Seokhyun (Shawn) Hwang

Ph.D. Student in Information Science at the University of Washington

Hi there! My name is Seokhyun (Shawn) Hwang, and I am a Ph.D. student in Information Science at the University of Washington in the ACE Lab (Advisor: Jacob O. Wobbrock). I completed my Master's degree in Intelligent Robotics at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology HCIS Lab (Advisor: SeungJun Kim). I work on body-state-aware interaction, spanning human-computer interaction, AI, haptics, and wearable systems.

Seokhyun Hwang portrait

Education

  • University of Washington, United States

    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Information Science, Information School

    Sep 2024 - Present (Expected)

    Advisor: Jacob O. Wobbrock

  • Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea

    Master of Science (M.S.), Intelligent Robotics, School of Integrated Technology

    Sep 2021 - Aug 2023

    Advisor: SeungJun Kim

  • Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea

    Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Department of Mechanical Engineering

    Mar 2017 - Aug 2021

  • Boston University, United States

    Exchange Student

    Jun 2018 - Aug 2018

Research Experiences

  • University of Washington & Toyota Research Institute

    Research Assistant

    Jan 2025 - Present

  • Toyota Research Institute

    Research Intern (Mentors: Alexandre Filipowicz, Scott Carter)

    Jun 2025 - Sep 2025

    Human-Centered AI Division

  • ACE Lab, University of Washington

    Ph.D. Student (Advisor: Jacob O. Wobbrock)

    Sep 2024 - Present

  • DRL Lab & CDFG Lab, MIT

    Visiting Researcher (Advisors: Daniela Rus, Wojciech Matusik)

    Sep 2023 - Oct 2023

  • Human-Centered Intelligence Systems Lab, GIST

    Research Associate

    Sep 2023 - Aug 2024

  • Human-Centered Intelligence Systems Lab, GIST

    M.S. Student (Advisor: SeungJun Kim)

    Sep 2021 - Aug 2023

    Intelligent Robotics, School of Integrated Technology

  • Human-Centered Intelligence Systems Lab, GIST

    Research Intern (Advisor: SeungJun Kim)

    Jan 2021 - Aug 2021

    School of Integrated Technology internship and undergraduate research internship program

  • Intelligent Medical Robotics Lab, GIST

    Research Intern (Advisor: Jungwon Yoon)

    Jun 2020 - Dec 2020

  • BA Energy Lab, Korea

    Industrial-Academic Intern

    Dec 2019 - Feb 2020

Teaching Experiences

  • University of Washington

    Teaching Practicum, IMT 565B: Designing Information Experiences

    Mar 2026 - Jun 2026

  • University of Washington

    Teaching Practicum, HCID 520: User Interface Software & Technology

    Jan 2026 - Mar 2026

  • University of Washington

    Teaching Assistant, INFO360: Design Methods

    Sep 2024 - Dec 2024

  • Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

    Teaching Assistant, RT6304: XR Project Class

    2022 Fall - 2023 Spring

  • National University of Laos & Khon Kaen University

    Experiment Instructor (Educational Volunteer), 2019 GIST Global Science Camp in Laos

    Jul 2019

  • Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

    Experiment and Design Team Leader (Educational Volunteer), 2019 GIST Science Camp

    Jan 2019

Research Goals : Body-state-aware interaction — systems that estimate the user's momentary capacity in real time and decide what, when, how — and whether — to intervene.

Problem

Human capacity shifts by the second — load, fatigue, stress — and decades of adaptive-systems research let interfaces respond to context and traits. The bottleneck is knowing what responding costs. As proactive AI reaches the body — steering muscles, nudging balance, interrupting drivers — those costs rarely enter the decision, so systems cannot tell when not to act.

Our Approach

One loop, extending ability-based design from stable traits to momentary state: 1 · Read the state — estimate capacity, with its uncertainty, from behavioral and physiological signals → 2 · Act on it — state-conditioned adaptation, actuation, and information delivery → 3 · Close the loop — measure what each intervention costs. Three testbeds vary the timescale and cost currency: driving (seconds), rehabilitation (sessions), industrial work (cumulative).

Program Map

Columns follow the loop; rows are the capacities being read and written. Every study has a coordinate — c.13 spans two phases.

Perceptual what they can perceive
Read the State Optical-Flow JND [j.1]
Act on It Vestibular Stimulation [c.1, c.3, p.2, pa.1] ★ Honorable Mention ReD Shoes [j.3] WatchCap [c.6] Flip-Pelt [c.8, w.1, pa.2] Multisensory Attractors [j.2, p.1]
Close the Loop Motion-Sickness Cost (In-Car VR) [c.4, c.10, w.3, p.3, cc.1, cc.2] ★ Honorable Mention Low-Vision Scene Understanding when and how much to describe — builds on WatchCap [c.6]
Cognitive how loaded their mind is
Read the State Touchscreens in Motion [c.13] TimelyTale [c.7]
Act on It Adaptive Touchscreen [c.14] Load-Conditioned Sports Coaching reuses the load pipeline [c.13, c.7] eHMI [c.2, c.12] ★ Honorable Mention
Close the Loop Off-Road Glance Cost [c.13] cost-measurement protocol Adaptation-Cost Study driving · seconds — extends the c.13 protocol
Motor what their body can do
Read the State Adaptive Walker [c.9, w.2] CPR Glove [c.15] GaitWay [p.4] EMG Muscle-State Estimation (ongoing) feeds EMG-conditioned rehab
Act on It TelePulse [c.11, w.4] ★ Best Paper ErgoPulse [c.5] ★ Honorable Mention
Close the Loop EMG-Conditioned Rehab rehab · sessions — on the biomech stack [c.5, c.11] AR Injury Prevention industrial · cumulative — to field deployment
  • Different signals, same problem: turn a noisy continuous stream into the estimate an intervention decision needs — with its uncertainty carried into that decision.
  • A palette of body channels — UI, vestibular, thermal, vibrotactile, muscle-level EMS — built to be conditioned on estimated momentary state, not only context or stable traits.
  • Mixed-initiative research priced interruption on the desktop; body-level interventions — EMS, vestibular, in-car — need the same cost accounting before systems can know when not to act.

Click a phase for details.

Chip color follows its row (capacity); fill style marks the role: Core program (filled)Collaborative (outlined)Planned · ongoing (dashed)

Publications

 
Topic
 
 
Domain
 
 
 
Authorship
 

Conferences & Journals

A Closed-Loop CPR Training Glove with Integrated Tactile Sensing and Haptic Feedback
MotorHuman-AI InteractionAssistive & HealthConference

[c.15] A Closed-Loop CPR Training Glove with Integrated Tactile Sensing and Haptic Feedback

Moon, J., Ma, M., Yang, Q., Hwang, S., Choi, Y., Kim, K., Burden, B., Luo, Y.

2026 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation Coming Soon

Posters & Workshops

Patents & Copyrighted Contents

[pa.2] Haptic wearable devices for tactile experiences

Kim, S., Kang, S., Kim, G., Hwang, S., Park, J., Elsharkawy, A.

KR Patent App. KR102541073

[pa.1] Method and System for Supporting Walking in Virtual Environment

Hwang, S., Lee, J., Kim, Y., Seo, Y., Kim, S.

US Patent App. US20250159408A1 | KR Patent App. KR20250069327A

[cc.2] Mobility-Linked Virtual Reality-Based Underwater Exploration Immersive Content Game Software (Underwater Exploration & Ocean Trash Collection Game)

Kim, S., Kang, S., Kang, Y., Kim, K., Seong, M., An, E., Yang, H., Yeo, D., Oh, J., Jeon, H., Jo, T., Hwang, S.

Copyright for Computer Program Works C-2022-050134

[cc.1] Mobility-Linked Virtual Reality-Based Underwater Exploration Immersive Content Game Software (Underwater Exploration & Underwater Gem Collection Game)

Kim, S., Kang, S., Kang, Y., Kim, K., Seong, M., An, E., Yang, H., Yeo, D., Oh, J., Jeon, H., Jo, T., Hwang, S.

Copyright for Computer Program Works C-2022-050133

About

Awards & Honors

Invited Talks

Academic Service

Media Coverage

Articles from Korean outlets are available in Korean.

Extra Activities

Fun Projects

The project list below provides brief descriptions of personal projects unrelated to publication.

Natural User Interface-Based Interactive XR System for In-Car Environments

Natural User Interface-Based Interactive XR System for In-Car Environments

An in-car AR/XR system that combines marker tracking, stereo depth sensing, and hand-gesture interaction for immersive and safe in-vehicle experiences.

Sheet Music Recognition Robot for Automatic Accompaniment

Sheet Music Recognition Robot for Automatic Accompaniment

A dual-manipulator robot that reads sheet music with OCR, extracts chords and tempo, and performs autonomous accompaniment on a keyboard.

Automated Drone Design for Kiwi Pollination

Automated Drone Design for Kiwi Pollination

An agricultural drone that identifies kiwi flowers and applies a pollen-charcoal mixture using airflow-assisted delivery for efficient pollination.

Vision-Driven Autonomous Table Tennis System

Vision-Driven Autonomous Table Tennis System

A vision-based robotic table tennis system that tracks ball trajectory in 3D, predicts landing points, and performs autonomous returns with adaptive swings.

Seokhyun Hwang

© 2026 Seokhyun Hwang