UCL ‘art gallery’ experiment aims to inform better design of spaces

Over 100 volunteers were tracked walking through a custom-built network of moveable ‘walls’ at UCL’s PEARL (Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory) facility in East London. Measuring 15m², the space was set up to resemble an art gallery, with participants instructed to move between rooms and perform different tasks, including an evacuation.

Volunteers wore caps containing a tracking device and a barcode to enable camera tracking, with some participants also wearing mobile electroencephalography (EEG) systems to measure brain activity. It’s hoped the research, set to be continued in a series of further experiments at PEARL, will produce valuable insights for designing spaces such as transport hubs, hospitals, or offices.

“To study how people navigate their environments and how their brains support this, we can do that in a research lab – but that’s not very realistic – or we can do that in the real world – but that’s harder to control or modify,” said research lead Professor Hugo Spiers, from UCL’s Department of Experimental Psychology.

“Here, we are bringing the real world into the lab, in a massive space that could be set up as anything from a train station to a hospital or school, to facilitate research.”

The project received funding from the UK Government Higher Education Innovation Fund, alongside technical equipment supplied by Ubisense, Pupil Labs, Brain Products, and Artinis. Support for the launch event came from Arup, which is hoping to use the research to inform design and develop more accessible and inclusive spaces for its clients.

"There are countless problems different people might experience when trying to find their way around anything from a train station to a museum,” said Brett Little, Arup’s people movement leader. “At Arup we're excited that this research will help us make huge leaps forward in understanding how to design buildings, cities, and spaces that solve those problems.

"This is the start of a journey that will take our understanding of how people move in the real world to another level and enable us to help create spaces that are accessible and work for all - no matter their background."