Human-Computer Interaction

Our mission: To create the next generation of interactive technologies.

We are a world-leading group of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers who study, teach and are fascinated by issues arising from humans interacting with emerging technologies. Our group has strong foundations in both qualitative and quantitative methods, and brings together cutting-edge technology design with development. Our state-of-the-art facilities enable us to create and study the next generation of interactive technologies, which we validate in a number of important application areas.

Research themes

• Ubiquitous computing

  Developing novel technologies that move beyond the desktop computing paradigm. The topics we work on include context awareness, sensing techniques, smartphone technologies, wearables, the Internet of Things, mobility analysis, and smart environments.

• Digital health

  Seeking to support citizens to take control of their health, to help health professionals get treatment to more people more efficiently, and to help health systems cope with increasing loads.

• Novel interactions

  Designing and developing prototypes using new interactive devices, including, but not limited to: virtual, augmented, and extended reality, eye tracking, physiological sensors, 3D printing, motion capture, projection mapping, interactive AI and machine learning.

• Design for ageing

  Investigating how new technologies can be designed and used to support people’s wellbeing and social connectedness in later life.

• Games and play

  Exploring the ways that people experience and create games and playful experiences; and seeking to understand how technology supports these activities

• Social computing and communities

  Creating and evaluating sociotechnical systems that help mediate communication and collaboration between people.

• Human information interaction

  Our group is interested in the nexus of humans, technology and information. Having the right information at the right time is key to autonomy, decision making, and modern democracy.

All research projects   Publications

Contact us

• 
  Vassilis Kostakos

  Group Leader
  Email: vassilis.kostakos@unimelb.edu.au

Study

If you are interested in undertaking studies in Human-Computer Interaction and affiliated disciplines, we offer a number of options.

We teach a variety of subjects covering a range of HCI topics, including methods, techniques, technologies. Most of our taught subjects are primarily project-based.

Our group also supervises a range of research and software development projects for students working on a minor thesis.

Studying with us gives you access to state-of-the-art facilities, hands-on experience with novel interactive technologies, and opportunities to put in practice skills that are in high demand in the job market.

• HCI programs for potential students

  Find out about the undergraduate and graduate coursework programs we offer.

• HCI subjects

  See which subjects or projects you can do with us.

• Masters projects

  Our group supervises masters projects across various coursework programs. View available projects.

• Potential PhD students

  Find out how to do a PhD in HCI.

Facilities

Our researchers and students have access to a number of facilities at the University that allow them to develop and run experiments that push the boundaries of human-computer interaction. Each facility is unique and provides researchers with a range of capabilities, from running usability experiments to manufacturing research equipment.

• User Experience (UX) Lab

  A specialist laboratory used for usability testing and interaction research.

• Interactive Technologies (IxT) Lab

  A facility that allows users to explore, design and develop novel interactions using technologies such as motion-capture, voice assistants, AR/VR and Kinects, just to name a few.

• Engineering Workshop

  Providing design consultancy and manufacturing services such as: CNC machining; Conventional machining (turning, milling); Welding fabrication; Sheet metal fabrication; Plumbing; and 3D Printing and Scanning.

• FabLab

  A digital workshop focused on aiding the model making of student work.

Contact the Lab Manager

To arrange access or use of these facilities, contact:

News and events

• You wouldn’t hit a dog, so why kill one in Minecraft? Why violence against virtual animals is an ethical issue

  Video game ‘amoralists’ argue killing in gaming isn’t harmful since no living being is actually hurt. But when it comes to hurting virtual animals, we disagree.

  25 September 2020 News
• Friday 2 October 2020 All day
  Insertable devices: The uses and capabilities of devices in, through and underneath the skin
  
  Seminar or Forum
• Biometric Mirror’s new technology temple in the Netherlands

  The new version of Biometric Mirror is a spongy technology temple that invites audiences to posture for an algorithm that measures emotional stability, kindness levels and so-called beauty.

  18 September 2020 News
• Friday 25 September 2020 3:00pm - 4:00pm
  Virtual Reality to provoke engagement with climate change
  
  Seminar or Forum
• Wednesday 23 September 2020 3:00pm - 4:00pm
  A toolkit for developing mobile NIRS-based applications
  
  Seminar or Forum
• Data isn’t neutral and neither are decision algorithims

  The UK’s misguided attempt to use algorithms to estimate school scores is a warning and reminder of the need to keep humans and accountability in automated decision-making.

  15 September 2020 News
• Child’s play in the time of COVID: screen games are still 'real' play

  Play is a core part of a healthy childhood, through which children develop social, communication, cognitive and physical skills.

  11 September 2020 News
• Friday 11 September 2020 3:00pm - 4:00pm
  Persuasive design and the art of resistance
  
  Seminar or Forum
• PhD student Sara Khorasani awarded MSE Ingenium Scholarship

  Sara received the award the basis of academic excellence, strength of research proposal, and ambassadorial potential. Her research focuses on learning analytics in VR.

  1 September 2020 News
• Tilman Dingler and research team presented with Adobe grant

  We congratulate Tilman Dingler and his research team, on receiving a grant from Adobe to pursue his project: ‘Reading on Ubiquitous Devices’.

  25 August 2020 News
• The value of board games

  Did you know that board games are a form of technology? Engineering lecturer Dr Melissa Rogerson examines our love of all things board games and their fascinating 5,000-year history.

  18 August 2020 News
• Boardgame science at the pub

  Melissa Rogerson talks with host of Quantum Sauce, Adam Booth, about her research on boardgames and on hybrid digital games.

  18 August 2020 News

More news More about seminars

Here is a collection of scholarly peer-reviewed papers published by Human-Computer Interaction researchers in the current year. The list of publications by individual HCI researchers in Google Scholar may also be useful.

Book chapters

Chan, S.; Lewi, H.; Smith, W. (2020) "Interview with Seb Chan". Lewi, H.; Smith, W.; Vom Lehn, D.; Cooke, S. (Ed.) The Routledge International Handbook of New Digital Practices in Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums and Heritage Sites. Abingdon, Oxon. Routledge. Pg: 15-22.

Journal articles

Allison, F.; Carter, M.; Gibbs, M. (2020) "Word Play: A History of Voice Interaction in Digital Games" Games and Culture SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. Pg: 91-113. DOI:10.1177/1555412017746305

Alorwu, A.; Van Berkel, N.; Goncalves, J.; Oppenlaender, J.; Lopez, MB.; Seetharaman, M.; Hosio, S. (2020) "Crowdsourcing sensitive data using public displays-opportunities, challenges, and considerations" Personal and Ubiquitous Computing Springer. Pg: -. DOI:10.1007/s00779-020-01375-6

Amft, O.; Favela, J.; Intille, S.; Musolesi, M.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Personalized Pervasive Health" IEEE Pervasive Computing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Pg: 11-13. DOI:10.1109/MPRV.2020.3003142

Anagnostopoulos, T.; Luo, C.; Ramson, J.; Ntalianis, K.; Kostakos, V.; Skourlas, C. (2020) "A multi-agent system for distributed smartphone sensing cycling in smart cities" Journal of Systems and Information Technology Emerald. Pg: 119-134. DOI:10.1108/JSIT-12-2018-0158

Baker, S.; Kelly, R.; Waycott, J.; Carrasco, R.; Bell, R.; Joukhadar, Z.; Hoang, T.; Ozanne, E.; Vetere, F. (2020) "School’s Back: Scaffolding Reminiscence in Social Virtual Reality with Older Adults" Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Baker, S.; Waycott, J.; Robertson, E.; Carrasco, R.; Neves, BB.; Hampson, R.; Vetere, F. (2020) "Evaluating the use of interactive virtual reality technology with older adults living in residential aged care" Information Processing & Management Elsevier. Pg: -. DOI:10.1016/j.ipm.2019.102105

Baker, SJ.; Waycott, J.; Warburton, J.; Batchelor, F. (2020) "The Highway of Life: Social Virtual Reality as a Reminiscence Tool" Innovation in Aging Oxford University Press (OUP). Pg: S306-S306. DOI:10.1093/geroni/igz038.1121

Baptista, S.; Wadley, G.; Bird, D.; Oldenburg, B.; Speight, J.; My Diabetes Coach Research Group, . (2020) "User Experiences With a Type 2 Diabetes Coaching App: Qualitative Study." JMIR Diabetes JMIR Publications. Pg: e16692-e16692. DOI:10.2196/16692

Chen, Y.; Van Berkel, N.; Luo, C.; Sarsenbayeva, Z.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Application of miniaturized near-infrared spectroscopy in pharmaceutical identification" Smart Health Elsevier. Pg: 100126-100126. DOI:10.1016/j.smhl.2020.100126

Chen, Z.; Cao, H.; Wang, H.; Xu, F.; Kostakos, V.; Li, Y. (2020) "Will You Come Back/Check-in Again? Understanding Characteristics Leading to Urban Revisitation and Re-check-in" Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies ACM. Pg: -. DOI:10.1145/3411812

Davidson, S.; Fletcher, S.; Wadley, G.; Reavley, N.; Gunn, J.; Wade, D. (2020) "A Mobile Phone App to Improve the Mental Health of Taxi Drivers: Single-Arm Feasibility Trial" JMIR mHealth and uHealth Toronto, Canada. JMIR Publications. Pg: -. DOI:10.2196/13133

De Angeli, D.; Kelly, RM.; O’neill, E. (2020) "Beyond Happy?or?Not: Using Emoji to Capture Visitors’ Emotional Experience" Curator: The Museum Journal Wiley. Pg: 167-191. DOI:10.1111/cura.12352

Du, JT.; Xie, I.; Waycott, J. (2020) "Marginalized communities, emerging technologies, and social innovation in the digital age: Introduction to the special issue" Information Processing & Management ELSEVIER SCI LTD. Pg: -. DOI:10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102235

Giannakos, MN.; Sharma, K.; Papavlasopoulou, S.; Pappas, IO.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Fitbit for learning: Towards capturing the learning experience using wearable sensing" International Journal of Human-Computer Studies Elsevier. Pg: -. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.102384

Gooch, D.; Kelly, RM.; Stiver, A.; Van Der Linden, J.; Petre, M.; Richards, M.; Klis-davies, A.; Mackinnon, J.; Macpherson, R.; Walton, C. (2020) "The benefits and challenges of using crowdfunding to facilitate community-led projects in the context of digital civics" International Journal of Human-Computer Studies Elsevier BV. Pg: 33-43. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.10.005

Hosio, SJ.; Van Berkel, N.; Oppenlaender, J.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "Crowdsourcing Personalized Weight Loss Diets" Computer IEEE. Pg: 63-71. DOI:10.1109/MC.2019.2902542

Kostakos, V.; Knowles, B.; Markopoulos, P.; Yatani, K. (2020) "Growing Up With Pervasive Computing" IEEE Pervasive Computing IEEE COMPUTER SOC. Pg: 8-9. DOI:10.1109/MPRV.2020.2971286

Luo, C.; Goncalves, J.; Velloso, E.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "A Survey of Context Simulation for Testing Mobile Context-Aware Applications" ACM Computing Surveys Association for Computing Machinery. Pg: 1-39. DOI:10.1145/3372788

Pang, PC-I.; Mckay, D.; Chang, S.; Chen, Q.; Zhang, X.; Cui, L. (2020) "Privacy concerns of the Australian My Health Record: Implications for other large-scale opt-out personal health records" Information Processing and Management Elsevier. Pg: 102364-102364. DOI:10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102364

Seabrook, E.; Kelly, R.; Foley, F.; Theiler, S.; Thomas, N.; Wadley, G.; Nedeljkovic, M. (2020) "Understanding how virtual reality can support mindfulness practice: Mixed methods study" Journal of Medical Internet Research JMIR Publications Inc.. Pg: 1-15. DOI:10.2196/16106

Sharma, K.; Niforatos, E.; Giannakos, M.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Assessing Cognitive Performance Using Physiological and Facial Features" Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies ACM. Pg: -. DOI:10.1145/3411811

Singh, R.; Miller, T.; Newn, J.; Velloso, E.; Vetere, F.; Sonenberg, L. (2020) "Combining gaze and AI planning for online human intention recognition" Artificial Intelligence Elsevier. Pg: -. DOI:10.1016/j.artint.2020.103275

Tag, B.; Dingler, T.; Vargo, AW.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Inferring Circadian Rhythms of Cognitive Performance in Everyday Life" IEEE Pervasive Computing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Pg: 14-23. DOI:10.1109/MPRV.2020.2994914

Van Berkel, N.; Dennis, S.; Zyphur, M.; Li, J.; Heathcote, A.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Modeling interaction as a complex system" Human-Computer Interaction Taylor & Francis. Pg: -. DOI:10.1080/07370024.2020.1715221

Van Berkel, N.; Goncalves, J.; Hosio, S.; Sarsenbayeva, Z.; Velloso, E.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Overcoming compliance bias in self-report studies: A cross-study analysis" International Journal of Human-Computer Studies ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. Pg: 1-12. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.10.003

Van Berkel, N.; Goncalves, J.; Wac, K.; Hosio, S.; Cox, AL. (2020) "Human accuracy in mobile data collection" International Journal of Human-Computer Studies Elsevier Inc.. Pg: -. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102396

Van Berkel, N.; Tag, B.; Goncalves, J.; Hosio, S. (2020) "Human-centred artificial intelligence: a contextual morality perspective" Behaviour & Information Technology TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. Pg: -. DOI:10.1080/0144929X.2020.1818828

Vered, M.; Howe, P.; Miller, T.; Sonenberg, L.; Velloso, E. (2020) "Demand-Driven Transparency for Monitoring Intelligent Agents" IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Pg: 264-275. DOI:10.1109/thms.2020.2988859

Wadley, G.; Smith, W.; Koval, P.; Gross, JJ. (2020) "Digital Emotion Regulation" CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. Pg: 412-418. DOI:10.1177/0963721420920592

Wang, C.; Sarsenbayeva, Z.; Chen, X.; Dingler, T.; Goncalves, J.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Accurate Measurement of Handwash Quality Using Sensor Armbands: Instrument Validation Study" JMIR mHealth and uHealth JMIR Publications. Pg: -. DOI:10.2196/17001

Wijenayake, S.; Van Berkel, N.; Kostakos, V.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "Impact of contextual and personal determinants on online social conformity" Computers in Human Behavior Elsevier. Pg: -. DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2020.106302

Wijenayake, S.; Van Berkel, N.; Kostakos, V.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "Quantifying the Effect of Social Presence on Online Social Conformity" Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction ACM. Pg: 1-22. DOI:10.1145/3392863

Yang, K.; Wang, C.; Sarsenbayeva, Z.; Tag, B.; Dingler, T.; Wadley, G.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "Benchmarking commercial emotion detection systems using realistic distortions of facial image datasets" The Visual Computer Springer Verlag. Pg: -. DOI:10.1007/s00371-020-01881-x

Conference papers

Alamri, H.; Waycott, J.; Lederman, R.; Alshehri, A. (2020) "User engagement in image-based online health communities" Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems: Information Systems (IS) for the Future Association for Information Systems.

Andrade, R.; Rogerson, MJ.; Waycott, J.; Baker, S.; Vetere, F. (2020) "Introducing the Gamer Information-Control Framework" CHI '20: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ACM. DOI:10.1145/3313831.3376211

Babaei, E.; Srivastava, N.; Newn, J.; Zhou, Q.; Dingler, T.; Velloso, E. (2020) "Faces of Focus: A Study on the Facial Cues of Attentional States" CHI '20: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ACM. DOI:10.1145/3313831.3376566

Bahng, S.; Kelly, R.; Mccormack, J. (2020) "Reflexive VR Storytelling Design Beyond Immersion: Facilitating Self-Reflection on Death and Loneliness" The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sys­tems (CHI 2020) Association for Computing Machinery. DOI:10.1145/3313831.3376582

Baptista, S.; Wadley, G.; Bird, D.; Oldenburg, B.; Speight, J. (2020) "Acceptability of an Embodied Conversational Agent for Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support via a Smartphone App: Mixed Methods Study" JMIR mHealth and uHealth JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC. Pg: -. DOI:10.2196/17038

Buchanan, G.; Mckay, D.; Clarke, CLA.; Azzopardi, L.; Trippas, J. (2020) "Made to measure: A workshop on human-centred metrics for information seeking" 2020 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval New York, United States. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Pg: 484-487. DOI:10.1145/3343413.3378020

Dourish, P.; Lawrence, C.; Leong, TW.; Wadley, G. (2020) "On Being Iterated: The Affective Demands of Design Participation" CHI '20: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ACM. DOI:10.1145/3313831.3376545

Fong, LC.; Waycott, J.; Kadir, A.; Gispen, J.; Nacke, LE. (2020) "'Imi Pono: Creating an Ethical Framework for User Experience Design" CHI '20: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ACM. DOI:10.1145/3334480.3375161

Hettiachchi, D.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "Towards Effective Crowd-Powered Online Content Moderation" 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction (OZCHI) ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. Pg: 342-346. DOI:10.1145/3369457.3369491

Hettiachchi, D.; Hosio, S.; Kostakos, V.; Van Berkel, N.; López, MB.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "Augmenting automated kinship verification with targeted human input" Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems Association for Information Systems.

Hettiachchi, D.; Sarsenbayeva, Z.; Allison, F.; Van Berkel, N.; Dingler, T.; Marini, G.; Kostakos, V.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "“Hi! I am the Crowd Tasker” Crowdsourcing through Digital Voice Assistants" CHI'20 Association for Computing Machinery. Pg: -. DOI:10.1145/3313831.3376320

Lawrence, C.; Leong, TW.; Brereton, M.; Taylor, JL.; Bidwell, N.; Wadley, G. (2020) "Indigenous HCI" 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction (OZCHI) ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. Pg: 17-19. DOI:10.1145/3369457.3369553

Mckay, D.; Buchanan, G. (2020) "Capturing information behaviour in the wild: A tutorial" Fifth ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval (CHIIR) ACM. Pg: 475-476. DOI:10.1145/3343413.3378017

Mckay, D.; Makri, S.; Chang, S.; Buchanan, G. (2020) "On birthing dancing stars: The need for bounded chaos in information interaction" 2020 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval ACM. Pg: 292-302. DOI:10.1145/3343413.3377983

Mckay, D.; Makri, S.; Gutierrez-lopez, M.; Macfarlane, A.; Missaoui, S.; Porlezza, C.; Cooper, G. (2020) "We are the change that we seek: Information interactions during a change of viewpoint" 2020 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval ACM. Pg: 173-182. DOI:10.1145/3343413.3377975

Mckay, D.; Twidale, MB.; Buchanan, G. (2020) "Strike a Pose: Gender and the Public and Private Performance of Magazine Reading" JCDL '20: The ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries in 2020 ACM. Pg: 361-364. DOI:10.1145/3383583.3398601

Munteanu, C.; Waycott, J.; Mcnaney, R. (2020) "Dealing with ethical challenges in HCI fieldwork" CHI: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ACM. DOI:10.1145/3334480.3375057

Newn, J. (2020) "Using Multimodal Sensing to Improve Awareness in Human-AI Interaction" CHI 2020 Workshop on Artificial Intelligence for HCI: A Modern Approach Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Pg: -.

Oldenburg, B.; Bird, D.; Baptista, S.; Wadley, G.; Speight, J.; Scuffham, P. (2020) "DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO TRANSFORM CURRENT APPROACHES TO CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT IN POPULATIONS" ANNALS OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC. Pg: S464-S464.

Sarcar, S.; Munteanu, C.; Jokinen, J.; Charness, N.; Dunlop, M.; Ren, X.; Waycott, J. (2020) "Designing Interactions for the Ageing Populations - Addressing Global Challenges" CHI '20: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ACM. DOI:10.1145/3334480.3375164

Sarsenbayeva, Z.; Marini, G.; Van Berkel, N.; Luo, C.; Jiang, W.; Yang, K.; Wadley, G.; Dingler, T.; Goncalves, J.; Kostakos, V. (2020) "Does Smartphone Use Drive our Emotions or vice versa? A Causal Analysis" CHI'20 Association for Computing Machinery. Pg: -. DOI:10.1145/3313831.3376163

Shen, Y.; Kelly, R. (2020) "CoasterMe: Supporting Informal Workplace Awareness Through the Everyday Behaviour of Drinking" The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sys­tems (CHI 2020) Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Pg: -. DOI:10.1145/3334480.3382824

Srivastava, N.; Nawaz, S.; Lodge, JM.; Velloso, E.; Erfani, S.; Bailey, J. (2020) "Exploring the usage of thermal imaging for understanding video lecture designs and students' experiences" LAK '20: Tenth International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge ACM. Pg: 250-259. DOI:10.1145/3375462.3375514

Webber, S.; Carter, M.; Smith, W.; Vetere, F. (2020) "Co-Designing with Orangutans" DIS '20: Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2020 ACM. Pg: 1713-1725. DOI:10.1145/3357236.3395559

Weir, K.; Loizides, F.; Nahar, V.; Aggoun, A.; Buchanan, G. (2020) "Creating a Bespoke Virtual Reality Personal Library Space for Persons with Severe Visual Disabilities" JCDL '20: The ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries in 2020 ACM. Pg: 393-396. DOI:10.1145/3383583.3398610

Yu, D.; Zhou, Q.; Tag, B.; Dingler, T.; Velloso, E.; Goncalves, J. (2020) "Engaging Participants during Selection Studies in Virtual Reality" 2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR) IEEE. Pg: 500-509. DOI:10.1109/vr46266.2020.1581291122479

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