Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Aslina Baharum
Head of SGI Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Malaysia (HFEM)
The Design School, Faculty of Innovation & Technology,
Taylor’s University, Malaysia
 

Speech Title: Beyond Intelligence and Immersion: Designing Human-Centered AI and Virtual Reality for a Sustainable Digital Future

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) are rapidly converging to reshape how humans learn, work, communicate, create, and make decisions. While technological advances have focused on making virtual environments more intelligent, adaptive, and immersive, a critical question remains: Are we designing these systems to augment human capabilities, or are we merely optimizing technology for its own sake? This invited talk explores the intersection of AI, VR, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) through a human-centered lens. Drawing upon research in cognitive ergonomics, user experience (UX), immersive technologies, and responsible AI, the presentation argues that the next generation of intelligent virtual environments must move beyond technical performance metrics toward meaningful human outcomes. The talk introduces a framework for Human-Centered Intelligent Immersive Environments, where AI acts as a collaborative partner rather than an automated replacement, and VR serves as a platform for enhanced cognition, empathy, learning, creativity, and societal impact. Emerging developments in multimodal interaction, conversational agents, digital humans, adaptive learning systems, and AI-driven personalization will be discussed alongside challenges related to trust, ethics, inclusivity, accessibility, privacy, and user well-being. Through examples from education, healthcare, workforce training, and future smart societies, the presentation highlights how researchers and practitioners can design intelligent immersive experiences that are not only technologically advanced but also equitable, ethical, and beneficial to humanity. As AI and VR continue to converge, the future will not be defined solely by how intelligent our systems become, but by how effectively they empower people to thrive in increasingly digital and immersive worlds.

 

Biography: Ts. Dr. Aslina holds the position of Associate Professor in The Design School, Faculty of Innovation & Technology at Taylor’s University. Previously, she has served as Associate Professor at the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, School of Compu-ting and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and as a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Computing and Infor-matics in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), where she led the User Experience (UX) re-search group. Completing her academic journey, she also brings valuable industry experi-ence as a former Information Technology (IT) Officer at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). She had more than 20 years of experience in the IT field. She earned her PhD in Visual Informatics from UKM, a Master of Science degree in IT from UiTM, and a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in E-Commerce from UMS. Dr Aslina is an active member of the Young Scientists Network - Academy of Science Malaysia, where she served as Executive Committee (EXCO) 2024/2025 and 2020/2021 (Chair of Policy and Governance Working Group), a Senior Member of IEEE, and a certified Professional Tech-nologist recognized by MBOT. She has further contributed to the field by serving as an au-ditor for MBOT/MQA. She has received medals at research and innovation showcases and has been honoured with awards for her teaching, excellence in service, and outstanding contributions as a re-searcher. Her bibliography showcases her prolific output, including co-authored and co-edited books, over 40 book chapters, technical papers presented at conferences, and more than 100 peer-reviewed and indexed journal publications. She has also taken on editorial roles for several journals and actively participated as a committee member, session chair, and part of the editorial board/ teams while actively participating as a reviewer. Dr Aslina has graced numerous conferences with her wisdom, delivering keynote speeches, invited speakers and plenary talks/ sessions. Her research interests span a wide spectrum, encompassing User Experience (UX)/ User Interface (UI), AI-UX, HCI/ Interaction Design, User Research, Product & Service Design, Software Engineering & Mobile Development, Information Visualization & Analytics, Multi-media, ICT, IS and Entre/Technopreneurship. Dr Aslina’s expertise extends beyond the ac-ademic realm; she imparts her knowledge through workshops and talks on various subjects, including UI/UX, Entrepreneurship, Video/Image Editing, E-Commerce/Digital Marketing, STEM, Design Thinking, etc. Furthermore, she is certified as a Professional Entrepreneurial Educator, Executive Entre-preneurial Leader, and HRDF Professional Trainer, which highlights her strong commitment to education and entrepreneurship. Dr Aslina is highly regarded in her field, dedicated and consistently pushing the boundaries of knowledge and sharing her wealth of expertise with others.

 

Dr. Shaoyu Cai
National University of Singapore, Singapore
 

Speech Title: Designing Multimodal Sensory Interfaces for Extended Reality

Abstract: Extended Reality (XR) is evolving beyond audiovisual experiences toward multisensory interactions that incorporate touch, temperature, force, smell, taste, and other sensory modalities. This talk explores the design of multimodal sensory interfaces that enable more immersive, natural, and effective interactions between users and virtual environments. By integrating insights from human perception, interactive system design, wearable technologies, and computational modelling, these interfaces can enhance presence, embodiment, and user performance in XR. The talk will provide an overview of sensory perception, multimodal interaction, and sensory rendering in XR, highlighting wearable and environmental interfaces that deliver rich multisensory experiences. It will also discuss emerging data-driven approaches for sensory modelling and generation, including cross-modal learning techniques based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and multimodal Transformers. These methods enable the translation and synthesis of sensory content across modalities, paving the way for scalable and intelligent multisensory experiences in future XR systems.

Biography: Dr Shaoyu Cai is currently working at the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC), College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, and serves as co-director of the NUS Immersive Reality Lab and deputy program director in MSc EDI. He received his PhD degree from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong. Dr Cai's research focuses on developing "touchable" computer interfaces that enable rich physical interactions in virtual environments. His work explores how multimodal interaction, integrating touch with other sensory modalities, can enhance user experience, immersion, and performance in extended reality (XR) systems, including virtual and augmented reality. His research interests span Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), multimodal interfaces, immersive reality, wearable technologies, tactile intelligence, and haptic perception. His work has been published in leading international venues, including SIGGRAPH, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), CHI, and Nature Electronics.