Empathic Computing Laboratory

The Empathic Computing Laboratory is an academic research group exploring ways for technology to enable better understanding and better lives.

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

When you've spent decades researching VR… you still have to try on the headset 🥽😄
ECL Director Prof. Mark Billinghurst at the RMIT VXLab demos, Melbourne XR Industry Meetup.
#VR #XR #HCI

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

ECL Director Prof. Mark Billinghurst speaking at the Melbourne XR Industry Meetup @RMIT VXLab last week 🎤
Sharing his vision for the future of immersive tech and HCI with Australia's XR community.
#XR #HCI #SpatialComputing

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

Sleep assistance as a wearable sensing problem is a lane worth pursuing.

Read the paper: https://t.co/T7YXpsSuyv [5/5]

#EmpathicComputingLab #VR #SleepTech #WearableSensing #EOG #HCI #DigitalHealth

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

Can VR help you fall asleep faster? 🛌🕶️

Yun Suen Pai’s NapWell research says: yes—significantly.

NapWell is a VR sleep assistant that uses realistic visual imagery to displace the thought spirals that keep people awake. [1/5]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

→ VR significantly reduced sleep onset latency (time to fall asleep).
→ An EOG-based ML model predicted sleep onset with ~70% cross-validated accuracy.

Built from commercial hardware: low cost + replicable. [4/5]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

NeuralDrum makes it experiential. And interactive. That’s the twist.
Read the paper: https://t.co/9ki1pdWHwp [5/5]

#EmpathicComputingLab #XR #NeuralDrum #BrainSynchrony #EEG #HCI #Music

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

Two drummers. Two brains. One XR experience—measuring whether they’re actually in sync. 🥁🧠

NeuralDrum is Yun Suen Pai's SIGGRAPH Asia 2020 project with Kunal Gupta + Ryo Hajika: an XR drumming experience that measures brain-to-brain synchrony in real time. [1/5]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

When your brains are “in phase,” the experience responds. When they drift, it stills.
Brain synchrony has been studied in neuroscience labs for decades. [3/5]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

Known for projects like Dementia Eyes + Portable Silent Room — using immersive tech to reach into human cognition in ways cameras + keyboards can’t.

#EmpathicComputingLab #XR #HCI #WearableSensing #CognitiveAugmentation #VR [4/4]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

#MeetTheTeam: Yun Suen Pai's Research Vision 🚀
Co-director of the Empathic Computing Lab (with Prof. Mark Billinghurst) [1/4]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

Trajectory (highlights):
CAD Engineering (Univ. of Malaya) → PhD Media Design (Keio) → postdoc at ECL → led Physionetic Interactions Group at Keio → now Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland + directs the Inclusive Reality Lab. [3/4]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

Recent examples (CHI 2026):
• Cognitive Bridge — AI-generated boundary objects for cross-functional collaboration
• C-A2Meet — malleable, role-aware AI interfaces for video conferencing

https://t.co/NN54puXelp [5/5]

#InclusiveReality #HCI #XR #Neurodiversity

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

#MeetTheTeam continues! Dr. Yun Suen Pai 🎓
Senior Lecturer @ University of Auckland, Director of the Inclusive Reality Lab, and Associate Director of the Empathic Computing Lab (ABI). [1/5]

[Empathic Computing Laboratory @EmpathicCompLab]

Three research strands:
→ Understanding cognitive & emotional states
→ Designing assistive, bioresponsive systems
→ Augmenting human abilities beyond current limits [4/5]