Seminar • Human-Computer Interaction • Making Sense of Information Anywhere

Please note: This seminar will take place in DC 1304 and virtually over Zoom.

Barrett Ens
Data Visualisation and Immersive Analytics Research Group
Monash University

The miniaturisation of sensing, networking, and processing technologies has increasingly made information readily available. Taking this further, emerging Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and near-future holographic displays (such as light field and laser plasma displays) will soon allow rich visual information to be displayed anywhere, beyond the confines of small 2D screens. On one hand, these advances will allow relevant information to be more directly integrated with the activities, places or objects to which it is related. However, they will also bring significant challenges in designing useful and productive interfaces for visualising information and interacting with it.

Given these coming developments, how can we leverage spatial interaction and situated information spaces to improve the way we perceive, interact with, and understand information? In this talk I will present my work on spatial interface design, and recent applications for data exploration and sensemaking. I will discuss what we have learned about the benefits of managing information in the space around us and some of the challenges that lie ahead.

Bio: Dr Barrett Ens is currently a member of the Data Visualisation and Immersive Analytics research group at Monash University. He received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Theory from the University of Calgary in 2005, and a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Manitoba in 2007. He later joined the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Manitoba for his PhD project on ‘Spatial Analytic Interfaces’. Meanwhile, he completed two student research internships with the User Interface Research Group at Autodesk Research, in 2015 and 2016.

Following that, he undertook an NSERC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of South Australia’s Empathic Computing Lab, before joining Monash in 2018. In addition to his research role, Dr Ens teaches about augmented and virtual reality technologies and spatial audio design in the Monash Faculty of Information Technology and is Course Director of the Bachelor of Information Technology degree.

To attend this seminar in person, please go to DC 1304. You can also attend virtually using Zoom at https://uwaterloo.zoom.us/j/93305101487.

For those attending virtually: The passcode will be provided by email on Friday before the seminar as well as on the morning of the seminar.