Generic User Interface for Inclusive Interactive Simulation

Abstract

Inclusive interactive simulations are boundary objects that make it possible for engineering know-how to be placed directly into the hands of non-technical stakeholders. However, interactive simulations are also complex technologies that are difficult to implement on a bespoke basis. In order to make deployment of interactive simulations more feasible for engineers, especially those without prior background in user interface design, we created a generic, open-source simulation user interface (OpenSUI) with an associated communication schema. OpenSUI is agnostic to domains, and can communicate with any computational simulation that follows its schema. To demonstrate, we convert an existing computational simulation for real estate, FuzzyIO, into an inclusive interactive simulation using OpenSUI. We then review preliminary, qualitative feedback from non-technical users and discuss our intent for further validation through experimentation at scale.