Findings | Dec. 6, 2019
Reneé Seward stands in front of her UC colleagues and shows them how her See Words app works. She scrolls over the letter “d” and the round part of the consonant becomes a donut. She scrolls over the letter “p” and the round portion turns into a pie.
“I’m looking into creating reading glasses,” says the graphic designer and associate professor at DAAP. She's also exploring the creation of a new font. And AR and VR opportunities. And prospects for second language learners. “Access to equitable education is one of our biggest problems,” she says.
Seward is presenting her idea to another 13 research teams gathered at Fueled Collective in Rookwood for a day-long Digital Futures retreat. Each Digital Futures Anchor Team went through a multi-phase, competitive process and was selected based on a set of criteria designed within an impact, inclusion and innovation framework. Each team was awarded a $10,000 planning grant to get started.
Digital Futures is more than just a building. It’s a research initiative that supports interdisciplinary teams of researchers who are passionate about leveraging technology to solve human-centered problems and solving the problems posed by technologies of the future.
Thematically, Digital Futures research broadly relates to safety and security in the digital age; future health, accessibility and independence; advanced concepts in mobility and exploration; and rethinking resiliency and recovery. A new home for this work, will be built at the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Reading Road.
Check out some photos from the retreat below and mark your calendars for Research + Innovation Week—which has a Digital Futures theme this year—starting March 24.