Probabilistic Input

My main research focus at Carnegie Mellon has been in designing a framework and API for handling input with uncertainty. This is joint work with my advisors Jennifer Mankoff and Scott Hudson. There are many components to this project, and in this first paper in my larger project we outline the design of an framwork and API for handling input with uncertainty. Published in ACM UIST 2010. PDF

Cord Input

A cord has many physical affordances that make it powerful as an input device. Not only can a length of cord be grasped in different locations, but also pulled and twisted – three distinct dimensions that could potentially act in concert. Such a device could be readily integrated into headphones, backpacks, and clothing. I built such a cord input device which can sense how it is being twisted, bent, pulled, and where it is being touched, and ran an evaluation comparing each input dimension. Published in ACM CHI 2010. PDF

Reflections of Human Activity in Spending Data

This project explores how financial information can be used to sense many aspects of human activity. This simple technique gives people information about their daily lives, is easily accessible to many at no extra cost, requires little setup, and does not require the manufacture of any external devices. I focused on how financial data can be used to show users where they spend their time, when they accomplish certain habits, and what the impact of their activities is on the environment. For this project I implemented three demonstration applications intended for personal use. Published in ACM CHI 2009. PDF

RFID Reader Reader: A Gadget to Increase Awareness of RFID Readers

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has recently become a popular technology for tracking items and making small purchases. Many people have expressed concern over the use of RFID as a tracking technology because of privacy and security issues. One problem with RFID is that it is difficult for an individual to know when he/she is near an RFID Reader. I tried to solve this problem for my senior thesis project by buliding a small device (called an RFID Reader Reader) which tracks when a user is near an RFID Reader. For my thesis I evaluated how well the reader works, and tried to use the device to find readers. Read the paper for results! PDF