Abstract

Abstract: This talk discusses the concept of “Earable computers”, small computing and actuating devices that are worn inside, behind, around, or on user’s ears for sensing many important physiological signals such as the brain, eyes, facial muscles, heart rate, blood pressure, core body temperature, and more. These signals could enable a wide range of applications from human computer interaction, health care, attention/focus monitoring, and opioid use reduction, just to name a few. Drawing the analogy from the evolutions of mobile systems and wearable systems, in this talk, I will discuss the opportunities that earable system could bring. I will share our experience and lessons learned through realizing such earable systems in the context of human computer interaction and healthcare. I will also elaborate the software, hardware, and practical challenges of earable systems and identify the potential solutions.

Bio: Tam Vu is an Associate Professor of Computer Science in Oxford University. He leads the Mobile and Networked Systems(MNS) Lab where he and his team conduct system research in the areas of wearable and mobile systems, exploring the physiological signals of a user and use them for inventing new human-computer interaction techniques and health-care solutions. The outcomes of his works resulted in a Alfred Sloan Fellowship, NSF CAREER award, 02 Google Faculty Awards, 12 best paper awards, best paper nomination, and research highlights in flagship venues in mobile system research. He is also actively pushing his research outcomes to practice through technology transfer activities with 27 patents filed and attracted external investment for 02 venture-backed startups that he co-founded to commercialize them.