Mark Billinghurst

Mark Billinghurst is a Professor specializing in Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Human-Computer Interaction. His research focuses on advanced 3D user interfaces, wearable computing, and empathic mixed reality systems. A former Research Associate at the HIT Lab US, he holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington and degrees from Waikato University in New Zealand.

Education:

• Bachelor of Computing and Mathematical Science (First Class Honours), Waikato University, 1990
• Master of Philosophy (Applied Mathematics & Physics), Waikato University, 1992
• PhD in Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, 2002

Research Interests:

• Wearable Computing and Spatial Interfaces
• Augmented Reality for Collaboration (e.g., SharedSpace, Mini-Me avatars)
• Multimodal Input (voice, gestures, gaze)
• Empathic VR/AR interfaces using physiological data (e.g., Empathy Glasses)
• Remote Collaboration Systems (SharedSphere, Snow Dome)

Key Projects: TBI Cafe (VR therapy for brain injury patients), Haptic Hongi (cultural interaction via AR), RadarHand (gesture interaction with radar sensing), and Mixed Reality collaboration tools like Pinpointing and Empathy in VR.

Awards:

• Discover Magazine Award (2001) for Magic Book
• World Technology Award Nominee (2004)
• New Zealand Government’s Growth and Innovation Advisory Board (2005)

Grants & Labs: Active in developing AR/VR systems for healthcare, education, and industrial applications. Collaborates on projects like KiwiRescuer (museum exhibits) and TARPLE (AR programming education).