Lucca Geurts
Lucca Geurts
Lucca holds a master degree in Applied Sciences – currently named Engineering Sciences – from the KU Leuven (1993). They also obtained their PhD at KU Leuven on the topic of coding temporal information in signal processing for cochlear implants , hearing instruments for deaf people. Shortly after their PhD, Lucca started lecturing in the Engineering College of Group T, and enjoyed the international atmosphere that was emerging on the campus. From 2003 to 2008, Lucca was leading the Engineering College in the exciting times of conceiving a new curriculum, embedded in the bachelor–master reform, starting up academic research on the campus, and deploying further international activities. In 2008, Lucca joined the e-Media Research Lab of Group T, a group of enthusiast professors and researchers that investigate human-centered systems for health care, learning, arts and entertainment.
Lucca’s research activities are situated in the domain of human-computer interaction (HCI) that is characterized by a strong focus on users’ needs and capabilities for the design of interactive systems. While most people interact with computing systems through traditional interfaces like a keyboard and a mouse, or a touch screen, many HCI researchers are looking for new interaction paradigms that better exploit the perceptual skills, motor skills and cognitive skills of the user. They belief that interaction should go further than a user bound to a relatively small screen, and that it should resemble more the interactions we have in the real world.
Tangible and Playful Interactions
The idea of tangible interaction is to integrate digital information in the physical world in a more seamless way. Interaction takes place through the manipulation of objects and the gestures performed by our body. Such interactions include interfaces that are better tailored to the user and the application, and have shown to facilitate reasoning, to encourage collaboration, and to allow for richer expression. As an example, we investigated the potential of soft objects, called Skweezees, as a medium to interact with a computer. By filling e.g. a cuddly toy with conductive material and embedding it with electrodes, the deformation caused by the user can be detected and identified. We develop a do-it-yourself kit for occupational therapists and physical therapists, allowing them to build their own interactive systems for use in their practice. Imagine a child with motor disabilities performing tedious physical exercises by playing a game with a cuddly toy. Studies have shown that the user’s motivation can double if such exercises are embedded in a playful interactive system.
Applications in Health Care
Novel interactive systems are often employed in health care settings, and so we often collaborate with health care professionals to build such systems tailored to their clients’ needs. In the e-Media Research Lab we have developed motion based games for people with motor disabilities. Physical exercises are embedded in a computer game to increase the player’s motivation to proceed. Player’s motions are captured by a 3D camera, and translated into actions in the virtual world of the game. We also developed several mini-games on a tablet for preschoolers, in which we embedded several psycho-acoustical and language tests in order to screen for dyslexia. Currently, we are looking for ways to engage older adults in physical activity, either through dedicated objects like Skweezees, or through activity trackers. Also, we are investigating the potential of VR applications in combination with the manipulation of real objects. An example is our breastfeeding application that is intended to educate and prepare future mothers and fathers.
Affordable Health Technology
A second research pillar are our efforts to develop health care solutions for people in the less affluent regions of the world. More in particular, we collaborate with several academic institutes in Ethiopia, in order to improve their health care system by providing affordable technologies. As an example, we have built a visual field test to be used to screen for glaucoma in remote regions of Ethiopia. The equipment consists of a cheap VR headset and a regular smartphone. Our experiments reveal that our visual field test reaches high levels of sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, by including end users in our design, both health care professionals and patients from these remote areas, we ensure the usability of our system.
Collaborations with artists
I call these collaborations the "pepper and salt'' of my research activities. Looking at the resources, related to both time and budgets, these activities seem quite small. However, their effect on all collaborators and obviously the audience is substantial. Often, we engage students to collaborate with an artist as part of their project work or master thesis. Sometimes, more extensive collaborations are set up. One example is The Box To Move, an interactive system that invites up to four participants in a container to move or dance. By making the music responsive to their movements, they are encouraged to experiment and exaggerate. Another example is the Rain Printer that was developed for the play “Conversation with the rain”. One of the characters in the play passed away and could communicate with her parents by creating words made of rain drops that fall down on the stage.
Current PhD students
Graduated PhD students
- Jonas Geuens
- Esmael Kedir Nida
- Duowei Tang
- Kymeng Tang
- Dimitri Vargemidis
Affiliations
Department of Computer Science Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Group T Leuven CampusAndreas Vesaliusstraat 13 - box 2600
3000 Leuven
