Chee Siang (Jim) Ang

I am Chee Siang Ang (also known informally as Jim Ang), Senior Lecturer in Multimedia and Digital Systems in the School of Computing, University of Kent. Before joining Kent, I was a research fellow at the Centre for Human Computer Interaction Design , City University London, where I completed my PhD in the area of social gaming. I hold a Master’s degree (Information Technology) from Multimedia University Malaysia and I obtained my BSc. (computing) from the Technology University of Malaysia.

My main research interest lies in the general area of HCI (human-computer interaction) with an emphasis on digital health. Specific areas include:

• Games and immersive media (such as VR and AR).
• Sensing technologies.

I am a member of the following research groups:

• Artificial Intelligence and Data Science group

I am actively involved in multidisciplinary research in digital health. My research approach is centred around co-design healthcare systems to achieve real-world impacts through an in-depth understanding of stakeholders and healthcare organisational contexts. Currently, my research focuses on designing, developing and deploying digital technologies, such as virtual/augmented reality, sensing technologies integrated with machine learning in real-world settings to improve the quality of healthcare and ultimately to improve human wellbeing. I am generally curious to study how emerging technologies affect various aspects of our lives; e.g. I have researched in the past social behaviour in online communities, and how the Internet of Things can have a positive impact on education and energy consumption. 

GAMES AND IMMERSIVE MEDIA

Computers applications today are not restricted to conventional 2D displays, but can be in forms of 3D immersive visualisation and augmented information embedded in the physical world. Traditionally, this new form of computing has mostly been found in entertainment applications such as games but is increasingly making an impact in other more “serious” application domains such as training and healthcare. I work with psychologists and psychiatrists looking into how virtual reality (VR) and gaming technologies can be used in assessment and interventions in mental health. Recently, we have developed VR applications for anxiety disorder training, eating disorder therapy, pain management and emotion detection with VR eye-tracking. 

SENSING TECHNOLOGIES

I collaborate closely with researchers in electronic and mechanical engineering to develop integrated hardware and software online systems with an aim to solve people’s and societal problems through smart technology. For instance, I have developed a tangible interface using RFID tag on day-to-day objects that allows people with dementia to immerse in a 3D virtual world for reminiscence. I have also worked on projects designing and developing low-cost monitoring devices using skin-like sensors and 3D visualisation for biofeedback for Dysphagia therapy. A recent project involves the use of skin-like EMG and EEG sensors for eating behaviour tracking and real-time wheelchair control. 

• COMP6590
• DIGM6390
• DIGM6450 

I am currently interested in supervising PhD projects in all the above areas, specifically in a) Study, design and evaluation of novel virtual reality/augmented reality/gaming technology for health and well being; b) Creative and innovative use of integrated hardware-software systems in various domains, with a focus on healthcare. 

• Completed: Panote Siriaraya (currently assistant professor in Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan), Investigation of Virtual Worlds as a Platform to Support Healthy Ageing.
• Completed: Anthony Emeakaroha (currently deputy energy manager in Medway NHS), Analysis of Energy Conservation through product-integrated persuasive feedback using a smart sensor.
• Complete: Pruet Pjorn (Royal Thai Scholar, currently Assistant Deputy President of Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand), Internet of Educational Things for Primary School Science Education in Rural Thailand. Winner of Anglo-Thai Society Educational Awards for Excellence 2017.
• Completed: Maria Matsangidou (currently postdoc in University of Sheffield), Impact of Visual Imagery in Human Perceptions of Pain.
• Completed: Ben Nicholls (EPSRC DTC, Currently Data scientist in FinTech), Skin Electronics and 3D biofeedback for Swallowing and chewing detections.
• Submitted: Boris Otkhmezuri, Design of Virtual Reality for psychological interventions.
• 2015 – present: Luma Tabbaa, Virtual Reality and dementia care.
• 2016 – present: Jittrapol Intarasirisawat (Royal Thai Scholar), Mobile games for cognitive assessment.
• 2016 – present: Deogratias Mzurikwao (Commonwealth Scholar), Convolutional Neural Network for human physiological data analysis.
• 2018 – present: Saber Mirzaee, Mask R-Convolutional Neural Network for microscopic cells segmentation and classification.
• 2019 – present: Raya Al-Habsi (Royal Oman Scholar), Crowd-sourcing Virtual Reality content generation for dementia care.
• 2019 – present: Ethan Cheung (EPSRC DTC), AI-driven Virtual Reality personalisation for dementia care for large scale deployment.
• 2019 – present: Ryan Searle (EPSRC DTC), Deep Learning analysis of wearable sensor data for depression tracking.
• 2019 – present: Derry Bass, Long-term large-scale evaluation of Virtual Reality use for dementia care in care homes.

VR for healthcare