Master’s Thesis Presentation • Human-Computer Interaction • Eggly: Designing Mobile Augmented Reality Neurofeedback Training Games for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Please note: This master’s thesis presentation will take place in DC 1331 and online.

Yue Lyu, Master’s candidate
David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science

Supervisors: Professors Jian Zhao, Keiko Katsuragawa

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects how children communicate and relate to other people and the world around them. Emerging studies have shown that neurofeedback training (NFT) games are an effective and playful intervention to enhance social and attentional capabilities for autistic children. However, NFT is primarily available in a clinical setting that is hard to scale. Also, the intervention demands deliberately-designed gamified feedback with fun and enjoyment, where little knowledge has been acquired in the HCI community.

Through a ten-month iterative design process with four domain experts, we developed Eggly, a mobile NFT game based on a consumer-grade EEG headband and a tablet. Eggly uses novel augmented reality (AR) techniques to offer engagement and personalization, enhancing their training experience. We conducted two field studies (a single-session study and a three-week multi-session study) with five autistic children to assess Eggly in practice at an education center. Both quantitative and qualitative results indicate the effectiveness of the approach and contribute to the design knowledge of creating mobile AR NFT games.

To attend this master’s thesis presentation in person, please go to DC 1331. You can also attend virtually using Zoom at https://uwaterloo.zoom.us/j/98470500370.