Dr Benjamin Tag
Senior Lecturer
BA (FU Berlin), MA (Keio University), PhD (Keio University)
Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
I am a Senior Lecturer at UNSW Sydney, specializing in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Ubiquitous Computing. My research explores how technology influences human cognition, emotion, and physiology, focusing on designing adaptive systems that enhance user experiences and support practical applications. My interdisciplinary work bridges computer science, biomechanics, and cognitive psychology by integrating physiological sensors and everyday devices to tackle challenges in fatigue modelling, mental state sensing, and Human-AI interaction.
Before joining UNSW, I was a Lecturer at Monash University and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. I earned my PhD in March 2019 from Keio University, Japan, with a dissertation titled Cognitive State Assessments through Monitoring Physiological Signals on the Face.
I am an active contributor to the HCI community, serving as an Associate Editor for PACM IMWUT and participating in ACM and IEEE conference committees. Additionally, I lead as Director of Science at Optimal XR, translating cutting-edge research into real-world applications.
E-mail
Location
K17
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
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2024, Exceptional Achievements Award in Research and Education. Monash University.
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2024, Higher Education Fellow. Advance HE, United Kingdom
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2023, ACM CHI Honourable Mention Award (Boonprakong, N., Chen, X., Davey, C., Tag, B., & Dingler, T. (2023). Bias-Aware Systems: Exploring Indicators for the Occurrences of Cognitive Biases when Facing Different Opinions. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–19.)
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2022, ACRA Fellowship. Australian Computing Research Alliance. Host: Prof. Flora Salim, School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW.
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2021, ACM CHI Honourable Mention Award (Babaei, E., Tag, B., Dingler, T., & Velloso, E. (2021). A Critique of Electrodermal Activity Practices at CHI. Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–14.)
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2018, Young Researchers’ Fellowship. Keio University, Japan.
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2018, Innovation Lab. Winner. P9 Production Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. BMW Japan.
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2017, Young Researchers’ Fellowship. Keio University, Japan.
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2017, Startup Challenge. Winner. P9 Production Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. BNP Paribas Cardif
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2017, Innovation Challenge. Winner. P9 Production Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. BNP Paribas Cardif Japan.
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2014, Dean’s List. Master’s Degree, Graduate School of Media Design. Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.
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2010, Monbukagakusho Scholarship. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
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Human-Computer Interaction
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Ubiquitous Computing
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Affective Computing
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VR/AR/XR
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Human-AI Interaction
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I actively promote open science initiatives. In 2020, I joined a research consortium to enhance the understanding of human experiences during the early days of COVID-19. Together, we developed one of the most comprehensive COVID-19 surveys, gathering data from tens of thousands of respondents worldwide. The findings have been published in outlets such as Springer Nature and Royal Society Open Science and have influenced official Danish COVID-19 policy.
I frequently give talks, including a keynote at the 2023 Emotion Aware Workshop at IEEE Pervasive Computing. My expertise in fatigue detection using smart glasses led to invitations to speak at the School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, and the Hearing Sciences – Scottish Section at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. My work on Digital Emotion Regulation has also attracted public interest, with coverage on ABC Radio and in outlets like The Conversation.
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2023, Apple wants to know if you’re happy or sad as part of its latest software update. Who will this benefit? (, )
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2023, Your phone, your emotions and everyday life ()
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2022, How are you feeling during COVID-19? New survey aims to find answers from around the world ()
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2016, There's no map to human behaviour - Björk Digital. (, Japanese)
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