Professor Ian Williams
Professor of Visual Computing and Head of the Digital Media Technology Lab (DMT Lab)
School of Computing and Digital Technology - CDT
- Email:
- Ian.Williams@bcu.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 0121 331 5458
Prof. Williams is Head of the Digital Media Technology Lab (DMT Lab) and leads the research strategy and vision for the Lab which encompasses the four core domains of: Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Graphics and Computer Vision, Sound and Music Analysis and Broadcast Systems.
He gained his PhD from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2008 in low level feature analysis and Ai for multiple-scale biomedical image analysis. His current research interests centre on the visual and interactive computing domains, with a key emphasis on creating novel methods, theories, and paradigms for interacting with, and improving on, the Quality of Experience for users of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
Having an industry and academic background, Prof. Williams' research has many interfaces with industry and delivers impacting applications which shape company policy, applications, and processes. He is lead academic on many Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programmes, with national and international companies. These include GlaxoSmithKline, SBS Insurance and Sherlock Healthcare.
Prof. Williams has authored many publications in leading international journals and chaired global events, including co-chair on the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), the premier international event on AR and VR technology. <
Together with this activity, Prof. Williams has acted on the scientific and technical committee for IEEE ISMAR for the past eight years, on the committee of the IEEE conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR) and on the IEEE Conference on Games (IEEE CoG) and also acts as a reviewer for many conferences, journals and funding organisations including, IEEE Transactions on Visualisation and Computer Graphics (TVCG), IEEE Signal Processing Letters (SPL), the Elsevier Journal of Computer Vision and Image Understanding (CVIU) and the EPSRC.
Current Activity
Prof. Williams teaches on a spectrum of applied computing courses covering both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. These include:
- MSc Digital Broadcast Technology
- MSc User Experience Design
- BSc (Hons) Digital Media Technology
- BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering and Production
- BSc (Hons) Music Technology
- BSc (Hons) Digital Film Production
- BSc (Hons) Visual Effects
Prof. Williams’ also supervises both undergraduate and postgraduate projects, as well as PhD research in the fields of computer vision 3D interaction, and HCI. He welcomes new applicants wising to undertake research programmes in 3D interfaces and HCI for Augmented Reality, alongside applications of Computer Vision and interaction for Virtual Reality systems.
Areas of Expertise
- Visual Computing
- Mixed and Augmented Reality
- Virtual Reality
- 3D Interaction
- User Interaction
- Feature Extraction
- 2D and 3D Image Segmentation
- Pattern Recognition
Qualifications
- PhD in Computer Vision and Image Processing
- BSc (Hons) Media Technology
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (SFHEA)
Research
Prof. Williams is internationally recognised in Mixed Reality (AR/VR), 3D User Interfaces, Human Computer Interaction, Computer Vision and Visual Computing (Image and Video Processing) research. Some of his projects include:
- KTP, Open Call, Partner, SBS Insurance “Automatic Insurance Claims Handling via Deep learning” Role: Lead Academic. Awarded “Outstanding in 2023 by Innovate UK and Shortlisted for IUK Awards
- KTP, Emerging and Enabling Technologies, Partner, Glaxo Smith Kline, “GSK interactive Augmented Reality Platform (iARP)”. Role: Lead Academic. Awarded “Outstanding in 2021 by Innovate UK and Shortlisted for IUK Awards
- Facebook Reality Labs Research Fund - Accessible AR/VR: A Research Agenda. Role: CI
- KTP, Open Call, Partner, Sherlock Healthcare, “Auxilo - A Sensor driven decision support platform for children in care” Role: Lead Academic
- AHRC UK-China Creative Industries Partnership Development Grant - Immersive Experiences for Live Production - Role: CI
- Horizon 2020 - RED-Alert – Real-Time Early Detection and Alert System for online Terrorist Content. European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Role: CI
- Innovate UK – Emerging and Enabling Technologies – Augmented Reality Car Configurator - Partners, Holosphere, JLR. Award size. Role: CI
- Birmingham Children’s Hospital Research Foundation – MIRROR A Clinical Decision Support System, Role: CI
- Innovate UK MS Kinect v2 for rehabilitation. Role: PI
- Creative Digital Health Solutions – Enabling the UK NHS within the west midlands region access to creative solutions to healthcare - Role: CI
Postgraduate Supervision
PhD completions
- Andreea Blaga, “A Grasp Taxonomy for Virtual Reality”
- Dr Hsein Kew, “The Sonification of Spectroscopic Data”. Awarded March 2022
- Dr Samuel David Smith, “Improved Surface Segmentation in 3D Data”. Awarded August 2021
- Dr Alan Josef Dolhasz, “Illumination and colour Matching in Interior Scene Compositing”. Awarded July 2021
- Dr Muadh Al-Kalbani, “Freehand interaction in Mixed Reality”. Awarded February 2019
- Dr Gregory Phillip Hough, “Towards Achieving Convincing Live Interaction in a Mixed Reality Environment for Television Studios”. Awarded July 2015
- Dr Ryan Ian Stables, “Probabilistic Methods for Humanisation in Digital Music” Awarded, May 2013
Current PhD supervision and Director of Studies
- Ms Becky Spittle, “Redefining Interaction Paradigms for Augmented Reality”
- Mr Mathew Randall, “Online Dynamic Warping for Onset Character Manipulation”
- Mr Bharat Pundyal, “Supporting Coding for physically Impaired users”
- Mrs Farkahandah Komal, “Using eye trackers to support creative tasks for physically Impaired users”
Prof. Williams is continually seeking to recruit and support future PhD students, both on a part-time and full-time basis.
Current topics open for applicants include:
- Collaborative Interaction in Augmented Reality: Exploring tools and methods for improving spatial collaborative tasks
- Conversational Ai for AR: Integrating conversational Ai (i.e., Chat GPT 4) into novel tools for AR experiences.
- Natural Interfaces for AR: Elicitation, evaluation and exploration of the next generation of natural interfaces in AR
- Collaborative interfaces for Cross Reality: Exploring collaboration across realities for AR/VR and real environments.
For more information, or to discuss these and connected topics, please email ian.williams@bcu.ac.uk
Publications
B Paudyal, C Creed, I Williams, M Frutos-Pascual. “Inclusive Multimodal Voice Interaction for Code Navigation”. Proceedings of the 2022 International Conference on Multimodal Interaction. 2022
H Duh, I Williams, J Grubert, JA Jones, J Zheng. “Message from the ISMAR 2022 Science and Technology Conference Program Chairs”. 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR 2022)
M Colombo, P Satilmis, R Davies, B Yordanov, I Williams, C Harvey. “Object Detection Systems Informing Users of Guardian Space Dangers Through Haptic Displays”. International Conference on Interactive Media, Smart Systems and Emerging Technologies. 2022
J Burns, W Xu, I Williams, I Khawaja. “Comparative Study of AR Versus Image and Video for Exercise Learning”. arXiv preprint arXiv:2209.02161. 2022
F Aziz, C Creed, S Sarcar, M Frutos-Pascual, I Williams. “Voice Snapping: Inclusive Speech Interaction Techniques for Creative Object Manipulation”. ACM Designing Interactive Systems. 2022
B Spittle, M Frutos Pascual, C Creed, I Williams. “A Review of Interaction Techniques for Immersive Environments” IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG) 2022. (impact factor: 4.579).
B Spittle, W Xu, M Frutos Pascual, C Creed, I Williams. “Socially Distanced: Have user evaluation methods for Immersive Technologies changed during the COVID-19 pandemic?” IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) 2021. (CORE rank A*)
A Blaga, M Frutos Pascual, C Creed, I Williams. “A Grasp on Reality: Understanding Grasping Patterns for Object Interaction in Real and Virtual Environments” IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) 2021. (CORE rank A*)
M Frutos Pascual, C Gale, J Harrison, C Creed, I Williams. “Character Input in Augmented Reality: An Evaluation of Keyboard Position and Interaction Visualisation for Head-Mounted Displays” IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, 2021 (Best Paper Winner) (Core rank A)
A Blaga, M Frutos-Pascual, C Creed, I Williams. “Freehand Grasping: An Analysis of Grasping for Docking Tasks in Virtual Reality”. IEEE Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR) 2021 (Core rank A*)
F Aziz, C Creed, M Frutos-Pascual, I Williams. “Inclusive Voice Interaction Techniques for Creative Object Positioning”. ACM International Conference in Multimodal Interaction (ICMI) 2021 (Core rank B)
A Dolhasz, C Harvey, I Williams, “Perceptually-Informed No-Reference Image Harmonisation”. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer 2020. (impact factor: 1.363)
Al-Kalbani, M. Frutos-Pascual, M, Williams I, “Virtual Object Grasping in Augmented Reality: Drop Shadows for Improved Interaction”. IEEE Journal of Computer Graphics and Applications, 2020. (impact factor: 1.725).
B Paudyal, C Creed, M Frutos-Pascual, I Williams. “Voiceye: A multimodal inclusive development environment”. ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS). 2020 (Core rank B)
A Dolhasz, C Harvey, I Williams. “Learning to observe: Approximating human perceptual thresholds for detection of suprathreshold image transformations”. IEEE Conference on Computer vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2020. (Core Rank A*)
S Smith, I Williams. “Efficient One-to-One Pair Matching for 2-D and 3-D Edge Detection Evaluation”. International Conference on Visualisation, Imaging and Image Processing (VISAPP) 2020. (Core Rank C)
A Blaga, M Frutos-Pascual, C Creed, I Williams. “Too Hot to Handle: An Evaluation of the Effect of Thermal Visual Representation on User Grasping Interaction in Virtual Reality”. ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2020 (Core Rank A*)
C Creed, M Frutos-Pascual, I Williams. “Multimodal Gaze Interaction for Creative Design”. ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2020 (Core rank A*)
M Frutos-Pascual, JM Harrison, C Creed, I Williams, “Evaluation of Ultrasound Haptics as a Supplementary Feedback Cue for Grasping in Virtual Environments”. 2019 International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, 310-318 (Core rank B)
M Frutos-Pascual, C Creed, I Williams “Head Mounted Display Interaction Evaluation: Manipulating Virtual Objects in Augmented Reality”. IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, 287-308 (Best Paper Winner) (Core rank A)
Al-Kalbani, M. Frutos-Pascual, M, Williams I, “Virtual Object Grasping in Augmented Reality: Drop Shadows for Improved Interaction”. VSGames 2019.
Al-Kalbani, M. Williams I and Frutos-Pascual, M, “Freehand grasping in mixed reality: analysing variation during transition phase of interaction”. Proceedings of the 19th ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, 2017. (CORE rank B)
Dolhasz, A. Frutos-Pascual, M. and Williams, I. “Composite Realism: Effects of Object Knowledge and Mismatched Feature Type on Observer Gaze and Subjective Quality”. IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) 2017. (CORE rank A*)
Randall, M. Williams, I and Athwal, C. “A Predictive Approach to On-line Time Warping of Motion Sequences”, IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) 2017. (CORE rank A*)
Blaga, A. Frutos-Pascual, M. Al-Kalbani, M and Williams, I. "Usability Analysis of an Off The Shelf Hand Posture Estimation Sensor for Freehand Physical Interaction and Egocentric Mixed Reality". IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) 2017. (CORE rank A*)
Al-Kalbani, M. Williams I and Frutos-Pascual, M, “Improving Freehand Placement for Grasping Virtual Objects via Dual View Visual Feedback in Mixed Reality”. VRST '16 Proceedings of the 22nd ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, 2016. (CORE rank A)
Hough, G.; Williams, I.; Athwal, C., "Fidelity and Plausibility of Bimanual Interaction in Mixed Reality," in Visualization and Computer Graphics, IEEE Transactions on , vol.12, no.99, pp. 1377-1389 (impact factor: 4.579)
S. Smith and I. Williams. “A Statistical Method for Improved Surface Detection”. Signal Processing Letters, August 2015 vol. 8, pp 1045-1049 (impact factor: 4.68)
Al-Kalbani, M. Williams I and Frutos-Pascual, M. “Analysis of Medium Wrap Freehand Virtual Object Grasping in Exocentric Mixed Reality”, Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), 2016 IEEE International Symposium on, Merida, 2016. (CORE rank A*)
Dolhasz, A. Williams I and Frutos-Pascual, M. “Measuring Observer Response to Object-Scene Disparity in Composites”. Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), 2016 IEEE International Symposium on, Merida, 2016. (CORE rank A*)
Smith, S. Williams, I. “A Statistical Method for Surface Detection”, Eurographics Workshop on Visual Computing for Biology and Medicine, 2015
Al-Kalbani, M. Williams, I. “Accuracy assessment of freehand grasping interaction for mixed reality”, Eurographics Workshop on Visual Computing for Biology and Medicine, 2015
G. Hough, I. Williams, C. Athwal. “Measurements of Live Actor Motion in Mixed Reality Interaction”. IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality. Munich, Germany.2014. (CORE rank A*)
G. Hough, I. Williams, C. Athwal. “Measurement of Perceptual Tolerance for Inconsistencies within Mixed Reality Scenes”. IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality. Munich, Germany.2014. (CORE rank A*)
I. Williams, D. Svoboda and N. Bowring.” A Performance Evaluation of Statistical Tests for Edge Detection in Textured Images”. Computer vision and Image Processing, Elsevier, 2014, vol. 122 pp 115-130. (impact factor: 3.876)
G. Hough, C. Athwal and I. Williams. “ScaMP: A Head Guided Projection System”. ACM Designing Interactive Systems'12. Newcastle, UK. 2012 (CORE rank B)
G. Hough, C. Athwal and I. Williams. “Advanced Occlusion Handling for Virtual Studios”. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer 2012. Pp 287-294 (impact factor: 1.363)
I. Williams, B. Shirvani, J. M. Mourier. “Measurement of Cold Rolled Steel Sections Using Digital Image Processing”. Journal of Key Engineering Materials, Trans TechPublications,2011vol. 473 pp 949-956 (impact factor: 0.45)
I. Williams, C. Athwal and J. Foss. “Developing Real-time Virtual Environments from Video Data”. IET Seminaron Video Data Analysis, IET, London 2011
R. Stables, J. Bullock and I. Williams. “Perceptually Relevant Models for Articulation in Synthesised Drum Patterns”. 131st Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, USA. 2011.
I. Williams, D. Svoboda and N. Bowring. “A Novel Performance Metric for Greyscale Edge Detection”. In the Int. Conf. on VISAPP-International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications 2010. (CORE rank C)
N. Bowring, I. Williams, C. Johnson and J. Jaiswal. “Fatigue crack, squat and wheel burn detection by a multi-scale statistical image processing technique”. In proceedings of the 33rd Annual General Meeting of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing.
I. Williams, D. Svoboda, N. Bowring and E. Guest. “Statistical Edge Detection of Concealed Weapons Using Artificial Neural Networks”. In Proceedings of SPIE-IS & TElectronic Imaging. Vol. 6812. Bellingham, Washington: SPIE, 2008. p.68121J-1-12,12pp.ISSN0277-786X.
I. Williams, D. Svoboda, N. Bowring and E. Guest. “Improved Statistical Edge Detection Through Neural Networks”. In 10th Conference on Medical Image Understanding and Analysis 2006. ISBN:1-901727-31-9.P.56-60
D. Svoboda, I. Williams, N. Bowring and E. Guest. “Statistical Techniques for Edge Detection in Histological Images”. In1st Int. Conf. on VISAPP-International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications 2006. ISBN:972-8865-40-6.P.457462.
I. Williams, N. J. Bowring, E. Guest, P. Twigg, Y. Fan and D. Gadsby. “A Combined Statistical/Neural Network Multi-Scale Edge Detector”. In 5th IASTED Visualization Imaging and Image Processing Conf. 2005. ISBN:0-88986-528-0.P.480-266.
D. Gadsby, P. Twigg, N. Bowring, and I. Williams. “Ultra Wide band positioning for intelligent security systems”. The Journal for the Institute of Measurement and Control. 2005. vol.38, pp.140-146