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
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.
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
Computing for the Environment (CS4Env) at the University of Washington supports novel collaborations across the broad fields of environmental sciences and computer science & engineering. The initiative engages environmental scientists and engineers, computer scientists and engineers, and data scientists in using advanced technologies, methodologies and computing resources to accelerate research that addresses pressing societal challenges related to climate change, pollution, biodiversity and more.
TCAT harnesses the power of open-source technology to develop, translate, and deploy accessible technologies, and then sustain them in the hands of communities. Housed by the Paul G. Allen School for Computer Science & Engineering, TCAT centers the experience of people with disabilities as a lens for improving design & engineering, through participatory design practices, tooling and capacity building.
Highlights
GeekWire
Allen School undergraduate Prisha Hemani and teammates won the grand prize in the 2026 Hollomon Health Challenge for CPRight, a real-time CPR feedback device. The annual competition is hosted by the UW’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business.
UW News
A team led by UW researchers created a system that uses a phone’s existing speaker and microphone to accurately estimate fetal heart rate by mimicking Doppler ultrasound.
Streetsblog USA
Anat Caspi, director of the UW’s Taskar Center for Accessible Technology, joined the Streetsblog USA podcast “The Brake” to discuss OS-CONNECT, a statewide dataset of pedestrian infrastructure to help policymakers and planners to create more connected communities.