
Next Lab
Current projects
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Sensory-Friendly Spaces
The Sensory-Friendly Spaces Initiative is an emerging, cross-campus effort to make ASU a more welcoming environment for neurodivergent individuals and anyone who benefits from lower-stimulation, more predictable experiences. This initiative is grounded in both research and lived experience. It aims to address physical spaces, event environments, and potentially digital experiences—supporting sensory regulation, reducing overwhelm, and…
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Arolla–NewsWell
The Arolla–NewsWell project was a three- to six-week R&D sprint led by Next Lab in collaboration with NewsWell, focused on exploring digital-to-print publishing workflows using WordPress and Adobe InDesign. The goal was to assess whether NewsWell’s original AWS-based prototype—featuring AI-assisted copy trimming, image handling, and single-page InDesign exports—could be replicated using existing WordPress tools, ideally…
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Maricopa County Digital Storytelling
The Maricopa County Digital Storytelling project, featured on the AZ-1 web portal, highlights the impact of broadband internet access on education, business, and wellness in Maricopa County, Arizona. It shares stories of community members benefiting from having broadband access, such as telehealth and 5G technology for startups. This initiative is part of the university’s efforts…
Past projects
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City of Surprise Digital Twin
WESTMARC and the City of Surprise partnered with ASU Next Lab to create the first digital twin of the City of Surprise, targeting both investors and residents. The digital twin includes two key features: City Data View, a 3D map with real-time ArcGIS/Esri data, and Street & Ground Views, allowing users to navigate Elm Street…
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Bringing Personas to Life with AI
Next Lab studio associates are using ChatGPT to create detailed user personas for testing projects to enhance partner engagement and demonstrate practical use cases. These personas are developed based on Arizona demographics and the behaviors, interests, and motivations of target audiences. The team employs a personalized storytelling approach by illustrating how these imaginary users would…