Projects

In partnership with the International Academy of Hope (IHope), a specialized private school in New York focused on providing education for students (aged 5-21) with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and multiple disabilities. Assistive technologies (AT) are devices used to maintain or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. However, commercial ATs are often overpriced and rigid in their design. Creating customized ATs typically requires specialized knowledge and expertise in both fabrication and software. However, many occupational therapists (OTs) lack formal training in this area. The project explored opportunities in practitioner-led adaptive switch design with support from both AI and HCI professionals. Ultimately, our project determined a number of design ideas for how this partnership and practitioner-first adaptive switch design process should be handled and improved in the future.

This study explores wearable video game interaction for players with upper limb motor disabilities. The goal of the wearable is to move interaction away from fine motor movement in the hands and fingers, and instead focus on gross motor movement. From design inception to construction the process was conducted collaboratively with participants with disabilities. After initial usability testing and changes made to the design based on participant feedback, the next phase of research focuses on how the process of building the wearable through tutorials can be made more inclusive. This study adopts a “do-it-together” approach to making, adapting the at-home and easy approachability of “do-it-yourself” making methods but adding an explicit focus on working together and sharing knowledge to recognize the interdependence that creates access.

This project pilots a training system to help students use generative AI (GenAI) effectively in collaborative design contexts. Instead of treating GenAI as a simple answer box for assignments, students will engage in hands-on activities, practicing prompt engineering, critiquing outputs, and applying results to their writing and prototyping tasks. Group projects will feature role-based protocols to distribute GenAI use, simulating professional environments. The project aims to gather evidence on how these protocols enhance student learning and collaboration. Outcomes will include templates, rubrics, and training protocols for industry preparation, with findings shared within the Waterloo teaching community and through conferences and publications.

Sensory Data Dialogues is a research initiative that views sensory data as an interpretive medium. It combines somaesthetic design, body mapping, and material exploration to examine how sensory experiences arise from interactions between bodies, technology, and environments. Participants use digital sensors and tactile materials, along with journaling, to reflect on their data. The initiative promotes body maps for capturing somatic experiences and explores alternative materials, like tactile maps made from various fabrics to depict sensations and emotions. Ultimately, it fosters dialogue between personal experiences and broader contexts, highlighting embodied design approaches.

In partnership with KidsAbility, the project will co-design and pilot a flexible, practice-based toolkit that supports clinicians through the early learning and calibration phase of generative AI use. The project will also develop an AI readiness framework that conceptualizes readiness as a process shaped by professional confidence and collaboration, generating transferable insights for other community-based health care organizations.