Human-centred Computing (HCC)

Our experts: Eduardo Velloso, Judy Kay, Anusha Withana

Research on virtual, augmented, mixed, and extended reality (VR, AR, MR, and XR, respectively) explores immersive digital experiences that blend the virtual and physical worlds. The popularisation of virtual and mixed reality headsets has driven the need to understand how these technologies impact work and play at the same time that it opened the doors to entirely new ways of interacting with technology.

Our work has explored new devices and techniques for 3D interaction, novel interface paradigms for extended reality, and approaches for enabling remote users to collaborate in mixed reality.

Papers

• Qiushi Zhou, Brandon Victor Syiem, Beier Li, Jorge Gonçalves, Eduardo Velloso: Reflected Reality: Augmented Reality through the Mirror. Proc. ACM Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol. 7(4): 202:1-202:28 (2023)
• Jens Emil Gronbaek, Juan Sanchez Esquivel, German Leiva, Eduardo Velloso, Hans Gellersen, Ken Pfeuffer. Blended Whiteboard: Physicality and reconfigurability in remote mixed reality collaboration. CHI 2024
• Jingu, A., Withana, A. and Steimle, J., 2023, October. Double-Sided Tactile Interactions for Grasping in Virtual Reality. In Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (pp. 1-11).
• Gamage, N.M., Ishtaweera, D., Weigel, M. and Withana, A., 2021, October. So predictable! continuous 3d hand trajectory prediction in virtual reality. In The 34th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (pp. 332-343).

Our experts: Judy Kay, Eduardo Velloso, Anusha Withana

Intelligent interfaces are quietly transforming the way we interact with technology. Modern devices, such as smartphones, learn behavioural patterns and make intelligent recommendations and perform informed actions accordingly.

Our work develops and evaluates novel systems that are designed to intuitively respond to the user’s unique needs, and enhances how they use and connect with their devices.

Papers:

• Syiem, Brandon Victor, Ryan M. Kelly, Tilman Dingler, Jorge Goncalves, and Eduardo Velloso. "Addressing attentional issues in augmented reality with adaptive agents: Possibilities and challenges." International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (2024): 103324.
• Hasindu Kariyawasam, Amashi Niwarthana, Alister Palmer, Judy Kay, and Anusha Withana. Appropriate Incongruity Driven Human-AI Collaborative Tool to Assist Novices in Humorous Content Generation. In 29th Inter- national Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, IUI ’24, New York, NY, USA, 2024. Association for Computing Machinery
  

Our experts: Eduardo Velloso, Zhanna Sarsenbayeva

As AI agents become pervasive in the systems we use in our everyday lives, it becomes critical to understand how users perceive and react to their actions and behaviours.

Our team takes methods and approaches drawn from the social sciences to explore how humans perceive, judge, collaborate and disagree with AI agents, aiming to understand how to design AI-powered interfaces. This involves studying user preferences, cognitive processes, and social dynamics to design interactions that foster effective communication, trust, and collaboration between humans and machines in various domains, such as healthcare, education, and entertainment.

Papers:

• Samangi Wadinambiarachchi, Ryan M. Kelly, Saumya Pareek, Qiushi Zhou, Eduardo Velloso. The effects of generative AI on design fixation and divergent thinking. CHI 2024
• Joe Brailsford, Frank Vetere, Eduardo Velloso. Exploring the association between moral foundations and judgements of AI behaviour. CHI 2024
• N. van Berkel, Z. Sarsenbayeva, J. Goncalves (2023). The Methodology of Studying Fairness Perceptions in Artificial Intelligence: Contrasting CHI and FAccT. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 170, 102954.

Our experts: Eduardo Velloso, Zhanna Sarsenbayeva

We focus on advancing our understanding of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles and research methodologies with a particular focus on designing user studies and quantitative and qualitative approaches in data analysis using human-centred design principles. We contribute toward the evolution of HCI as a discipline, fostering innovation in HCI theory and methodology.

Papers:

• Ebrahim Babaei, Benjamin Tag, Tilman Dingler, Eduardo Velloso. A Critique of Electrodermal Activity Practices at CHI. CHI 2021
• Z. Sarsenbayeva, N. van Berkel, E. Velloso, J. Goncalves, V. Kostakos (2022). Methodological Standards in Accessibility Research on Motor Impairments: A Survey. ACM Computing Surveys, (May 2022)
  
• K. Yang, C. Wang, Y. Gu, Z. Sarsenbayeva, B. Tag, T. Dingler, G. Wadley, J. Goncalves (2022). Behavioral and Physiological Signals-Based Deep Multimodal Approach for Mobile Emotion Recognition. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing.
  
• Z. Sarsenbayeva, G. Marini, N. van Berkel, C. Luo, W. Jiang, K. Yang, G. Wadley, T. Dingler, V. Kostakos, J. Goncalves (2020). Does Smartphone Use Drive our Emotions or vice versa? A Causal Analysis. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2020 (CHI’20), 193:1-193:14.

Our experts: Anusha Withana and Bob Kummerfeld

We develop interactive devices using digital fabrication to create personalised interfaces. These devices are complemented by design tools that enable users to design their own devices.

Our work includes both technical and human-centered evaluations to validate proposed fabrication strategies, computational design methods, and the created devices. This approach advances the field of personal fabrication, contributing to the broader research landscape.

Papers

• Gough, P., Perera, P.B., Kertesz, M.A. and Withana, A., 2023, April. Design, Mould, Grow!: A Fabrication Pipeline for Growing 3D Designs Using Myco-Materials. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-15). 
• Withana, A., Groeger, D. and Steimle, J., 2018, October. Tacttoo: A thin and feel-through tattoo for on-skin tactile output. In Proceedings of the 31st Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (pp. 365-378).

Our experts: Judy Kay and Bob Kummerfeld

In our increasingly digital lives we use many systems that can capture large amounts of data about each of us.

Our work aims to create systems so that people can harness their data in diverse contexts. A key example is for people to improve their health because they have a better understanding of data from their wearables such as smart watches and rings.

Papers:

• Lie Ming Tang and Judy Kay. 2017. Harnessing Long Term Physical Activity Data—How Long-term Trackers Use Data and How an Adherence-based Interface Supports New Insights. Proc. ACM Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol. 1, 2, Article 26 (June 2017), 28 pages. 
  
• Brian Y. Lim, Judy Kay, and Weilong Liu. 2019. How Does a Nation Walk? Interpreting Large-Scale Step Count Activity with Weekly Streak Patterns. Proc. ACM Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol. 3, 2, Article 57 (June 2019), 46 pages. 
• Jochen Meyer, Judy Kay, Daniel A. Epstein, Parisa Eslambolchilar, and Lie Ming Tang. 2020. A Life of Data: Characteristics and Challenges of Very Long Term Self-Tracking for Health and Wellness. ACM Trans. Comput. Healthcare 1, 2, Article 11 (April 2020), 4 pages.
  

Our experts: Zhanna Sarsenbayeva and Anusha Withana

Designing accessible technology is crucial to ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate in and benefit from the digital world. Our research focuses on exploring the challenges of creating accessible technology as well as suggesting design guidelines and creating technological solutions that can be accessed and used by people with diverse abilities. Ultimate goal of our research is to enhance the overall user experience for all individuals by creating technology to be used by users of all abilities.

Papers:

• A. Tong, P. Perera, Z. Sarsenbayeva, A. McEwan, A. C. De Silva, A. Withana (2023). Fully 3D-Printed Dry EEG Electrodes, Sensors, no. 11: 5175. 
• Z. Sarsenbayeva, N. van Berkel, D. Hettiachchi, B. Tag, E. Velloso, J. Goncalves, V. Kostakos (2023). Mapping 20 Years of Accessibility Research in HCI: A Co-word Analysis. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 103018. 
• Lin, S.S.R., Gamage, N.M., Herath, K. and Withana, A., 2022, February. MyoSpring: 3D printing mechanomyographic sensors for subtle finger gesture recognition. In Proceedings of the Sixteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (pp. 1-13). 
• Z. Sarsenbayeva, N. van Berkel, D. Hettiachchi, W. Jiang, T. Dingler, E. Velloso, V. Kostakos, J. Goncalves (2019). Measuring the Effects of Stress on Mobile Interaction. Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies (IMWUT, UbiComp’19), 3(1), 24:1-24:18.