John is a research scientist and game designer interested in using human body signals to create more "humanized" assistive technologies based on games and interactive systems.
John’s research has been applied mainly in healthcare scenarios from physical activity promotion for the seniors to neurorehabilitation games for stroke patients. John has designed and co-developed a dozen videogames interfaced with physiological sensors such as brain-computer interfaces (BCI), heart rate monitors, depth cams, and wearable electromyography armbands as well as a set of software tools that to promote the synergy between physiological computing and gaming.
John's interface technology expertise includes the use of physiological signals to optimize the user experience while using interactive systems. The games that John co-designed can be used in healthcare scenarios such as exercise promotion in older adults, self-regulation training in children with special needs, and cognitive training in neurorehabilitation therapies. John has also created multiple software tools and design frameworks that allow the integration of playful activities and physiological signals in interactive systems such as social robots and virtual simulations.
John is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo carrying out research in the fields of assistive technology, human-robot interaction, and virtual reality and received the AGE-WELL Postdoctoral Awards in Technology and Aging (2019)
Education
BSc: Physics Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (Colombia)
Msc: Electric Engeneering, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, (Colombia)
PhD: Human-Computer Interaction, Universidade da Madeira, (Portugal)
