be more effective for learning. It captivates the mind with interactions, involves the whole body through movement, requires eye-hand coordination, absorbs attention with learning by doing, and engages more of the senses. It’s a much stronger sensory experience, it's more memorable, and provides a greater opportunity to lead a participant through some form of transformation. Gamification becomes possible and reinforcements, both positive and negative, can be used to shape behavior. Concrete Oasis is a persistent, city-scale, augmented reality, civic exhibit intended for Pershing Square Park that addresses the water crisis with the intention of engaging the audience with interactions that will lead to lasting behavior change. Hear from the team designing this immersive exhibit about how they are using augmented reality to help shift the collective mindset towards a sustainable water future for LA.

1. https://youtu.be/zQw77xS-oO0

2. Suzan Oslin
A creative technologist with deep experience in design, technology, and team
management, Suzan is a visionary leader in the augmented reality industry. She
brings teams together from across the globe and leads them to award winning
victory. Her passion is to utilize these skills for projects that create positive impact.
● Entrepreneur, community leader Augmented World Expo (AWE)
● User Experience Design, 12 years experience
● 3D Visual Effects and Animation, 8 years experience
● Bachelor of Electronic Visualization, University of Illinois, Chicago

3. Designing Interactions for Behavior Change
1. AR for Behavior Change
2. Purpose Driven Design
3. Measurement

4. Augmented Reality for Behavior Change
A. Learn by Doing
B. Whole Body Engagement
C. Sensory Immersion
D. Gamification

5. ● Practical hands-on approach to learning as
opposed to memorization
● Active vs Passive
● Interact with the environment in order to
adapt and learn
● Performing the action helps to internalize
the learning
Learn by Doing

6. ● Captivates the imagination
○ integrating 3 dimensional virtual
objects with reality
○ 360° spatial audio can direct attention
to virtual objects in any direction
● The unexpected captures attention, where
as the familiar tends to be overlooked
● Novelty breeds curiosity
Sensory Immersion

7. ● Understanding of body position,
movement, acceleration (or force)
● Integration of the senses, Kinesthetic,
Visual, Auditory, Vestibular, and Tactile
● Studies show that the brain actually
changes and grows
● Eye-hand coordination engages
proprioception through the integration
of the senses
Whole Body Movement Engages Proprioception

8. ● Integration of game mechanics to enhance
enjoyment
● Reinforcements, positive and negative, can
shape behavior
● Can increase engagement up to 30X
● Motivation is increased
Gamification

9. Purpose Driven Experience Design
A. Place
B. Purpose
C. Audience
D. Transformation

10. Place
“Place is something
that people construct
through collective
interaction. It’s not
physical — it’s a
creation. Place is
something that is
always unfolding but
that doesn’t actually
exist.”
Liam Otten

11. Laura Garcia PhD
nico
Expertise in behavioral science, therapeutic content design, and evaluation of
innovative digital therapeutics makes Laura a valuable asset in the development
of evidence-based behaviour change interactions. She has a passion for the
development of tech platforms that can support wellbeing.
● Director of Clinical Design at Found
● Former Director of Research, Design, and Innovation at
Applied VR
● Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from the University
of Southern California

12. An Aspirational AR Exhibit
Once vibrant with freely flowing water, Pershing Square
Park, now a barren concrete desert due to water
shortages, will be transformed into a lush oasis through
augmented reality.
It will create a vision for
what's possible and
encourage the community
to act collectively.

13. Despite the severe drought, residents take for
granted that water flows freely from the faucet.
Their actions do not align with what is needed to
sustain our limited water supply.

14. Purpose

15. https://youtu.be/CHyc3X4AjLs
Animated Concept Illustration

16. Families (as a destination)
Wide range of ages, technical
savvy, socio-economic, and
cultural backgrounds.
Conservationists
Experts that expect accurate
information. Average technical
sophistication, may not be familiar
with augmented reality.
Professionals
Works downtown, visits on lunch
hour. Tech enthusiast with high
expectations from the technical
execution.
Commuters
Does not own/drive a car, rides
public transportation. Price sensitive.
High school education..
Audience

17. ● Master of Science in Regenerative Studies,
Cal Poly Pomona
● LEED Green Associate and Certified
Sustainable Building Advisor
● Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film, Video and
Animation, Rhode Island School of Design
● Public art muralist (on permanent display at
the Petersen Auto Museum)
Elektra Grant

18. Arts Earth Partnership in association with the
LA Green Business Program Certification
Arts, Culture, and Sustainability

19. Frustrated by the lack of engaging ways to:
● Support environmental awareness
● Measure personal effectiveness
And students are:
● Overwhelmed at the state of the environment
● Disengaged with their personal ability to make positive change
Artists have a crucial role in shifting the mindset by:
● Engaging people’s emotions and imaginations
● Translating complex concepts into images, movement, story, and sound

20. recycLA:
● Overhaul the City’s waste, recycling, and organics
● Reduce GHG-carbon emissions
● Divert 90% of landfill waste by 2025
Westwood Greenway:
● Large open green space which cleans stormwater
● Provides wildlife habitat
● Showcases native drought-tolerant landscaping
Public Engagement / Education

21. Transformation Behavior change implies that something must
shift in belief or attitude to activate motivation.
A transformation must occur.

22. Site Map
Oasis at Fountain
California State
Water Project
LA Aqueduct
Colorado River
Los Angeles
Reclamation Project
W
6th
Street
W
5th
Street
S Hill Street
S Olive Street
Interactive Water
Saving Tips

23. https://youtu.be/UX2MLYxfD70
https://youtu.be/BFpddZeQfp0
Initial technical proof
of concept. Pershing
Square stage area
with virtual lake.
Interaction test at
remote location using
Niantic (Pokemon Go)
Lightship ARDK.

24. Residents gain the knowledge and empathy
required to motivate them to engage in
lifelong behaviour changes to conserve
water.
As the mindset shifts, qualified scientists,
engineers, and designers become curious about
making untapped water technologies
attainable.
The collective mindset begins to shift. There is
a trickle up effect. Residents begin to expect
responsible action by corporations, agriculture,
and municipalities.
A Intended Outcomes
Local businesses, residents, municipalities,
schools, and organizations develop a greater
sense of community in an effort to promote
water conservation and ecological restoration.

25. Natural and Intuitive Interactions
● Equally natural for new and advanced users–is
easy but also facilitates advancement
● Take advantage of existing skills or knowledge
without rubber stamping old paradigms
● Consider the context, and approach each
situation newly
● Relation with the device should feel good, as
an extension of the body or environment.
● Leverage the potential of the technology and
be authentic to the medium

26. Measuring Impact
A. Data Collection
B. Iterative Design

27. Impact will be measured by collecting
engagement metrics within the application,
including sentiment and intention.
A partnership with Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power’s (DWP) rebate program, along
with an incentive program from a corporate
sponsor will provide a rich set of metrics.
DIY Installation Workshops
Data Collection

28. A Alignment with Concrete Oasis
Concrete Oasis is aspirational because we
know that doom-and-gloom messaging
increases hopelessness and disengagement.
Community is created when people experience
collective action through a shared experience.
We use multiple forms of engagement
because there are a myriad of ways that
people relate to environmental sustainability.
People are empowered when their interactions
provide real-time demonstration of their
effectiveness.

29. Share this project. Help us to attract…
Non-profit Partnerships:
i.e. like-minded environmental
organizations interested in
collaborative grant seeking
Creative and technical collaborators:
e.g. data scientists, 3D artists, Unity
developers, designers, spatial audio
engineers
Sponsors:
e.g. organizations with a stake in
water conservation, emerging
technology companies, local
businesses, private funding
Technology partners, providers of:
e.g. 5G, edge computing, XR
streaming, AR display technologies,
VPS, computer vision, AI, projection and
audio equipment

30. Contact
Suzan Oslin
+1 (323) 842-2096
suzan@concreteoasis.city
concreteoasis.city