C10: Multisensory communication/interaction

Nasrine Olson (PhD, Docent) is an Associate Professor in the field of Library and Information Science at SSLIS, University of Borås, Sweden. Core research interests relate to issues of power and the relationship between day-to-day action, and broader societal structures. In the more recent years the focus has been on the societal implication of ICTs and information practices that enable or hinder the potential for equal opportunity for all. Towards this, Nasrine has adopted participatory practices in her research and has developed methodologies and technical innovations for haptic communication. She has also been instrumental in creating research environments that promote, and lead to, improved inclusive technologies and environments by coordinating projects such as EU-funded projects SUITCEYES (H2020 – 2018-2021 -- among others it included development of haptic technologies for communication with, and by, users with deafblindness) and MuseIT (HE – 2022-2025 -- among others it involves development of multisensory representation of cultural assets for broader accessibility). Nasrine is also the director of an interdisciplinary research centre called INCLUDE – Centre for Inclusive Studies, where through critical examination the ideology of normal, the unequal treatments of societal members will be explored.

Raymond Holt (PhD) is a Lecturer in Product Design in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds (UK), where he is a member of the Institute of Design, Robotics and Manufacture, the Immersive Cognition Lab and the Centre for Disability Studies. His core research interests are the study of haptic perception and prehension and the cocreation of assistive and rehabilitation technologies with users. He has led co-creation activities on two rehabilitation robotics projects funded by the National Institute for Health Research, and led the Leverhulme Trust-funded project Facilitating Meaningful Play for Disabled Children through Participatory Design. He has recently been part of the European Commission funded project SUITCEYES, where he led activities on the sensing and navigation elements, and is currently extending this work as part of the Wellcome Trust-funded Imagining Technologies for Disability Futures project.

Arthur Theil (PhD) is a Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction at the College of Computing at Birmingham City University (UK). His research focuses on the study of novel interaction techniques to support users with diverse sensory abilities. His current focus is on designing accessible interfaces for individuals with multisensory impairments (e.g. deafblindness). Arthur has also conducted accessibility research with older adults who experience age-related changes in sensory, cognitive, and motor abilities. In addition to conducting academic work, Arthur currently also serves on the ACM SIGCHI Accessibility Committee and is part of the Program Committee for the ACM SIGACCESS ASSETS Conference.