Real World Recognition For Research In Augmented Reality And Empathic Computing

Professor Mark Billingshurst of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) has been inducted into the SIGCHI Academy of the ACM SIGCHI, which he describes as being “the equivalent of being awarded an Oscar for research in human computer interfaces”.

Professor Mark Billingshurst of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) has been inducted into the SIGCHI Academy of the ACM SIGCHI, which he describes as being “the equivalent of being awarded an Oscar for research in human computer interfaces”.
SIGCHI is the largest international society for professionals, academics and students who are interested in human-computer interaction (HCI). It is part of the Association for Computing Machinery which has 100,000 members. 
The SIGCHI Academy is an honorary group of individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field of human-computer interaction whose efforts have shaped the disciplines and/or industry and led the research and/or innovation in human-computer interaction. Past awardees include Douglas Engelbart who is credited with inventing the computer mouse, and Joy Mountford who established the first interface research group at Apple.
Dr Billinghurst is only the second New Zealander to have received this award out of 160 people inducted into the Academy since 2002. He is well known and a multi-award winner for his research in Augmented Reality (AR) and especially the use of AR for enhancing face to face and remote collaboration and for AR interface design. He has published more research papers in AR than any other academic globally.
Dr Billinghurst leads the Empathic Computing Lab (ECL) at the ABI and at the University of South Australia, which has a mission to develop systems that enable people to better understand one another, and develop empathy, especially in remote collaboration.
An example of research the group has done is the Empathy Glasses, an AR headset which has the capacity to relay emotional and physiological information about the wearer, such as their gaze, facial expression, and heart rate, to a remote collaborator. 
“With the Empathy Glasses, we wanted to share the cues people use in face-to-face conversation, such as gesture or eye-gaze, with a remote partner. Using our technology, you feel as though you’re standing inside the body of the person wearing the headset… and see through their eyes to help them complete a task. In trials of the system, we’ve found people experience a stronger sense of collaboration and communication.”
More recent research includes work on measuring brain activity in collaborative settings, and how it can synchronise for people working together. His group is also working on exploring how sharing gaze and gesture can improve collaboration in AR and Virtual Reality (VR), how to use 360-degree video for shared virtual tours of real locations, and how computers can reliably recognise human emotions and many other aspects of AR and VR.
Overall, Professor Billinghurst’s work aims to overcome some of the limitations of current video conferencing and enable radically new types of collaboration. “This is a very hot topic right now with companies such as Meta, Microsoft and others developing social AR and VR metaverse technologies,” he says.
This award demonstrates how highly researchers in the field value his work and recognise its impact. “It is rewarding to be acknowledged by my peers working in this field with this award,” he says.

© Scoop Media