CS 201: Ubiquitous User Interfaces for Small Mobile Devices, XINYU ZHANG, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Speaker: Xinyu Zhang
Affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Xinyu-Zhang-PIC

ABSTRACT: The current generation of mobile devices — such as smartphones, smartwatches, and digital jewelry — relies on touchscreen as the primary input channel. As such devices become more compact, their limited screen space handicaps user experience, and prevents us from exploiting the full power of mobile computing.  In this talk, I will introduce my group’s recent research that unleashes human fingers from touchscreen and onto ubiquitous surfaces.  We develop computational algorithms to transform a mobile device’s communication interfaces into contactless sensors that can accurately track finger movement.  Consequently, a user can interact with the device by typing or gesturing on any nearby surface — a tabletop, a piece of paper or even in mid-air. We have designed and prototyped three such technologies, which leverage the acoustic, visible light and millimeter-wave communication interfaces for finger tracking. Realizing these technologies entails significant challenges, especially considering the centimeter to millimeter of precision requirement.  Our solutions build on theoretical models that recover a finger’s trajectories based on how it disturbs the communication signals.  These solutions also hold potential to enable mid-air interaction with many emerging mobile devices, including virtual-reality headsets and screenless Internet-of-Things. BIO: Xinyu Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received a B.E. degree in Communications Engineering, M.S. degree in Computer Engineering, and Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering, from Harbin Institute of Technology, the University of Toronto, and the University of Michigan, respectively. His research interest lies in mobile computing and wireless networking, and more specifically in (i) wireless sensing applications that facilitate healthcare and human-mobile interaction; (ii) Gbps wireless network architectures based on millimeter-wave, large-scale MIMO and visible light.  His research work has been regularly published in top conferences in these areas, especially ACM MobiCom and MobiSys. He received ACM MobiCom Best Paper Award in 2011, and NSF CAREER award in 2014.

Hosted by Professor Mario Gerla

REFRESHMENTS at 3:45 pm, SPEAKER at 4:15 pm

THURSDAY, June 2, 2016

Date/Time:
Date(s) - Jun 02, 2016
4:15 pm - 5:45 pm

Location:
3400 Boelter Hall
420 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles California 90095