Hi! I am a Ph.D. student in the computer science department at Columbia University, advised by Brian A. Smith in the Computer-Enabled Abilities Lab (CEAL).
AI-driven Systems for Enabling Access to Visual Experiences
I design, build, and study AI-driven systems that apply existing AI techniques in creative ways to grant people new abilities. My research revolves around developing systems that address accessibility problems, with a focus on enabling access to visual experiences for people with visual impairments.
Using my systems, blind and low-vision (BLV) people can visualize the action in sports broadcasts for themselves rather than relying on other peopleβs descriptions (CHI 2023, UIST 2023). My systems embed AI within street intersections to give BLV people the ability to interact with street cameras for safe outdoor navigation (ASSETS 2023, UIST 2024).
To inform future systems, I also conduct qualitative studies aimed at understanding people's needs. In my recent work, I introduced the concept of "exploration assistance systems," that give BLV people the freedom to explore unfamiliar environments on their own, rather than being guided by turn-by-turn instructions (CSCW 2023). This paper received an Impact Recognition Award π.
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) π§βπ», Accessibilityπ©βπ¦―, Computer Vision & Deep Learning π€
News
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[Oct '24] βοΈ Attending UIST 2024 in Pittsburgh to present this paper.
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[May '24] π Starting internship at Apple in Seattle!
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[May '24] βοΈ Attending CHI 2024 in Hawaii ποΈ, and serving as a student volunteer.
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[Apr '24] π Completed my PhD Thesis Proposal.
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[Apr '24] πββοΈ Excited to serve as Publicity Co-chair for UIST 2024.
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[Nov '23] ποΈ Gave a talk at the Vision Zero Research Symposium to NYC Govt. officials on StreetNav.
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[Oct '23] βοΈ Attending UIST 2023 in San Francisco to present this paper (Talk).
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[Oct '23] βοΈ Attending ASSETS 2023 in New York to present this poster.
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[Oct '23] βοΈ Attending CSCW 2023 in Minneapolis to present this paper.
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[Sep '23] π Paper wins Impact Recognition Award at CSCW 2023.
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[Sep '23] π StreetNav is now on arXiv. This full paper extends our ASSETS 2023 poster.
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[Aug '23] π Poster accepted at ASSETS 2023.
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[Jun '23] πββοΈ Excited to serve as student volunteer at ASSETS 2023.
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[Jun '23] π§βπ» Attended annual meeting for the NSF Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3).
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[Apr '23] ποΈ CSCW'23 paper received press coverage in interview with the CS department.
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[Mar '23] π Awarded SIGCHI's Gary Marsden Travel Award to attend CHI 2023.
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[Feb '23] π Late-Breaking Work accepted at CHI 2023!
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[Dec '22] π Passed my candidacy exam: Watching Videos Without Vision (slides).
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[Nov '22] π Paper accepted at CSCW 2023!
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Selected Publications
For an updated list of articles, please visit my Google Scholar profile.
Contact
If youβre interested in my work and wish to discuss anything, feel free to email me (gaurav [at] cs [dot] columbia [dot] edu)!