Joseph Baldwin

Joseph Baldwin is a Research Fellow at Cardiff School of Art & Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University, where he has worked since 2019. He oversees academic and commercial research services and the technical management of the Perceptual Experience Laboratory (PEL), a facility designed for conducting in-context user testing and behavioral research. His work bridges academic research with practical applications across multiple industries.

Dr. Baldwin's research interests focus on visual perception, user-centered design, and immersive environments. His work explores how simulated environments can be used for food industry research, user testing, and measuring behavioral responses. Unlike traditional AR and VR technologies, his Perceptual Experience Laboratory uses video theater design to create realistic simulated environments for research purposes. His research has examined tourism's potential to alleviate stress, food safety in meal-kits, and visual search strategies in sports performance.

His publications demonstrate a clear trend toward applying immersive simulation technologies to solve practical problems in food safety, consumer behavior, and user experience. Recent work has focused extensively on the UK meal-kit industry, examining food safety practices, consumer perceptions, and temperature control. His technical publications detail the development of the PEL as a customizable, low-cost multisensory testing environment that provides more realistic fidelity than traditional virtual reality approaches.

• Times Higher Educational Award shortlist (2015) for outstanding contribution to Innovation and Technology

Dr. Baldwin works closely with undergraduates, doctoral researchers, and academics on their applied user-centered design and consumer research projects in the PEL. He is responsible for the operational management of the laboratory, maintenance of technologies and software, and production of immersive environments and props. His technical, educational, and applied research skills are also used in explaining the PEL facility to academic and commercial visitors. His work has practical applications in food safety training, tourism wellbeing, and consumer behavior research.

Dr. Baldwin leads the Perceptual Experience Laboratory (PEL), which has undergone multiple design iterations to improve its immersive capabilities and real-world fidelity. The PEL concept involves a video theater design that presents simulations of environmental and social settings not traditionally accessible for research. This facility has been used for food safety and security training, tourism wellbeing studies, consumer behavior analysis, and user-testing research. The laboratory represents a significant advancement in creating realistic testing environments that bridge the gap between laboratory conditions and real-world scenarios.