Study level

  • PhD
  • Master of Philosophy
  • Honours

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

School of Computer Science

Topic status

We're looking for students to study this topic.

Research centre

Supervisors

Associate Professor Laurianne Sitbon
Position
Associate Professor
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Science

Overview

This area of research is seeking to understand how the meaning of images can be computed and used in the design of intelligent interfaces which can be used by and support people with cognitive disability (intellectual disability, dementia, brain injury), in their homes, their daily lives, or their work.

The visual interactions of interest to this research may be embedded in a variety of technologies, including:

  • assistive technologies (e.g. AAC)
  • assistive robots (social robots and humanoid robots)
  • conversational technologies (e.g. voice assistants)
  • tangible technologies (e.g. IoT, or wearables).

Research activities

The preferred approach for this project is an iterative design research approach, which employs co-design and ethnomethodology at its core.

You will:

  • use or build functional prototypes as a dialogical probe for contextual enquiry
  • conduct or participate in co-design workshops with adults with intellectual disability and a range of stakeholders they wish to engage with.

Analysis of the literature and critical analysis of your findings will form an essential part of the research.

Outcomes

As part of your project, you will need to design, build and validate a new piece of technology and use design as a methodology to advance knowledge in interactive intelligent systems by offering a new theory or a new methodology.

You will be expected and supported to publish your findings in high impact venues, and to present your work to an international audience.

Skills and experience

Excellent students with a strong background in computer science, interaction design or psychology and an interest and some experience in the other disciplines are ideally suited to this project.

You will need excellent communication skills, particularly in writing. For PhD applicants, this should be evidenced by a research publication in a recognised venue (CORE A/B or Q1/Q2 journals).

Scholarships

You may be eligible to apply for a research scholarship.

Explore our research scholarships

Keywords

Contact

Contact the supervisor for more information.