My Research

My research is in the areas of human-computer interaction, user experience, and computer-supported cooperative work. I broadly focus on:

  • the use of and collaboration with technology in everyday life,
  • the design and use of conversational interfaces and ‘interactive AI’ systems,
  • the Internet of Things (IoT) in the home and workplace,
  • explainable and understandable (semi)autonomous systems.

At Bold Insight, I lead and support user experience (UX) projects, from exploratory and usability testing for multinational companies through to research in healthtech. Findings from my research have been used to understand user mental models, shape product focus, and divert design efforts of existing and upcoming products being brought to market. My work involves supporting research proposal development, including selecting or developing the most appropriate method(s) to align with client objectives and to maximise the impact of research findings.

Below is a list of projects I have contributed to while at Swansea University and the University of Nottingham. I have a separate list of my publications here.

NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative Technology-Specific Evaluation Team (TSET)

January 2022–February 2024

I was Co-Principal Investigator (totalling £700k) for NHS AAC awards. One award required evaluating the design and deployment of an AI-enhanced technology being deployed within the UK health service for triaging requests for GP appointments, while the second award covered the peer review of an evaluation of technology to support patients with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These projects involved reviewing documentation, testing software, and conducting on-site time-and-motion and ethnographic studies to determine the veracity and effectiveness of the tools.

Interactive Agents with Literacy, Trust, and Comprehension-aware Artificial Intelligence (Inter-ALTCAI)

January 2019–June 2021

This Department for International Development Transform project explored the potential of emerging Interactive Artificially Intelligent Agent technologies as a route to creating rich, trusting and effective digital interactions that are effective in low literacy, low connectivity, and low base expertise contexts. The project addressed these challenges through the extension and evaluation of an existing open source platform informed through ethnographic studies and participatory design. Principally, the project designed and evaluated a prototype interactive AI for providing informal healthcare and wellbeing advice to expectant and nursing mothers in Nigeria.

I conducted the participatory design efforts of the project. This involved travelling to Lagos, Nigeria to collaborate with both chemists and perinatal women, to identify crucial health and wellbeing topics, and to inform the design of the final system. This work included prototype development and the design and running of workshops and field visits.

Human Robot Collaboration for Allergen-Aware Factory Cleaning (RoboClean)

November 2018–April 2020

This project, funded through the University of Nottingham Smart Products Beacon and Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute, investigated the potential of human-robot collaboration, integrated with IoT sensors for cleaning and allergen detection on a factory floor. The outcomes of this project included an interactive connected system enabling novel human-robot collaboration and sensor data collection in a factory by engaging with partners in industry (British Pepper and Spice) and the third sector (the Food and Drink Forum).

My work as a postdoctoral researcher involved conducting field visits, ethnographic studies, and interviews with industrial partners, observing and understanding the work of cleaning food and drink factories. For this, I liaised with both small and multinational food manufacturers

Read more on the Horizon Digital Economy Research website.

Future Everyday Interaction with the Autonomous Internet of Things (A-IoT)

April 2019–October 2019

This EPSRC-funded project investigated the design of interaction mechanisms and user interfaces for future Autonomous Internet of Things systems (A-IoT). These are considered systems of interconnected everyday devices that introduce elements of automation in response to or to support everyday life.

My work as a postdoc researcher involved supporting the deployment of a system developed within the project to understand the use of systems for predicting the consumption of projects in the home. I collaborated on the running of research studies with the system and played a substantial role in the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, and the subsequent publication of our findings. This work was published in the paper Tracking the Consumption of Home Essentials.

Read more on Gateway to Research.

Personalised Airport Systems for Seamless Mobility and Experience (PASSME)

November 2018–April 2019

This Horizon 2020 project aimed to reduce unwanted door-to-door air travel time in the EU by 60 minutes and make the airport experience less stressful and more enjoyable for passengers and the aviation industry. PASSME brought together experts in aviation, transport, research, design, technology and communications.

My work as a postdoc researcher involved working with researchers at TU Delft on a project to understand the effects of seating configuration of aeroplanes on boarding times, including data collection and analysis.

Read more on CORDIS.

Understanding Conversation Around Technology Use in Casual-Social Settings

October 2013–September 2017

My PhD was funded by EPSRC through the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training and Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute. I was based in the Mixed Reality Lab at the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham and supervised by Dr Joel E Fischer (Computer Science) and Prof. Sarah Sharples (Faculty of Engineering).

My thesis adopted a multidisciplinary ethnographic approach informed by ethnomethodology. I focused on the everyday use of devices such as smartphones and smart speakers within groups of friends and family while they are socialising, demonstrating the ways in which devices are used in everyday life.

A copy of my thesis is available from my publications list.