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Interaction with the Physical World

Advances in low- and no-power sensing, communication and interaction technologies offer new possibilities for blending digital innovation with our physical environment. 

From gesture recognition that allows people to interact with objects in new ways, to low-power sensors that collect and transmit data about temperature, air quality, urban accessibility and more, our researchers are tapping into the potential of computation to transform how we experience the world around us.


Research Groups & Labs

Street scene overlaid with color-coded object recognition labels for depicted car, bicycle, vegetation, utility pole, and manhole cover

Makeability Lab

The Makeability Lab specializes in Human-Computer Interaction and applied machine learning for high-impact problems in accessibility, computational urban science, and augmented reality.

Closeup of a person's finger illuminated in red by smartphone camera

UbiComp Lab

The Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp) Lab develops innovative systems for health sensing, low-power sensing, energy sensing, activity recognition and novel user interface technology for real-world applications.


Faculty Members

Faculty


Centers & Initiatives

The mission of the UW Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE) is to make technology accessible and the world accessible through technology. By bringing together researchers from across the campus, CREATE harnesses the diverse expertise necessary to realize a more just and equitable technological future, one that overcomes existing barriers and ensures new ones do not arise.

The Transportation Data Equity Initiative (TDEI) aims to enhance the quality and accessibility of travel services by building open source data collection and vetting tools, transportation data digital infrastructure, and governance frameworks that enable public-private data sharing and interoperability. The TDEI is a project sponsored by The Complete Trip, an ITS4US Deployment Program.

Highlights


IEEE Spectrum

Companies are pouring billions into developing humanoid robots. In an op-ed, Allen School professor Maya Cakmak considers the results of a survey exploring whether people would welcome such robots — and looks forward to taking one for a spin (for science).

Allen School News

In 2011, a team of researchers that included Allen School professor and alum Franziska Roesner published a paper detailing how they could remotely take control of a car. Their work, which inspired new motor vehicle security standards, received the USENIX Test of Time Award.

Allen School News

Allen School undergraduates Joshua Tran and Claire Li were part of a team in the UW’s Autonomous Insect Robotics (AIR) Lab that earned the ICRA Best Student Paper Award for TinySense, the current lightest avionics system with the potential for flying insect robot sensor autonomy.