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Human-Centered Computing

Our work in human-centered computing explores and enhances the ways in which people and communities engage with and experience technology. 

Our research considers the personal, educational, cultural, and ethical implications of innovation. Drawing upon techniques from human-computer interaction, learning sciences, sensing and more, we aim to maximize the potential benefits of technology while minimizing potential harms to individuals, groups and society.


Groups & Labs

Closeup of AI-augmented headphone on person's ear

Mobile Intelligence Lab

The interdisciplinary Mobile Intelligence Lab builds intelligent systems and tools for tackling hard technical and societal problems, including battery-free computing, medical diagnostics, augmented human perception and more.

A person with long blond hair, with only mouth and chin visible, is lying on a blue quilted blanket on short green grass in dappled sunlight. The person is wearing a black sweatshirt and propped up on their elbows, viewing a smartphone held in their well-manicured hands.

Behavioral Data Science Group

The Behavioral Data Science Group leverages large-scale behavioral data to extract actionable insights about our lives, health and happiness by combining techniques from data science, social network analysis, and natural language processing.


Allen School Faculty

Associate Professor

Professor & Vice Director

Associate Professor

Professor


Centers & Initiatives

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.

Society + Technology is a cross-campus, cross-disciplinary initiative and community at the University of Washington that is dedicated to research, teaching and learning focused on the social, societal and justice dimensions of technology.

Highlights


UW News

Researchers in the Allen School’s Mobile Intelligence Lab developed VueBuds, the first system that incorporates tiny cameras in off-the-shelf wireless earbuds as a less-intrusive, more privacy-preserving alternative to smart glasses.

Allen School News

The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) recently honored Froehlich (Ph.D., ‘11) for his work to improve pedestrian infrastructure across the globe and tackle a range of other accessibility challenges using AI and HCI.

Allen School News

The Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education recognized Ladner with the ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education for his work expanding access for students with disabilities.