Technical service highlights
We collaborate with industry and government to improve the way humans interact with computers, or with other humans through computers. Our expertise includes the safety, performance, and overall user experience of systems involving digital technologies such as computers and mobile devices.
We also conduct foundational research, independently or in collaboration with academia, to explore new ways of using digital technologies to improve the performance and safety of human‑machine systems while advancing the science that underlies them.
What we offer
Based within the NRC's Digital Technologies Research Centre, the team's core competencies include:
- establishment of user and system requirements
- task and workflow analysis
- user interface design
- user experience
- usability testing
- prototype evaluation
- technology adoption research
- virtual and augmented reality
- artificial intelligence
We apply our expertise to:
- learning systems: massive open online course systems (MOOCS) and personal learning environments
- adaptive training simulators: first response for incidents involving dangerous goods
- remote health care and assistive technologies: collaborative design prototypes, interface guidelines and remote usability evaluation tools
- human-autonomy teaming: AI-assisted remote sensing by drone
Why work with us
Our team of multidisciplinary experts based in NRC locations across Canada can provide valuable advice and help you develop new technologies to optimize human‑computer interaction in your learning systems and training simulators, as well as remote health care and assistive technologies.
Team members
- Luc Belliveau
- Yves Charron
- Stephen Downes
- Bruno Emond
- Hélène Fournier
- Nadir Hammouche
- Keiko Katsuragawa
Selected patents
Image gallery
Contact us
If you're interested in optimizing the human factors of your human‑machine systems, contact our experts today!
Jean-François Lapointe
Team leader, Human‑computer interaction
Email: Jean-Francois.Lapointe@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Research publications
- AI-AR for bridge inspection by drone
- A review of distributed VR co-design systems
- Evaluation of a Virtual Reality training tool for firefighters responding to transportation incidents with dangerous goods
- Explanations in Artificial Intelligence decision making: a user acceptance perspective
- Smart technologies and Internet of Things designed for aging in place