Jon E. Froehlich

Jon E. Froehlich

Professor, Computer Science

University of Washington

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I am a Professor in the Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington (UW). My research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Accessibility has been honored with multiple awards, including the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, Google Faculty Award (3x), NSF CAREER Award, UW College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Award, and the PacTrans Outstanding Researcher Award. I have authored 100+ scientific publications; sixteen have received paper awards, including seven Best Papers at CHI and ASSETS—the top scientific venues in their respective areas—and a 10-Year Impact Award at UbiComp. At UW, I direct the Makeability Lab under the broad mission “to build and study interactive technology for a social purpose.” Our work has been featured in the NY Times, CNN, the World Bank, UN Habitat, Forbes, and other leading publications. My interactive textbook on “Introduction to Physical Computing” has been viewed 450,000 times from more than 209 countries, introducing learners to microcontrollers, sensors, actuators, signal processing, and machine learning through project-based learning. In 2022, I served as the General Chair for ASSETS, the leading conference on technology innovation for people with disabilities. From 2012-2017, I was an Assistant Professor in CS at the University of Maryland.

Recent Projects

This is the thumbnail image for the project BodyVis

BodyVis

2012 – 2019

This is the thumbnail image for the project HandSight

HandSight

2013 – 2018

This is the thumbnail image for the project Project Sidewalk

Project Sidewalk

2012 – Present

This is the thumbnail image for the project Pervasive Thermography

Pervasive Thermography

2014 – 2019

Recent Papers

Authoring 2.5D Designs with Depth Estimation

CHI 2025

Xia Su, Cuong Nguyen, Matheus A Gadelha, Yu Shen, Stefano Petrangeli, Jon E. Froehlich

PDF | doi | Citation | DepthScape

SPECTRA: Personalizable Sound Recognition for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Users through Interactive Machine Learning

CHI 2025

Steven Goodman, Emma McDonnell, Jon E. Froehlich, Leah Findlater

PDF | doi | Citation | SPECTRA

NightLight: Passively Mapping Nighttime Sidewalk Light Data for Improved Pedestrian Routing

CHI 2025

Joseph Breda, Daniel Campos Zamora, Shwetak Patel, Jon E. Froehlich

PDF | doi | Citation | NightLight

Recent Videos

SPECTRA: Personalizable Sound Recognition for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Users through Interactive Machine Learning

YouTube | Paper | SPECTRA

Accessibility for Whom? Perceptions of Mobility Barriers Across Disability Groups and Implications for Designing Personalized Maps

YouTube | Paper | Accessibility for Whom?

ArtInsight: Enabling AI-Powered Artwork Engagement for Mixed Visual-Ability Families

YouTube | Paper | ArtInsight

Recent Talks

MobiPrint: A Mobile 3D Printer for Environment-Scale Design and Fabrication

Oct. 13, 2024 | UIST

Pittsburgh, PA

Daniel Campos Zamora, Liang He, Jon E. Froehlich

PDF | PPTX Paper | MobiPrint

AI-Powered AR Accessibility

Aug. 8, 2024 | Apple's HCML Workshop

Cupertino, CA

Jon E. Froehlich

PDF | PPTX | CookAR • DIAM: Drone-based Indoor Accessibility Mapping • RASSAR • ARTennis • GazePointAR

Project Sidewalk: Crowd+AI Techniques to Map & Assess the World's Sidewalks

Feb. 29, 2024 | NSF Smart and Connected Communities Panel on “Pathways to Transitioning Project Outcomes"

Nashville, Tennessee

Jon E. Froehlich

PDF | PPTX | Project Sidewalk + Community Science • Project Sidewalk • Deep Learning for Sidewalk Assessment

At the Intersection of Disability Justice, Pedestrian Safety, and Health

Jan. 7, 2024 | 103rd Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting

Washington DC

Yochai Eisenberg, Judy L. Shanley, Anna Zivarts, Brent Chamberlain, Keith Christensen, Minoo Abrishami, Jon E. Froehlich

We design, build, and evaluate new interactive tools and techniques to address pressing societal challenges. Makeability refers both to how our technological innovations make new abilities possible for humans as well as our educational mission to help students gain new abilities as they learn and grow through research, invention, and human-centered design.