Aria Kang
Catalysing creativity with computing
About
Aria Kang is an enthusiast in the field of AR & AI, currently working in Meta Reality Lab Research on project Aria (www.projectaria.com). She got her master's degree in the EECS department of the University of California, Berkeley. Specializing in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, she possesses a deep expertise in Computer Vision, Generative AI, and Natural Language Processing. Aria interned at TikTok and Tencent doing AI research. Further solidifying her credentials, she has conducted research at prestigious institutions such as MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab(CSAIL), Berkeley ICSI Robust Deep Learning Group, National University of Singapore, University of Nottingham, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. To date, she has submitted and published 8 papers at top conferences, including UIST, IEEE VR, etc.
University of California, Berkeley, US
08/2023 - 05/2024
EECS Master of Engineering
Berkeley Fung Institute Excellent Award (Top 5%)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
09/2018 - 06/2023 (Expected)
Bachelor of Engineering in Software Engineering
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Major GPA: 4.00/4.00 (Top 1)
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Introduction to Human Computer Interaction 100 (Top 1)
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Game Designing and Programming 99 (Top 1)
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Computer Graphics 98 (Top 1)
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Architecture of Applications 94 (Top 3)
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Data Structure 94 (Top 3)
National University of Singapore, Singapore
08/2022 - 12/2022
NUS SoC NGNE Research-based Exchange Program
Major: Computer Science, School of Computing
With two CS modules and a research project:
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CS3243 Interaction Design
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CS4347 Sound and Music Computing
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CP3106 Independent Research Project (Topic: Heads-up Computing)
Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
Advisor: Prof. Stefanie Mueller 04/2022 - present
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Designed and implemented a system(developed in Python, Processing) that allows the user to reprogram the texture of textiles made of the proposed ChromoFiber, which is a reprogrammable multi-color fiber based on photochromic dyes.
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Processed the video with OpenCV and extract the positions of LEDs in the fiber with the watershed algorithm.
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Designed user interface and implemented linear programming to get constraint conditions for the specified color pattern.
Artist & Designer
I work as a designer and artist. I enjoy observing and creating.
CHAOS|2019
Digital ART Laboratory of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai, China
Advisor: Prof. Xubo Yang 02/2021 - 06/2021
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Proposed a novel retargeting solution for tasks of grabbing and placing objects in virtual reality, called redirected placement (RP), which is applied when placing virtual objects.
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Created an augmented reality virtual experiment application with unity. It can simulate convex lens imaging and perform real-time calculations of results based on user parameters.
National University of Singapore, NUS-HCI Lab
Advisor: Prof. Shengdong Zhao 07/2022 - 12/2022
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Developed an NLP framework that converts audio recordings into various levels of structured information in real-time.
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Data Visualization: extract keywords from the audio transcription, build a mindmap by clustering keywords according to their semantic associations, and render the mindmap on smart glasses.
Joint internship by the University of Nottingham and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, UK
Advisor: Prof. Steve Benford and Prof. Xubo Yang 06/2021 - 12/2021
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Developed and deployed an augmented reality application to create tangible personalized souvenirs for interactive learning at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.
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Adopted and evaluated multiple interaction methods, including mobile interface, hand gestures and voices.
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Conducted user research on increasing personalization of the exhibition experience through augmented reality.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Smart Display Lab, China
Advisor: Prof. Chao Ping Chen 11/2019 - 01/2021
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Developed a framework for 3D augmented reality navigation, mapping, and target detection.
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Processed time-series data from LiDAR Scanner with an unsupervised deep neural network.
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Built an indoor 3D map by applying Delaunay triangulation to the point cloud.
Smart Display Lab
Tencent
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Developed an ecosystem simulation tool in Unreal Engine for data-driven authoring of large-scale ecosystems, which increases the efficiency of large-area foliage arrangement in the game by 20X.
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Developed a recommendation algorithm for symbiotic plant clusters by leveraging real-world data.
Demonstration of ChromoCloth: Re-Programmable Multi-Color Textures through Flexible and Portable Light Source
Zhu, Yunyi, Cedric Honnet, Yixiao Kang, Junyi Zhu, Angelina J. Zheng, Kyle Heinz, Grace Tang, Luca Musk, Michael Wessely, and Stefanie Mueller
In Adjunct Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST), 2023
Tie memories to e-souvenirs: personalized hybrid tangible AR souvenirs in the museum
Yixiao Kang, Zhenglin Zhang, Meiqi Zhao, Xuanhui Yang, Xubo Yang* (Accepted)
in Proceedings of The ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST), 2022
Retargeting Destinations of Passive Props for Enhancing Haptic Feedback in Virtual Reality
Xuanhui Yang, Yixiao Kang, Xubo Yang*
in Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces, 2022
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DOI - Open Access - Video - Slides
Simultaneous Tracking, Tagging and Mapping for Augmented Reality
Yixiao Kang, Yiyang Xu, Chaoping Chen*
in Proceedings of International Conference on Display Technology, 2019
DOI - Open Access - Project Page - Video
Projects
Experimental Platform Based on Augmented Reality Technology, group leader, developer
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We developed an experimental platform in Unity for middle school students using AR technology.
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Skill: Unity, Andriod development, AR Foundation
Tencent Unreal Engine ecosystem simulating tool
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Developed an ecosystem simulation tool in Unreal Engine for data-driven authoring of large-scale ecosystems, which increases the efficiency of large-area foliage arrangement in the game by 20X.
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Developed a recommendation algorithm for symbiotic plant clusters by leveraging real-world data.
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Skill: Game Development, Unreal Engine
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The Way of Water - Game developed with Unity focusing on fluid simulation
It is a Sewage Purification Game. We use the PBF method to implement fluid simulation.
TikTok
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Formulated an algorithm achieving 85.3% precision for 3D semantic segmentation and material recognition
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Developed an iOS app to capture RGBD datasets and a tool for 3D indoor triangular mesh reconstruction using Open3D
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Employed the Meta OVSeg and Segment Anything models to extract object labels and acoustic material data
Internship
Honors and Awards
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Presentation at International Conference on Display Technology (ICDT 2021) 06/2021
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Lightning talk at The ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology 11/2022
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2021 Huawei Scholarship (Top 5%) 12/2021
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2020 Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling - Meritorious Winner 04/2020
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Gold Prize of China Collegiate Algorithm Design & Programming Challenge Contest 06/2021
Activities
Head of the Chinese Volunteer Group at EXIT, the largest music festival in Europe,
Novi Sad, Serbia 07/2019
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Tuned the sound system and multiple instruments for the performance as a stage assistant
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Informed artists of performance time and maintained backstage order
Chair of Master Distinguished Lecture Host Group,
Shanghai, China 11/2020 – 10/2022
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Host Nobel Laureate Adam Riess's seminar, the 125th-anniversary celebration
of the founding of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and TED talks.
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Recruited and trained members of the host group.
Official Designer of China International Import Expo,
Shanghai, China 12/2020
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China International Import Expo volunteer certificate designer
Official Designer of The IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces,
Shanghai, China 03/2022
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Designed IEEE VR 2023 logos, website, and other materials. Link: ieeevr.org/2023/
Publication
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Kang, Yixiao, et al. "Tie Memories to E-souvenirs: Hybrid Tangible AR Souvenirs in the Museum." Adjunct Proceedings of the 35th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. 2022. (UIST 2022 Talk)
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Kang, Yixiao, et al. "6: Simultaneous Tracking, Tagging and Mapping for Augmented Reality." SID Symposium Digest of Technical Papers. Vol. 52. 2021. (ICDT 2021 Presentation
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Yang, Xuanhui, Yixiao Kang, and Xubo Yang. "Retargeting Destinations of Passive Props for Enhancing Haptic Feedback in Virtual Reality." 2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW). IEEE, 2022.
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Zhu, Yunyi, Cedric Honnet, Yixiao Kang, Junyi Zhu, Angelina J. Zheng, Kyle Heinz, Grace Tang, Luca Musk, Michael Wessely, and Stefanie Mueller. "Demonstration of ChromoCloth: Re-Programmable Multi-Color Textures through Flexible and Portable Light Source." In Adjunct Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 1-3. 2023.
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Zhu, Yunyi, Michael Wessely, Yixiao Kang and Stefanie Mueller. " Photochromic Reprogrammable Fiber " Adjunct Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. 2023. (Under Review)
Education
Presentation at ICDT
Future of Decentralization, AI, and Computing Summit
UC Berkeley
Lead designer for IEEE VR 2023
Graduation Ceremony
Shanghai Jiao Tong Univeristy