UG and MSc Project Ideas
Chris Greenhalgh, 2024-03-04
General topics
In general I am interested in
Human-computer interaction, Distributed Systems and Computer-supported cooperative work, in particular
- Enabling non-tech people to use novel digital technologies to do
great stuff, e.g. artists, health professionals, "ordinary"
people :-)
- Audio, Music, Music making, theatre, opera...
- Mental Health and Digital technologies
- Other: IT systems
See General Requirements at the bottom of the page.
Most of my projects combine (to varying extents) software development,
interaction design and user studies and are
suitable for HCI and CS students but NOT DataScience or AI.
Suggested Projects
Extensions to Cardographer, a web-based multi-user ideation card system
The Cardographer
project is exploring the use of activities based on (physical or virtual)
playing cards to help generate ideas, and learn about and explore
ethical and legal issues
for new technologies and applications. The project has (mid-2023)
developed a first version of the
Cardographer Platform,
a web-based digital platform for creating cards, managing shared
session using cards and analysing card use, and a first version of a Unity-based 3D
virtual table top simulator, similar to
Tabletop Simulator.
The system also integrates with
Miro, an online shared whiteboard tool.
There is still plenty of scope to extend and add to this platform; a number
of suggestions are given below.
-
CX1: The aim of this project is to prototype and evaluate a 2D browser-based
interface for online card sessions, integrating with Cardographer.
-
This is to be an alternative to the 3D virtual tabletop and miro.
For example, this might be more similar to
playingcards.io.
-
CX2: The aim of this project is to extend the simple Cardographer web-app
view of the cards associated with a session to include state and coordination.
-
There is a simple single page webapp that allows a set of cards to be
viewed, e.g. the RI cards.
But it is currently stateless and has no coordination between
different views/users.
This web-app can be used alongside a face-to-face or online card-based
session.
The aim of this project is to extend it to include
more complex functions such as hands, shuffling and favourites.
-
CX3: The aim of this project is to create a flexible analysis and
report-generation facility for the Cardographer platform, to help
users to analyse and reflect on past card use sessions.
-
The platform already supports recording the final state of a session
and provides a limited number of interactive visualisations. But it
would be useful to also be able to generate tailored printable reports
and associated visualisations, and also to compare different related
sessions (e.g. follow-on sessions).
-
CX4: The aim of this project is to extend Cardographer to support
Time-based capture and analysis for card sessions (and evaluate this).
-
This means capturing step-by-step information about card sessions
in place of or in addition to the current final snapshot, and prototyping
visualisations or other analytical tools to help users analyse what
happened in those sessions.
Interactive performance system
There is a rich history of using digital technology to enhance
live performances. For example, in
the Opera "Losing Her Voice"
(by Elizabeth Kelly, University of Nottingham) a mobile web app
allowed the audience to interact at key points in the performance
through a kind of in-opera social media, while in the virtuoso
Piano composition,
"Climb!"
(by Maria Kallionpää), a software system determines which movements
the pianist has to play and in which order (depending on key musical
phrases played) while a simpler mobile web app helps the audience to
follow the performance.
We are interested in exploring other ways of enhancing live musical,
opera and theatre performance experiences using personal
mobile technologies (smart phones, etc.). This is a very open brief,
and will require significant independent work. It may be possible to
collaboration(s) with composer(s) and performer(s), e.g. within the
Department of Music, however this is uncertain, and you should have your
own creative idea that you are happy to develop as a basis for this project.
Also note that this project might link well to the level 3
Music and Mixed Reality
module offered by the Department of Music (with the School of
Computer Science).
- PERF1:
The aim is to design, prototype and evaluate a use of digital technology
to enhance the performance experience.
- You can come up with your own scenario, or we well be able to
put you in contact with a (music) researcher in the University who you can
work with (but the HCI and technical elements will be entirely down to you).
Because this is fundamentally
interactive and performative it is important that the prototype is functional,
so this may require significant programming skills. Also note that it is likely that
any evaluation will need to be preliminary and relatively small scale,
although a larger-scale public performance might be possible,
depending on the work and any collaboration(s) developed.
Sonic biofeedback system
From current research, we have found that fine-grained changes in heart-rate
can predict when someone is paying attention. Other changes can predict
relaxation. We think that some therapeutic tasks (e.g. attention training for people
with ADHD) might be more effective in some states than in others.
We conjecture that giving someone sonic (sound and/or musical) feedback
about their physiological state might help them to get "in the zone"
to learn well.
- BIOFB1: The aim of this project is prototype a sonic bio-feedback
system based on heart beat (RR or II) data.
- It would involve working with colleagues in the Institute of Mental
Health, to develop and test prototypes.
It would include elements of sound design/composition as well
as the technical work of interfacing to a suitable heartrate
monitor and processing its live data.
Companion agent to support digital health interventions
There are many apps, websites, etc that can be helpful when
someone is struggling with their wellbeing (e.g. anxiety or mood).
However, to benefit from them the user has to actually use them, and we
know that people often don't, or stop after just one go.
This project is linked to a current reseach project which aims to
suport children and young people in particular (age 10-25).
We conjecture that a "companion" agent - perhaps in the form of an
anthroporphic animal - could help to encourage and remind someone to
keep using a digital health intervention (DHI) like this.
- AGENT1: The aim of this project is to design, prototype and
evaluate a companion agent to enourage a young person to keep using a digital mental health intervention
- The agent might be manifest through a mobile app (or mobile web app). It
might also (or instead) engage the user through existing communication
channels such as WhatsApp, email or SMS. Ideally it would be
personalised, e.g. when and how it communicates and how "pushy" it is.
There is a student already doing a design-oriented project based on this;
this project would have an emphasis on practical development,
i.e. functioning proof of concept(s).
We have one current prototype, so this should probably focus on
a specific demographic or use case.
- AGENT2: The aim of this project is to evaluate potential uses
of Large Language Models in this kind of companion app.
- LLMs such as ChatGPT might be useful in various ways, such as
interpreting user input or tailoring user output. However, especially
in health applications, it is very important that the system is safe.
This project would involve proposing and testing a range of options
for using LLMs in this context. (There would definitely be access
to ChatGPT3.5Turbo; it is current unclear whether you
would have access to other/newer models.)
- AGENT3: The aim of this project is design and run a user study
to evaluate a range of possible notification/reminder strategies
that could be used by this kind of companion app.
- For example, depending in part on your programming ability,
this could include timed notifications, messages
(e.g. SMS, WhatsApp), location-triggers, live app use.
It could also probe whether aspects of personalisation made a
difference, e.g. based on personality traits of motivational styles.
- AGENT4: The aim of this project is to design, prototype
and evaluate a companion agent to help someone navigate the
health system, especially in terms of support for mental health.
- The health system has all kinds of recommended process and
responses, ranging from providing self-help resources, through
primary care (GPs) to special care of various forms. If someone
has concerns about their mental health or wellbeing it can be
very hard to know what to next. The concept of this agent is a
kind of personal assistant that would help someone to identify
and access sources of support and understand where they are in
the "system", so that they can make effective choices.
Citizen Science platform for Mental Health research
Citizen science refers to science that is done by and with "citizens", i.e.
not professional researchers/scientists. For example, in ecology there
are several projects where members of public carefully record the prevalence
of particular animals or plants. There are also many science projects that
involve volunteers identifying things from images (e.g. types of galaxies from
pictures from telescopes).
Citizen science is much less common in health research, and especially
mental health research. This is partly because there are additional challenges
for example in working with potentially vulnerable volunteers, and the kinds
of research is also different.
- CITIZEN1: The aim of this project is to develop of volunteer
"dashboard" that would support someone working across several
REDCap-based projects.
- At the University, most medical-related projects use
REDCap as their main
database. Each project is separate, and there is no interface
for participants/volunteers to see their involvement with each project.
This web-based dashboard would need to link to several REDCap projects,
one acting as the "home" for all participants, and others linked to
specific research projects. It would allow participants to sign up
for new projects and also let them review their involvement with each
project and any outstanding actions.
- CITIZEN2: The aim of this project is to design and prototype a
web-based hub for citizen science projects in mental health
- This is linked to some current research projects, which may be able
to project input in terms of requirements and use cases.
It would start with a CMS that would allow projects to be set up and
promoted. It would extend this with appropriate community-support and
task-support elements. It should also emphasise the
particular challenges and requirements of mental health research.
- CITIZEN3: The aim of this project is to design and prototype web-
and app-based for a colocated group of people to work together on
(esp. mental health-related) citizen science task(s)
- This is linked to the project above.
Most citizen science platforms and activities assume that each
person works independently and remotely on their own tasks.
In some situation, including where people have significant mental
health challenges, it may be more appropriate for them to work
together with others or as part of a group.
The project should address this aspect specifically, for example
developing requirements, designing interfaces/functions and
evaluating them.
Card-sort Task for Self-harm
Card-sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS) is an activity developed at
the University of Nottingham that uses a set of just over 100 cards
to help a young person reflect on a personal experience of self-harm.
We would actually use an alternative set of cards that are similar in number and use
but deal with taking an exam, as an ethically less challenging test case.
- CATS1: Design, prototype and evaluate a tablet-based interface
for doing a digital version of the CaTS card-sort task.
- The CaTS task involves sorting through over 100 cards and
placing them on a timeline. A custom 2D/2.5D interface should
allow a young person to do this efficiently but thoughtfully.
It would need to code with the limited screen size. It should also
allow the person to review their choices. It could be implemented
using Unity or as a web-app or native app. It would require careful
interaction design.
(This could be linked to Cardographer project CX1)
SSH Bastion system for Computer Science
The School currently support off-campus access to servers via the SSH
bastions/jump hosts canal and valley.
These need to be replaced.
- SSH1: The aim of this project is to design, implement and test
a new remote SSH access solution for the School.
- The new SSH bastion system must support MFA through integration
with the University's Active Directory and MFA system.
It should be very secure, and is likely to exploit short-lived SSH certificates
(see for example smallstep).
It may optionally also support special-case long-lived certificates.
If possible system deployment should be automated with
Ansible.
General Requirements / Guidance
Human-Computer Interaction
If you doing an HCI project (i.e. on the MSc HCI, or an HCI project within the BSc/MSci CS)
then your project must be "human-centred". This can involve an emphasis on requirements
gathering, design and/or evaluation. You will almost certainly need to do some prototyping,
but depending on the project it may be possible to use non-functioning prototypes
(although I prefer functioning prototypes).
If you want to tackle one of the HCI projects then please write up a brief (one page)
summary of the work you would do, including:
- the specific HCI methods and
prototyping technology(s) and level of programming, and
- the specific part or parts of the project that you think are most interesting (and why).
Computer Science
If you doing a CS project (i.e. in the MSc, BSc or MSCi CS)
then your project must involve a significant practical (programming) element.
It may also involve some HCI elements and prototyping, but at least some will
need to be functional.
If you are tackling a web-based project
then you should be prepared to use a technology stack with something like
Flutter (and Dart) or
Angular+Bootstrap
(and Typescipt) or Svelte
as the front-end and
a well-defined HTTP API to any back-end.
For Svelte, see SvelteKit.
Note, you may not need to implemented your own back-end services,
for example a static back-end may suffice or you may be able
to use a cloud service such as Firebase.
If you want to tackle one of the CS projects then please write up a brief (one page)
summary of:
- the work you would do, including whether and how you would involve users,
- the technologies you would use (including what
experience you have with them) and
- the specific part or parts of the project that
you think are most interesting (and why).
AI, Data Science
Sorry, I'm probably not able to supervise projects in Data Science at all,
and only to a very limited extent in AI (where the emphasis is on
human-AI interaction with existing technology/algorithms/data).
Also I do NOT have suitable existing datasets to work with.
EOF