Alex Olwal, Ph.D.
Engineering Leader / Product Innovation, R&D and User Experience

Human—AI Interaction · Augmented Reality · Wearables · Human—Computer Interaction · Accessibility · Interaction Technology · Ubiquitous Computing

Founded and led various teams at Google, including the Interaction Lab; Tech & Society 2024-2025, Augmented Reality 2020-2024, Research 2018-2020, ATAP 2017-2018, Wearables 2015-2017, [x] 2014-2015. Academic research conducted at MIT, Columbia University, University of California, KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), and Microsoft Research, with much appreciated collaborators and contributors at the same or other institutions. Also, thank you Stanford University, Rhode Island School of Design and KTH for the opportunity to teach.

Alex Olwal

Hidden
Hidden Interfaces leverages a technique for ultrabright graphics that can pass through transmissive materials, allowing interfaces to blend into traditional aesthetics by providing on-demand interaction through wood, textile, plastic and mirrored surfaces.

Google AI Blog: Hidden Interfaces ->
Hidden Interfaces for Ambient Computing: Enabling Interaction in Everyday Materials through High-brightness Visuals on Low-cost Matrix Displays
Olwal, A., and Dementyev, A.
Proceedings of CHI 2022 (SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems), New Orleans, LA, Apr 29-May 5, 2022, pp. 1-20, Article 504.

CHI 2022
 PDF [14MB]
Hidden Interfaces for Ambient Computing: Interacting with High-brightness Visuals through Everyday Materials
Olwal, A., and Dementyev, A.
CHI 2021 Extended Abstracts (SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems), Virtual Event, May 8-13, 2021, pp. 1-5, Article 172.

CHI 2021
 PDF [14MB]
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