Mark Colley


m.colley (at) ucl.ac.uk


Open to mentoring Bachelor, Master, and PhD students.

I am a tenure-track Lecturer/Assistant Professor in HCI at the UCL Interaction Centre.

Before that, I was a Research Associate in the Institute of Media Informatics at Ulm University, Germany with Enrico Rukzio. In 2023, I visited Cornell Tech, working in the Future Automation Research Laboratory led by Wendy Ju. Before starting my PhD, I was a Software Engineer at Airbus Defence and Space.

I defended my PhD thesis in April 2024 entitled "Calibrating Trust in Automated Vehicles - Theoretical, Design, and Empirical Insights into Effects of Visualizations on Trust".

My multidisciplinary research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Accessibility, and Computational Modeling and Simulation is dedicated to tackling complex challenges and seizing opportunities within advanced mobility technologies. It involves designing, implementing, and testing novel simulators to study futuristic mobility scenarios. My work aims to address issues such as undertrust in automated vehicles and to enhance accessibility in urban (air) mobility, thereby supporting societal and industrial growth. A significant portion of my research focuses on evaluating innovative interaction paradigms between automated vehicles and vulnerable road users, utilizing empirical evidence alongside simulation-based approaches to analyze their broad-scale impacts.

  Curriculum vitae (January 2025)   /   Scholar profile   /   Twitter   /   LinkedIn   /   GitHub

Mark Colley

News


January 2025
7 papers I contributed to or led were accepted at CHI'25 - see you in Yokohama, Japan!


January 2025
I gave a guest lecture on "Advanced topics of HCI" at JKU in Linz, hosted by Prof. Kotsis. Furthermore, Pascal Jansen started his research visit at my lab at UCL - Welcome!

December 2024
I accepted an Research Fellowship by the Canon Foundation to work at the University of Tokyo for 3 months in 2025.

November 2024
With our start-up Zefwih, we started to provide research-oriented Unity tools. As experienced researchers in human-computer interaction, we create innovative toolkits designed to empower researchers, offering intuitive interfaces and cutting-edge features that simplify the development process while amplifying creativity and productivity.

November 2024
I am now part of UCL Consultants. This is an exciting new chapter to bring my unique insights from academia to industry. Contact me directly via email if you are interested to collaborate. Starting in November, I have also joined the Editorial Board of IJHCS and Behaviour & Information Technology.

November 2024
Our workshop "The Third Workshop on Building an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse for All" was accepted to CHI 2025. For more information, please visit our website.

October 2024
I started a position as Assistant Professor in HCI at the UCL Interaction Centre.

July 2024
Three papers have been accepted to IMWUT. In AutoTherm, we present two datasets regarding thermal comfort prediction with an ablation study. With "Move, Connect, Interact: Introducing a Design Space for Cross-Traffic Interaction", led by Annika Stampf, we aim to re-define interaction in connected traffic. Finally, we have been "Examining Psychological Conflict-Handling Strategies for Highly Automated Vehicles to Resolve Legal User-Vehicle Conflicts", also led by Annika Stampf.

April, 26th 2024
I successfully defended my PhD thesis. I want to sincerely thank the members of my committee: Wendy Ju, Stephen Brewster, Martin Baumann, Matthias Tichy, and the final member and my PhD supervisor Enrico Rukzio.

April 2024
Our paper "Hey, What’s Going On? Conveying Traffic Information to People with Visual Impairments in Highly Automated Vehicles: Introducing OnBoard" was accepted at IMWUT. We conducted an interactive, participatory workshop (N=4) to develop an auditory interface and OnBoard- a tactile interface with expandable elements - to convey traffic information to visually impaired people. In a user study with N=14 participants, we explored usability, situation awareness, predictability, and engagement with OnBoard.
Pre-print available under this LINK.

March 2024
Our paper "Law and Order: Investigating the Effects of Conflictual Situations in Manual and Automated Driving in a German Sample" was accepted for IJHCS (IF 5.4). We conducted two studies: one involving an online survey and a Virtual Reality experiment that explored how the obligation of automated vehicles to strictly adhere to traffic laws influences user-vehicle conflicts and trust, revealing a preference for legal compliance but a willingness to override for personal interests.
Pre-print available under this LINK.

March 2024
Interested in Robotics in the real world? Our LBW "Field Notes on Deploying Research Robots in Public Spaces" was accepted to CHI'24. Share your insights in our public GitHub repository to help advance Human-Robot Interaction!

January 2024
Our award-winning VR game The Social Engineer has now been released to the SteamStore. Check it out!

January 2024
I will be joining the editorial board of IMWUT as an Associate Editor. Also, I am happy to serve as a full paper AC for CSCW.

January 2024
Four papers were cond. accepted to CHI 2024! Excited to share more insights soon. Preprints now available. Update: Portobello received an Honorable Mention Award at CHI'24.

January 2024
PedSUMO was accepted as a short paper to HRI'24. See the link for the open-sourced code to study large-scale effects of eHMIs.

January 2024
I am happy to serve as a Full Paper AC for the User Experience and Usability subcommittee for CHI 2024. I also serve for the Best Paper committee for CHI'24.

December 2023
My first-author paper Effects of Uncertain Trajectory Prediction Visualization in Highly Automated Vehicles on Trust, Situation Awareness, and Cognitive Load was accepted to IMWUT.

December 2023
Submitted my dissertation for review.

December 2023
Attended MuM 2023, chaired the "Privacy and Machine Learning" session.

October 2023
Attended UbiComp 2023 and presented three full papers from IMWUT: Scalability in eHMIs, A Design Space for Interaction in the Automotive Domain, Urban Air Mobility.

September 2023
I attended the Heidelberg Laureate Forum as one of 200 young researchers (from over 1500 submissions) selected to meet icons of the field.

September 2023
I attended AutoUI'23 where I served as one of the AutoUI 2023 Workshop Chairs.

Research Agenda

Accessibility

Accessibility and Mobility

  • Mobility as a critical barrier to participation

Mobility

Mobility and Computational Modeling and Simulation

  • Meeting HCI needs of evolving mobility patterns

Computational Modeling and Simulation

Accessibility and Computational Modeling and Simulation

  • Providing design support and building assistive technology

Accessibility, Mobility and Computational Modeling and Simulation

Mark Colley

Mobility serves as a cornerstone for societal advancement and industrial growth. As we move towards automated systems and explore unconventional transportation methods like urban air mobility, we face a dichotomy of challenges, such as "undertrust" in technology and opportunities like enhanced accessibility. My multidisciplinary research spans Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Accessibility, and Computational Modeling and Simulation to achieve three core objectives:

  1. Characterizing Novel Mobility Systems: Conducting empirical studies to unearth the challenges and opportunities associated with emerging forms of mobility, particularly focusing on accessibility issues.
  2. Behavioral Analytics: Investigating the travel behaviors of both the general populace and vulnerable groups to better understand their unique needs and risks in various traffic scenarios.
  3. Human-Centric Solutions: Leveraging insights from the above studies to design and implement solutions—ranging from technical prototypes and guidelines to industrial collaborations and educational initiatives—that aim to make traffic safer and more accessible for all.

Publications (Excerpt)


I have published more than 30 first-author publications and have contributed to numerous further ones. My most significant research contributions have been published in leading HCI conferences and journals like CHI (13 full paper publications) and IMWUT (11 full paper publications). Below is a small excerpt of my work.


gaze

Effects of a Gaze-Based 2D Platform Game on User Enjoyment, Perceived Competence, and Digital Eye Strain
CHI, Association of Computing Machinery, 2024

Mark Colley, Beate Wanner, Max Rädler, Marcel Rötzer, Julian Frommel, Teresa Hirzle, Pascal Jansen, Enrico Rukzio
Link, PDF



platoon

Investigating the Effects of External Communication and Platoon Behavior on Manual Drivers at Highway Access
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association of Computing Machinery, 2024

Mark Colley, Omid Rajabi, Enrico Rukzio
Link, PDF



portobello

Portobello: Extending Driving Simulation from the Lab to the Road
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association of Computing Machinery, 2024 Honorable mention icon

Fanjun Bu, Stacey Li, David Goedicke, Mark Colley, Gyanendra Sharma, Wendy Ju
Link, PDF



multimodal

Multi-Modal eHMIs: The Relative Impact of Light and Sound in AV-Pedestrian Interaction
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association of Computing Machinery, 2024

Debargha Dey, Toros Senan, Bart Hengeveld, Mark Colley, Azra Habibovic, Wendy Ju
Link, PDF



Scalability

Scalability in External Communication of Automated Vehicles: Evaluation and Recommendations
IMWUT, Association of Computing Machinery, 2023

Mark Colley, Benjamin Eder, Jan Ole Rixen, Enrico Rukzio
Link


Semantic Segmentation

Come Fly With Me: Investigating the Effects of Path Visualizations in Automated Urban Air Mobility
IMWUT, Association of Computing Machinery, 2023

Mark Colley*, Luca-Maxim Meinhardt*, Alexander Fassbender, Michael Rietzler, Enrico Rukzio (* Joint First authors)
Link


SwiVR-Car Seat

SwiVR-Car-Seat: Exploring Vehicle Motion Effects on Interaction Quality in Virtual Reality Automated Driving Using a Motorized Swivel Seat
IMWUT, Association of Computing Machinery, 2021

Mark Colley, Pascal Jansen, Enrico Rukzio, Jan Gugenheimer
Link Supplemental


Semantic Segmentation

Effects of Semantic Segmentation Visualization on Trust, Situation Awareness, and Cognitive Load in Highly Automated Vehicles
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association of Computing Machinery, 2021

Mark Colley, Benjamin Eder, Jan Ole Rixen, Enrico Rukzio
Link


SwiVR-Car Seat

Towards Inclusive External Communication of Autonomous Vehicles for Pedestrians with Vision Impairments
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association of Computing Machinery, 2020 Honorable mention icon

Mark Colley, Marcel Walch, Jan Gugenheimer, Ali Askari, Enrico Rukzio
Link