Thad Starner

Thad Starner is the director of the Contextual Computing Group and is also a Technical Lead/Manager on Google's Project Glass. In general, our academic research creates computational interfaces and agents for use in everyday mobile environments. We combine wearable and ubiquitous computing technologies with techniques from the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), pattern recognition, and human computer interaction (HCI). Recently, we have been designing [ assistive technology with the deaf community.] One of our main projects is [ CopyCat ], a game which uses American Sign Language recognition to help young deaf children acquire language skills. We continually develop new interfaces for mobile computing (and mobile phones) with an emphasis on gesture. Currently, we are exploring mobile interfaces that are fast to access, like wristwatches. Our members are some of the oldest and most active supporters of the wearable computing academic community, helping to establish and contributing to the annual International Symposium on Wearable Computers, the IEEE Wearable Information Systems Technical Committee (TCWEAR), IEEE Pervasive Computing magazine, various workshops and mailing lists, and hardware and software resources for industry and research.