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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

A student wearing an Oculus headset motions toward a screen displaying a virtual character

UW Reality Lab

The UW Reality Lab advances the state of the art in virtual and augmented reality by developing new technologies and applications, educating the next generation of researchers and technologists, and supporting robust collaborations with industry.

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


Centers & Initiatives

The Science Hub supports a broad set of programs — including fellowships for doctoral students, collaboration among researchers and support for collaborative research events — designed to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and engineering in the Seattle area.

DFab is a network of researchers, educators, industry partners, and community members advancing the field of digital fabrication at UW and in the greater Seattle region.

Highlights


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.

Allen School News

The IEEE Robotics & Automation Society (RAS) recognized Gupta, who leads the Allen School’s WEIRD Lab, for his “pioneering contributions to real world robotic reinforcement learning” that enable robots to acquire new skills with minimal human help or engineering.