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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Design for ageing
Investigating how new technologies can be designed and used to support people’s wellbeing and social connectedness in later life.
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Games and play
Exploring the ways that people experience and create games and playful experiences; and seeking to understand how technology supports these activities
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Social computing and communities
Creating and evaluating sociotechnical systems that help mediate communication and collaboration between people.
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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.
People
Contact us
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Vassilis Kostakos
Group Leader
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.
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HCI programs for potential students
Find out about the undergraduate and graduate coursework programs we offer.
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HCI subjects
See which subjects or projects you can do with us.
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Masters projects
Our group supervises masters projects across various coursework programs. View available projects.
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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.
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User Experience (UX) Lab
A specialist laboratory used for usability testing and interaction research.
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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.
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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.
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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:
- Lab Manager
- Allen Mari Pilares
- allen.pilares@unimelb.edu.au
- Phone
- +61 3 9035 8760
News and events
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HCI researchers nominated for Best Paper Award at IEEE ISMAR 2020
We are pleased to announce that HCI researchers Difeng Yu, Qiushi Zhou, Joshua Newn, Tilman Dingler, Eduardo Velloso, and Jorge Goncalves have received a Best Paper award nomination at the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR 2020).
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Human-Computer Interaction group to host DiGRAA 2021
We are delighted to announce that the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) group at The University of Melbourne will be hosting the 2021 National Conference for the Digital Games Research Association of Australia (DiGRAA).
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Thursday 1:00pm - 2:00pmAugmented reality annotations for face-to-face interaction: using AR to enhance skill-movement acqui...
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Friday 3:00pm - 4:00pmTask assignment using worker context and cognitive ability for improving data quality in crowdsourci...
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Friday 2:00pm - 3:00pmDeveloping the proactive smart speaker system
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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.
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Friday All dayInsertable devices: The uses and capabilities of devices in, through and underneath the skin
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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.
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Friday 3:00pm - 4:00pmVirtual Reality to provoke engagement with climate change
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Wednesday 3:00pm - 4:00pmA toolkit for developing mobile NIRS-based applications
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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.
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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.
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Friday 3:00pm - 4:00pmPersuasive design and the art of resistance
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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.
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.
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
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
Conference papers
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
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
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
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