ABOUT ME
I'm a Calgary-based Mixed Reality Developer, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Researcher & UX/UI Designer. My research interests are in VR/AR/XR, Haptics, Robotics, especially for designing novel interactions to enhance remote education, collaboration and co-presence.
Currently, I'm leading MaKami College's research efforts in Mixed Reality & Haptics for educational, medical and experimental applications as a joint collaboration with my Research Supervisor, Dr. Ryo Suzuki and the Programmable Reality Lab.
Previously, I've worked with Snapchat, University of Chicago, University of Tokyo, University of Tsukuba and IIIT Delhi.
In my spare time, I love to travel, read philosophy, play video games and go scuba diving! Whether you'd like to collaborate, ask questions or just want to say hi free to ping me on social media or shoot me an email to connect!
EXPERIENCE
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HCI Researcher & UX/UI Designer
Jan 2022 - Present
Assisting and leading multiple Human-Computer Interaction projects. From ideation, design, development to prototyping, user-testing/studies & deployment. Projects included Robotics, VR, AR, Haptics & Cross-Device interactions.
Awards:
- Snap Creative Challenge (2021)
- Published to UIST (2022, 2023)
MaKami College
Mixed Reality Developer & Researcher
May 2022 - Present
Founding & leading a joint research collaboration with Dr. Ryo Suzuki & students at the Programmable Reality Lab. Researching, designing & developing custom VR/AR/XR applications, including the world’s first XR application for Massage Therapy Education.
Awards:
- UIST Student Innovation Award (2022)
- Published to CHI (2023)
EDUCATION
May 2018 - May 2023
Explored most of what the computer science department had to offer, from algorithms to computer networks & cybersecurity.
Awards:
- Gary Marsden Travel Award (2023)
- IDEAS Fund Award (2023)
- NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (2022)
- Calgary Hacks, 3rd Best Project Submission (2021)
- Calgary Hacks, Participant Award (2020)
- Jason Lang Scholarship (2019, 2020, 2021)
- Alexander Rutherford Scholarship (2019)
BSc Computer Science with specialization in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
RESEARCH
Mixed Reality | Remote Education | UX Design
April 2023
Virtual Reality | Ultrasound Haptics | Robotics
Oct 2022
UltraBots
By Mehrad Faridan, Marcus Friedel, Ryo Suzuki
By combining the free movement of tabletop robots with the mid-air haptic capabilities of ultrasound transducers, we overcome the spatial limitations of traditional ultrasound haptic systems by actively tracking users hands and ensuring transducers are always in the correct position to render haptic sensations, enabling large-area haptics for VR using ultrasound transducers.
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Augmented Reality | Tangible UI | Robotics
April 2022
SketchedReality
By Hiroki Kaimoto, Kyzyl Monteiro, Mehrad Faridan, Jiatong Li, Samin Farajian, Yasuaki Kakehi, Ken Nakagaki, Ryo Suzuki
By leveraging tabletop robots as actuated tangible user interfaces, we enable bi-directional sketching interactions between the virtual and physical worlds through augmented reality and Sony Toio robots.
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(UPCOMING)
Virtual Reality | Haptic Gloves | UX Design
TBD
SenseGlove
By Mehrad Faridan, Ryo Suzuki
Upcoming project/research exploring the potential of SenseGlove Nova haptic gloves.
Augmented Reality | Remote Collaboration | Robotics
Oct 2023
TelePresence
By Mehrad Faridan, Ryo Suzuki
Leveraging robotics and augmented reality for remote holographic telepresence.
