This work explores how members of Latine underserved communities from Los Angeles and Chicago perceive wearables. Using semi-structured interviews and system co-design through storyboards, I uncovered a strong demand for wearables that prioritize personal safety, situational awareness, and discreet, energy-efficient designs. This led me to develop a much-needed research agenda Equityware, a framework poised to drive impactful contributions through Hardware, Software, and Research and Education. 

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SmokeMon is a wearable necklace equipped with a deep-learning data analysis pipeline designed to automatically detect smoking behavior and extract detailed smoking topography. Its goal is to empower individuals to better understand the challenges of their addiction while maintaining ease of use through an unobtrusive, low-power design that remains affordable. Check out the press SmokeMon garnered worldwide!

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BFree allows the development of battery-free applications, to novices and hobbyists, using the Python (leveraging AdaFruit’s CircuitPython ecosystem) programming language and widely available hobbyist maker platforms. BFree provides energy harvesting hardware and a power failure resilient version of Python, with durable libraries that enable common coding practice and off-the-shelf sensors. This work allows makers to engage with a useful, long-term, and environmentally responsible future of ubiquitous computing. Check out the press BFree received!

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This study examines how racially minoritized, low-SES communities perceive mobile health (mHealth) wearable devices, uncovering key barriers and design needs for equitable adoption. Through interviews with 19 Hispanic or Latine adults from two U.S. metropolitan regions, four themes emerged: (1) the COVID-19 pandemic heightened interest in wearables, (2) limited health care access amplified the desire for self-monitoring tools, (3) distrust in health care systems underscored the need for alternative solutions, and (4) participants emphasized the importance of community-driven design for future wearables. The findings highlight that despite growing interest, current devices fail to meet the usability, accessibility, and affordability needs of these communities. Check out the press this work received reginonally and internatinally!

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Wearable technologies have become ubiquitous, enabling users to track health data, engage in virtual environments, and maintain connectivity. However, access to these technologies remains limited, primarily due to cost, restricting their benefits for underserved populations. To promote more equitable design practices, I conducted a qualitative study with 19 participants from low-income communities, revealing that personal safety is a critical concern—one that wearables could help address. This thesis position paper emphasizes the importance of codesigning wearables in collaboration with underserved communities and proposes a novel framework at both the hardware and software levels for developing safety-oriented wearable devices that respond directly to the needs identified by these populations.

DOI  ▪️  Video  ▪️  Code

Wearable technologies have become ubiquitous, enabling users to track health data, engage in virtual environments, and maintain connectivity. However, access to these technologies remains limited, primarily due to cost, restricting their benefits for underserved populations. To promote more equitable design practices, I conducted a qualitative study with 19 participants from low-income communities, revealing that personal safety is a critical concern—one that wearables could help address. This thesis position paper emphasizes the importance of codesigning wearables in collaboration with underserved communities and proposes a novel framework at both the hardware and software levels for developing safety-oriented wearable devices that respond directly to the needs identified by these populations.

DOI  ▪️  Video  ▪️  Code

As smart devices become more prevalent in homes, privacy is becoming an increasingly pressing concern for many people.  To address these concerns and explore the feasibility of using Augmented Reality to inspect and monitor network traffic in the home, I developed Privacy Plumber, a mobile application that allows users to inspect and monitor the network traffic in their homes in real-time. By identifying privacy leaks, Privacy Plumber empowers users to take control of their data and decide how and with whom it is shared. 

DOI  ▪️  Video  ▪️  Code