University of Maryland

Featured Student: Kotaro Hara – PhD CS

kotaroharaKotaro Hara is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park advised by Prof. Jon Froehlich. His research focuses on designing, building, and evaluating systems powered by both people and machines to improve the accessibility of the physical world. He received a B.E. in Information Engineering from Osaka University in 2010 and was named an IBM Ph.D. Fellow in 2014.

Tell us about your Research Interests

My research in Human-Computer Interaction focuses on creating technologies to support people with mobility impairments. We create systems to collect geographical data about accessibility from Google Street View using methods such as crowdsourcing and computer vision. Using the collected geo-tagged accessibility information, we create tools like a navigation system for people with mobility impairments.

What has been your favorite part of being a student in the HCIL?

One of the things that is great about the HCIL is the lab has researchers from many different backgrounds. Some of my friends are working on information retrieval projects using multiple cluster computers for social network analysis; some are making technologies and conducting qualitative research on designs to support kids to learn human body anatomy. This diversity is great because when I have questions, there is someone in the other side of the office that I can walk up to and ask things like: “how do I apply this one machine learning technique to my problem” or “what is the best design of a formative usability study for my research!”

Do you have any advice for students interested in studying HCI at University of Maryland?

UMD is one of the top places to do research in Human-Computer Interaction. If you are interested in doing research in this area, you should definitely apply. Depending on your background and what you want to research, consider applying to Department of Computer Science, iSchool, or other departments that affiliate with HCIL.