Ocellus (XR)
Ocellus is the Urban Systems Lab’s platform for visualizing social, ecological, and technological systems (SETS) data — an interactive web application and, with Ocellus XR, a mixed reality experience that projects climate risk and resilience interventions onto the streets of New York City.
Ocellus XR (2019–2024)
Ocellus XR is a mixed reality application that presents interactive geospatial information about heat, flood risk, and climate indicators in New York City. Users explore first-person 3D visualizations, project interactive maps and implemented resilience interventions onto physical surfaces, and experiment with augmented reality layers visualizing proposed green infrastructure and climate solutions. Finalist, AWE XR Prize Challenge: Fight Climate Change (2023). Available for iOS on the App Store.
Team: Daniel Sauter (Project Co-Director), Joe Steele (Technician), Elena Peng (Research Assistant), Timon McPhearson (Project Co-Director), Chris Kennedy (Project Coordinator), Claudia Tomateo (Designer). Previous team members: Peilu Fan, Emily Bowe, John Outwater, Saloni Shah, Yahnze Wu, Jeremy Odell.
Collaborators: WE ACT for Environmental Justice, East Harlem COAD, Harlem Emergency Network. Support provided in part by the Architectural League of New York’s 2022 Independent Project Grant, made possible through support from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Ocellus (2017–2024)
Ocellus is the Urban Systems Lab’s data visualization platform: an interactive web application that visualizes SETS data, initially designed for nine cities within the Urban Resilience to Weather-related Extremes (UREx) Sustainability Research Network. It bridges the gap between quantitative social, ecological, and infrastructure data and the layered qualitative insights compiled at local stakeholder future-visioning workshops. ocellus.urbansystemslab.com
Team: Daniel Sauter, Timon McPhearson, Jaskirat Randhawa, Joe Steele, Claudia Tomateo, Chris Kennedy.