I am Jen, I work in the Future Interaction Technology Lab at Swansea University. I am currently an Ass Prof at the Computational Foundry. My research interests are centered around emergent communities where a certain set of challenges inhibit users from accessing technology (e.g., lack of internet connectivity, limited power, low literacy, little access to smart phones etc). I also have interests in mobile computing, deformable interfaces, digital reading and touchless interfaces. Check out my publications for more info. Further information is also available from ACM, DBLP and Google Scholar.

I teach Introduction to programming in Python (Year 0) and Introduction to Human Computer Interaction (Year 2) and am co-director of the Master's portion of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Enhancing Human Interactions and Collaborations with Data and Intelligence Driven Systems,

I am currently twenty percent seconded to the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute (MASI) as a research entrepreneur and have recently been appointed as co-director of research for the department.

Research

Research Interests

• Human Computer Interaction
• Emergent Users
• Touchless interfaces
• Speech Interaction
• Deformable Devices
• Internet of Things
• Digital Reading
• Document Navigation

Grants

• Current
• EPSRC Grant EP/W01257X/1 (231,612): Rethinking Public Technology in a COVID-19 Era
• EPSRC Grant EP/T024976/1 (970,668): Unmute: Opening Spoken Language Interaction to the Currently Unheard
• EPSRC Grant EP/R032750/1 (£738,112): PV-Interfaces: Self-Powered Interfaces and Interactions via Photovoltaic Surfaces
• Previous
• EPSRC Grant EP/N013948/1 (£822,223): Breaking the Glass
• CHERISH-DE Escalator Fund (£10,000): Smart Speakers in Slum Settings
• EPSRC Grant EP/S017925/1: Capital Award in Support of Early Career Researchers
• IAA Research Impact Fund (£4993): Investigating the long-term potential of public speech systems in resource-constrained slum settings
• CHERISH-DE Escalator Fund (£9760): Telescopr
• CHERISH-DE Escalator Fund (£10,000): Speech and Breath pattern recognition in COPD
• EPSRC Grant EP/M00421X/1 (£710,784): Reshaping the Expected Future
• EPSRC Impact Acceleration Award (£14,000): The Better Together Toolkit Launch
• Global Challenges Research Fund Award (£6550): For work in Dharavi, India
• CHERISH-DE International Mobility Grant (£5200): For work with IIT-Bombay
• CHERISH-DE Escalator Fund (£5000): Telescopr - A Virtual Reality Telescope
• Research Enabling Fund (£2620): For continued partnership with Université Joseph Fourier
• Strategic Insight Programme (£2500): With Rowanvale Books
• Bridging the Gaps Grant (£1530): For prospective partnership with Grenoble universities

Press

• BBC Digital Planet on StreetWise
• EPSRC's A Decade of Success in the Digital Economy on StreetWise
• New Scientist on Pickcells
• The Times of India on The Better Together Toolkit
• The Indian Express on The Better Together Toolkit
• The Hindu on The Better Together Toolkit
• Indian Education Diary on The Better Together Toolkit
• The Better Indian on The Better Together Toolkit
• ENA India on The Better Together Toolkit
• BrainBuxa on The Better Together Toolkit
• Crazy Engineers on The Better Together Launch
• Times of India on Physical Web
• Quartz India on Physical Web
• The Asian Age on Physical Web
• The Hindu on Physical Web
• The Mumbai Mirror on Physical Web
• CatchNews on Physical Web
• Reuters on Emergables
• BBC World Radio on Emergables
• BBC Click on Emergables
• South Wales Evning Post on Emergables
• Swansea Univeristy on Summit event
• Gizmodo article on BookMark app

Awards and Nominations

• Honorable Mention at CHI 2022
• Honorable Mention at CHI 2019
• Winner of Best Case Study at CHI 2017
• Honorable Mention at CHI 2017
• Honorable Mention at CHI 2016
• Winner (with Matt Jones and Simon Robinson) of The BBC Research and Development Award for Outstanding Impact on Professions, Practices and Services at the Swansea Impact Awards
• Honorable Mention at MobileHCI 2013
• Honorable Mention at MobileHCI 2012
• Nominated for Best Paper at JCDL 2012
• Winner of Best Paper at ECDL 2008

Morgan Advanced Studies Institute

I am a research entrepreneur for the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute (MASI). Here I act as an ambassador for MASI across the university, finding and connecting talents within and beyond the institution's research community to build capacity for transdisciplinary research and innovation. The goal is to contribute to the development of new networks across Faculties and outside the university, and design and build new systems and methodologies to support and provoke creative, disruptive and adventurous research and innovation.

Publications

Books

1.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, H. Thimbleby: “Designing for Digital Reading” Morgan and Claypool Publishers, 2013, Buy on Amazon | BibTeX

Conference Papers

39.

J. Pearson, G. Bailey, S. Robinson, M. Jones, T. Owen, C. Zhang, T. Reitmaier, C. Steer, A. Carter, D. Sahoo, D. Raju: “Can’t Touch This: Rethinking Public Technology in a COVID-19 Era” CHI 2022, 2022 : New Orleans, LA, USA - Honorable Mention

38.

T. Reitmaier, E. Wallington, D. Raju, O. Klejch, J. Pearson, M. Jones, P. Bell, S. Robinson: “Opportunities and Challenges of Automatic Speech Recognition Systems for Low-Resource Language Speakers” CHI 2022, 2022 : New Orleans, LA, USA

37.

K. Seunarine, D. Raju, G. Thomas, S. Thomas, A. Pockett, T. Reitmaier, C. Steer, T. Owen, Y. Meena, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Carnie, D. Sahoo, M. Jones: “Light-In-Light-Out (Li-Lo) Displays: Harvesting and Manipulating Light to Provide Novel Forms of Communications” CHI 2022, 2022 : New Orleans, LA, USA

36.

D. Raju, K. Seunarine, T. Reitmaier, G. Thomas, Y. Meena, C. Zhang, A. Pockett, J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Carnie, D. Sahoo, M. Jones: “PV-Pix: Slum Community Co-design of Self-Powered Deformable Smart Messaging Materials”CHI 2021, 2021 : Yokohama, Japan (virtual)

35.

C. Zhang, D. Sahoo, J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Holton, M. Jones: “Active PinScreen: Exploring Spatio-Temporal Tactile Feedback for Multi-Finger Interaction” Mobile HCI 2020, 2020 : Oldenburg, Germany (virtual)

34.

T. Reitmaier, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, D. Raju, M. Jones:“An Honest Conversation: Transparently Combining Machine and Human Speech Assistance in Public Spaces” CHI 2020, 2020 : Honolulu, USA (virtual)

33.

Y. Meena, K. Seunarine, D. Sahoo, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, C. Zhang, M. Carnie, A. Pockett, A. Prescott, S. Thomas, K. Lee, M. Jones: “PV-Tiles: Towards Closely-Coupled Photovoltaic and Digital Materials for Useful, Beautiful and Sustainable Interactive Surfacess” CHI 2020, 2020 : Honolulu, USA (virtual)

32.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, T. Reitmaier, M. Jones, S. Ahire, A. Joshi, D. Sahoo, N. Maravi, B. Bhikne: “StreetWise: Smart Speakers vs Human Help in Public Slum Settings” CHI 2019, 2019 : Glasgow, UK

31.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Holton, S. Ahire, M. Jones: “Sustainabot – Exploring the Use of Everyday Foodstuffs as Output and Input for and with Emergent Users” CHI 2019, 2019 : Glasgow, UK - Honorable Mention

30.

A. Goguey, C. Steer, A. Lucero, L. Nigay, D. Sahoo, C. Coutrix, A. Roudaut, S. Subramanian, Y. Tokuda, T. Neate, J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones: “PickCells: A Physically Reconfigurable Cell-composed Touchscreen” CHI 2019, 2019 : Glasgow, UK

29.

A. Goguey, D. Sahoo, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones: “Pulp Friction: Exploring the Finger Pad Periphery for Subtle Haptic Feedback” CHI 2019, 2019 : Glasgow, UK

28.

C. Steer, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, T. D. Sahoo, I. Mabbett, M. Jones: “A Liquid Tangible Display for Mobile Colour Mixing” Mobile HCI 2018, 2018 : Barcelona, Spain

27.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, T. Reitmaier, S. Ahire, M. Jones: “Make Yourself at Phone: Reimagining Mobile Interaction Architectures With Emergent Users” CHI 2018, 2018 : Montreal, Canada

26.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, S. Ahire, R. Ahirwar, B. Bhikne, N. Maravi, M. Jones: “Tangible Drops: A Visio-Tactile Display Using Actuated Liquid-Metal Droplets” CHI 2018, 2018 : Montreal, Canada

25.

D. Sahoo, T. Neate, Y. Tokuda, J. Pearson, S. Robinson, S. Subramanian, M. Jones: “Revisiting “Hole in the Wall Computing”: Private Smart Speakers and Public Slum Settings” CHI 2018, 2018 : Montreal, Canada

24.

Y. Tokuda, J. Berna, G. Memoli, T. Neate, D. Sahoo, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones, S. Subramanian: “Programmable Liquid Matter: 2D Shape Deformation of Highly Conductive Liquid Metals in a Dynamic Electric Field” ISS 2017, 2017 : Brighton, UK PDF

23.

S. Robinson,J. Pearson, M. Jones, A. Joshi, S. Ahire: “Better Together: Disaggregating Mobile Services for Emergent Users” MobileHCI 2017, 2017 : Vienna, Austria PDF | BibTeX

22.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, C. Coutrix, M. Jones: “Evaluating Deformable Devices with Emergent Users” MobileHCI 2017, 2017 : Vienna, Austria PDF | BibTeX

21.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones, A. Joshi, S. Ahire, D. Sahoo, S. Subramaniam: “Chameleon Devices: Investigating More Secure and Discreet Mobile Interactions via Active Camouflaging” CHI 2017, 2017 : Denver, Colorado, USA - Honorable Mention PDF | BibTeX

20.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones: “PosterPointing: Making Paper Displays Interactive Using Mobile Devices” AfriCHI 2016, 2016 : Nairobi, Kenya - PDF | BibTeX

19.

S. Robinson, C. Coutrix, J. Pearson, J. Rosso, M. Torquato, L. Nigay, M. Jones: “Emergeables: Deformable Displays for Continuous Eyes-Free Mobile Interaction” CHI 2016, 2016 : San Jose, CA, USA - Honorable Mention PDF | BibTeX

18.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones: “Q-arrgh! — Commandeering Everyday Digital Codes” Mobile HCI 2015, 2015 : Copenhagen, Denmark PDF | BibTeX

17.

Tom Owen, J. Pearson, H. Thimbleby, G. Buchanan: “ConCap: Designing to Empower Individual Reflection on Chronic Conditions using Mobile Apps” Mobile HCI 2015, 2015 : Copenhagen, Denmark PDF | BibTeX

16.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones: “It's About Time: Smartwatches as Public Displays” CHI 2015, 2015 : Seoul, South Korea PDF | BibTeX

15.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones: “PaperChains: Dynamic Sketch+Voice Annotations” CSCW 2015, 2015 : Vancouver, Canada PDF | BibTeX

14.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones: “AudioCanvas: Interactive Audio Photos” IARIGAI 2014, 2014 : Swansea, UK

13.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones: “A Billion Signposts: Repurposing Barcodes for Indoor Navigation” CHI 2014, 2014 : Toronto, Canada - PDF | BibTeX

12.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones: “AudioCanvas: Internet-Free Interactive Audio Photos” CHI 2014, 2014 : Toronto, Canada - PDF | BibTeX

11.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones, A. Nanavati, N. Rajput: “ACQR: Acoustic Quick Response Codes for Content Sharing on Low End Phones with No Internet Connectivity” MobileHCI 2013, 2013 : Munich, Germany - Honorable Mention PDF | BibTeX

10.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, G. Buchanan, M. Jones: “TicQR: Flexible, Lightweight Linking of Paper and Digital Content using Mobile Phones” INTERACT 2013, 2013 : Cape Town, South Africa PDF | BibTeX

9.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, H. Thimbleby: “Investigating Collaborative Annotation on Slate PCs” MobileHCI 2012, 2012 : San Francisco, CA, USA - Honorable Mention PDF | BibTeX

8.

J. Pearson, T. Owen, H. Thimbleby, G. Buchanan: “Co-Reading: Investigating Collaborative Group Reading” JCDL 2012, 2012 : Washington DC, USA - Nominated for Best Paper PDF | BibTeX

7.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, H. Thimbleby: “The Reading Desk: Supporting Lightweight Note-taking in Digital Documents” TPDL 2011, 2011 : Berlin, Germany PDF | BibTeX

6.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan: “CloudBooks: An Infrastructure for Reading on Multiple Devices” TPDL 2011, 2011 : Berlin, Germany PDF | BibTeX

5.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, H. Thimbleby: “The Reading Desk: Applying Physical Interactions to Digital Documents” CHI 2011, 2011 : Vancouver, BC, Canada PDF | BibTeX

4.

G. Buchanan, J. Pearson: “An Architecture for Supporting RFID-Enhanced Interactions in Digital Libraries” ECDL 2010, 2010 : Glasgow, Scotland, UK PDF | BibTeX

3.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, Harold Thimbleby: “Improving Annotations In Digital Documents” ECDL 2009, 2009 : Corfu, Greece PDF | BibTeX

2.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, Harold Thimbleby: “Creating Visualisations for Digital Document Indexing” ECDL 2009, 2009 : Corfu, Greece PDF | BibTeX

1.

G. Buchanan, J. Pearson: “Improving Placeholders in Digital Documents” ECDL 2008, 2008 : Aarhus, Denmark - Winner of Best Paper PDF | BibTeX

Journal Articles

5.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, T. Reitmaier, M. Jones: “Diversifying Future-making Through Itinerative Design” TOCHI 2019

4.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones: “BookMark: Appropriating Existing Infrastructure to Facilitate Scalable Indoor Navigation” IJHCS 2017 PDF

3.

M. Jones, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Joshi, D. Raju, C. Mbogo, S. Wangari, A. Joshi, E. Cutrell, R. Harper: “Beyond `Yesterday's' Tomorrow'" Future-Focused Mobile Interaction Design By and For Emergent Users"'” Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 2016 PDF

2.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones: “Exploring Low-Cost, Internet-Free Information Access for Resource-Constrained Communities” TOCHI 2016 PDF

1.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, H. Thimbleby, M. Jones: “The Digital Reading Desk: A Lightweight Approach to Digital Note-Taking” Interacting With Computers, 2012 PDF | BibTeX

Workshop Articles, Works-in-progress and Demos

10.

K. Seunarine, Y. Meena, D. Sahoo, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, S. Thomas, A. Pockett, G. Thomas, M. Carnie, M. Jones.: “Photovoltaic Materials for the Design of Self-Powered Interfaces and Interactions using Shadow Detection”” SelfSustainableCHI: Workshop on Self-Powered Sustainable Interfaces and Interactions, 2020 : Honolulu, USA (virtual).

9.

Y. Tokuda, J. Berna, G. Memoli, T. Neate, D. Sahoo, S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones, S. Subramanian: “Programmable Liquid Matter: 2D Shape Drawing of Liquid Metals by Dynamic Electric Field”” ISS 2017 Demos, 2017 : Brighton, UK.

8.

D. Sahoo, T. Neate, Y. Tokuda, J. Pearson, S. Robinson, S. Subramanian, M. Jones: “JDLED: Towards Visio-Tactile Displays based on Electrochemical Locomotion of Liquid-Metal Janus Droplets”” UIST 2017 Demos, 2017 : Quebec City, Canada.

7.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, M. Jones, A. Joshi, S. Ahire: “Better Together: Disaggregating Mobile Services for Emergent Users”” MobileHCI 2017 Demos, 2017 : Vienna, Austria.

6.

C. Steer, J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones: “Deformable Paint Palette: Actuated Force Controls for Digital Painting” CHI 2017 Late-Breaking Work, 2017 : Denver, Co, USA.

5.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, N. Rajput, M. Jones, A. Nanavati: “Audio QR Codes for Voice Service Position Sharing” SiMPE 2013: Workshop on Speech (and Sound) in Mobile and Pervasive Environments, 2013 : Munich, Germany.

4.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, M. Jones, A. Nanavati: “Sharing Voice Sites on the Spoken Web” MWB 2012: Workshop on Mobility and Web Behaviors, 2012 : San Francisco, CA, USA.

3.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan, H. Thimbleby: “HCI Design Principles for eReaders” Books Online 2010, 2010 : Totonto, ON, Canada PDF | BibTeX

2.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan: “Real-Time Document Collaboration Using iPads” Books Online 2010, 2010 : Totonto, ON, Canada PDF | BibTeX

1.

J. Pearson, G. Buchanan: “Improving User Interaction in Digtial Books” Books Online 2009, 2009 : Corfu, Greece PDF | BibTeX

Other Articles

7.

A. Carter, G. Bailey, J. Pearson, M. Jones, S. Robinson, D. Raju, S. Winter, J. Hicks: “Designing and Embedding a Tangible Public Interface in the COVID Era” CHI 2022 Case Studies, 2022 : New Orleans, LA, USA

6.

S. Robinson, J. Pearson, A. Dix.: “Day in the Lab: Computational Foundry” Interactions 26(4):16–19, 2019

5.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson, T. Reitmaier, M. Jones, C. Parab, F. Mogoi: “Exploring the use of the Physical Web with Resource-Constrained Communities” CHI 2017 Case Studies, 2017 : Denver, CO, USA, Winner of Best Case Study PDF

4.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson: “Interaction Design for Reading Devices and Apps” CHI 2015 Courses, 2015 : Seoul, South Korea PDF | BibTeX

3.

J. Pearson, S. Robinson: “Developing our World Views” Interactions, 20(2):68-71, 2013

2.

J. Pearson: “Supporting Effective User Navigation in Digital Documents” CHI 2010 Doctoral Consortium, 2010 : Atlanta, GA, USA PDF | BibTeX

1.

J. Pearson: “Supporting Effective User Navigation in Digital Documents” Bulletin of IEEE Technical Committee on Digital Libraries, Volume 6 Issue 1, 2010

Theses

3.

J. Pearson: “Investigating Lightweight Interaction for Active Reading in Digital Documents” PhD Thesis: Swansea University, 2012

Teaching

CSC061

I have been teaching CSC061 - Introduction to programming in Python since 2021

This module gives an overview of the main topics and questions in Computer Science and enables students who are not majoring in computer science to reach a level of skill in programming such that they will be able to apply their computing knowledge to their other studies. It can also provide (along with other Level 0 modules) a suitable preparation for Level 1 Computer Science.

CS-200

I have been teaching CS-200 - Introduction to Human Computer Interaction since 2014.

This module introduces the key principles and practices of human-computer interaction (HCI). It describes in detail the basic concepts, methods and issues surrounding interaction design, explores the properties which make good and poor interfaces and presents the major design principles in the discipline. Students will learn how to gather and analyse requirement data, how to prototype designs, how to construct more usable user interfaces and how to design and run user evaluations.

CDT

I am co-director of the Master's portion of thenEPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Enhancing Human Interactions and Collaborations with Data and Intelligence Driven Systems.

Gregynog

I have been organising the Computer Science undergraduate colloquium at the University of Wales Conference Centre at Gregynog in Powys sine 2013. During this event, all third year students will be expected to give a 10-15 minute presentation on their final year project to an audience consisting of around 8-10 students and two or more lecturers. This presentation is an assessed part of their final year project (30%).

This year's colloquium will be held between 24th -- 30th November 2019. To get a flavour of what to expect, you can check out last year's agenda.

Project Students

I am happy to chat to any student who wants help or advice on their third year project. Students assigned to me can either contct me via email or come to my office to discuss their project work. Unless you specifically request it, I do not tend to schedule regular weekly meetings, but will always respond to emails and, depending on my travel schedule, will aim to meet when needed.

Contact

• E-mail: j.pearson@swan.ac.uk
• Telephone: +44 (0) 1792 518622 (Internal extension: 8622)
• Office: Room 115
• Address: Computational Foundry, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Fabien Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK