Yate Ge

Interaction Designer
HCI Researcher

Ph.D. Candidate in Design, Tongji University

Academic Service

Teaching

2026 Guest Speaker, Interaction Design (UG), Tongji — "Understanding OpenClaw from an Interaction Design Perspective"
2025 Guest Speaker, DS323 AI in Design, SUSTech — "Prototyping LLM-Powered Interactive Systems"
2025 Guest Speaker, Interaction Design (UG), Tongji — "LLM Interaction Design"
2024 Guest Speaker, Interaction Design (Grad), Tongji — "Human-Robot Interaction Design"
2024 Guest Speaker, Interaction Design (Grad), Tongji — "XR and Interaction Design"
2023 TA, Interaction Design (UG), Tongji
2022 TA, Interaction Design (Grad), Tongji
2022 TA, HCI Product & System Design (Grad), Tongji
2022 TA, Interaction Design Studio 1 (Grad), Tongji — Industrial Digital Twin
2021 TA, Interaction Design (Grad), Tongji
2021 TA, HCI Product & System Design (Grad), Tongji
2021 Technical Mentor, Interaction Design Studio 1 (Grad), Tongji — Unity Development
2021 Technical Mentor, Interaction Design Studio 2 (Grad), Tongji — Unity AR Development
2020 TA, Interaction Design (Grad), Tongji
2019 TA, Interaction Design (Grad), Tongji
2018 TA, Interaction Design (Grad), Tongji

葛亚特 Yate Ge

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Design at the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, advised by Prof. Xiaohua Sun and Prof. Weiwei Guo. My research interests span Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), Human-Agent Interaction, and AR/VR. My research has been published at premier international venues including CHI, UIST, HRI, and VL/HCC, and I have several invention patents filed.

As an interaction designer and researcher, I am dedicated to crafting novel interactions between humans and intelligent systems, and building innovative AI-powered applications. Currently, my work focuses on personalized interaction with agent systems — integrating generative UI, continual learning, AR/VR technologies, and end-user programming methods to explore interaction paradigms for human-agent symbiosis in the emerging future.

我是同济大学设计创意学院设计学博士候选人，研究方向为交互设计，师从孙效华教授与郭玮玮教授。研究兴趣涵盖人机交互、人机器人交互、人智能体交互及 AR/VR。研究成果发表于 CHI、UIST、HRI、VL/HCC 等国际顶级会议，并持有多项发明专利。作为交互设计师与研究者，我致力于构建人与智能系统之间的新型交互方式，探索创新的人工智能应用。当前研究聚焦于智能体系统的个性化交互——融合生成式界面、持续学习、AR/VR 技术与终端用户编程方法，探索面向未来的人智能体共生交互新范式。

publications

GenFaceUI: Meta-Design of Generative Personalized Facial Expression Interfaces for Intelligent Agents

Yate Ge, Lin Tian, Yi Dai, Shuhan Pan, Yiwen Zhang, Qi Wang, Weiwei Guo^*, and Xiaohua Sun^*

In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2026 CHI

PDF Project
GenComUI: Exploring Generative Visual Aids as Medium to Support Task-Oriented Human-Robot Communication

Yate Ge, Meiying Li, Xipeng Huang, Yuanda Hu, Qi Wang, Xiaohua Sun, and Weiwei Guo^*

In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2025 CHI

DOI PDF Project
Designing Robot Interface States to Facilitate Human Metacognition

Meiying Li, Yate Ge, and Weiwei Guo^*

In 20th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, 2025 HRI

DOI PDF
Exploring Generative Personalized Facial Expression Interfaces for Intelligent Agents

Yate Ge, Lin Tian, Ge Chen, Shuhan Pan, Weiwei Guo^*, and Xiaohua Sun^*

In Adjunct Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, 2025 UIST

DOI PDF Project
Jokeasy: Exploring Human-AI Collaboration in Thematic Joke Generation

Yate Ge, Lin Tian, Chiqian Xu, Luyao Xu, Meiying Li, Yuanda Hu, and Weiwei Guo^*

In IASDR 2025, 2025 IASDR

DOI PDF Project
PersuAgent: A Dual-Route Expressive Agent Driven by LLM for Healthful Lifestyle Guidance

Haoyang Yuan, Ruiyi Liu, Chulei Deng, Jingwen Yang, Yate Ge, Bin Yu, and Qi Wang^*

In 19th EAI PervasiveHealth, 2025 PervasiveHealth
Cocobo: Exploring Large Language Models as the Engine for End-User Robot Programming

Yate Ge, Yi Dai, Run Shan, Kechun Li, Yuanda Hu, and Xiaohua Sun^*

In 2024 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing, 2024 VL/HCC

DOI PDF Project
Co-Design of Service Robot Applications Using Virtual Reality

Yate Ge, Yuanda Hu, and Xiaohua Sun^*

In AHFE 2023, 2023 AHFE

DOI PDF Project
An Interactive Learning Framework for Item Ownership Relationship in Service Robots

Yuanda Hu, Yate Ge, Tianyue Yang, and Xiaohua Sun^*

In AHFE 2023, 2023 AHFE

DOI PDF
Intertwining History and Places: The Design of TongSEE Location-Based AR Application for History Learning

Wenjia Wang, Yate Ge, Hang Yu, Xu Lu, XueChen Li, Yao Cheng, and Xiaohua Sun^*

In HCII 2022, 2022 HCII

DOI PDF
Participatory Design Fictions with Mixed Reality: A User Study Framework for Future Smart Cockpit

Cheng Chi, Yiwen Zhang, Yate Ge, Wenjia Wang, Jianuo Li, and Xiaohua Sun^*

In HCII 2022, 2022 HCII

DOI PDF

projects

GenFaceUI

Jun 2025 – Sep 2025

GenFaceUI explores generative personalized facial expression interfaces for intelligent agents from a meta-design perspective. Built on the GPFEI framework, it helps designers create facial templates, apply semantic tags, define context-expression rules, and iteratively test run-time generation within coherent, rule-bounded design spaces. A qualitative study with 12 designers showed gains in controllability and consistency while also revealing the need for better visual structure and lightweight explanations; I led the project's system design, prototype development, and paper writing. An early version was presented as a poster at UIST 2025, and the full research was published at CHI 2026.

human-robot interaction human-agent interaction LLM generative UI meta-design

智启新生 / Wisdom Awakens

2025

Opening performance of the 2025 World Design Cities Conference, fusing interactive lighting, embodied intelligence, and new media visuals. The show illustrates a progression from human creativity through machine assistance to algorithm generation and embodied perception. As a member of the robot performance development and execution team, I was responsible for robot motion choreography and development.

robotics art

Jokeasy

Dec 2024 – Mar 2025

Jokeasy is a search-enabled human-AI collaboration tool for thematic joke writing. It integrates a dual-role LLM agent as both material scout and prototype writer, providing a visual canvas where retrieved web content becomes editable inspiration blocks within a multistage workflow. A qualitative study with 18 participants (hobbyists, professional comedians, and HCI/AI specialists) showed that the approach enriches ideation while preserving author agency. The interactive prototype was built as a Figma widget plugin for rapid testing. I led research design, system development, and paper writing as a TA for a graduate course on Human-AI Collaborative Intelligence (人机智能协同).

human-AI co-creation LLM visual programming

GenComUI

Jun 2024 – Oct 2024

GenComUI explores generative visual aids as a communication medium to support task-oriented human-robot interaction. Powered by LLMs, the system dynamically generates contextual visual aids (map annotations, path indicators, and animations) on the robot's screen to complement verbal task communication and facilitate end-user robot programming. A formative study of human visual communication practices informed the design, and a within-subjects user study (n=20) demonstrated that generative visual aids enhance communication quality by providing continuous visual feedback and supporting iterative task refinement. I led the project's system design, development, and paper writing.

human-robot interaction generative UI LLM

Cocobo

Sep 2023 – May 2024

Cocobo is an LLM-powered end-user programming system for service robot task customization. Drawing on the theory of multiple representations in end-user development, the system leverages LLMs' code generation, general knowledge, and knowledge representation capabilities to let non-technical users create and modify robot programs through natural language, while providing interactive flowcharts for visual verification and MagicDebug for node-level debugging. A user study with 16 participants validated that non-programmers can independently create and refine robot service programs. I led the system design, development, and paper writing. The work was published at IEEE VL/HCC, the flagship conference in visual languages and end-user development.

visual programming human-robot interaction LLM

Cyber Ring / 赛博回环

2021

Cyber Ring is an independent VR game inspired by the classic street ring-toss game. It reimagines the familiar carnival experience in a cyberpunk-styled virtual space, where players use VR controllers to toss glowing neon rings onto targets in an immersive environment. I independently designed and developed the entire project using Unity. The game was showcased at street pop-up events and at Maker Faire, attracting players of all ages.

VR game Unity

Virtual Design Platform for Service Robot

Sep 2019 – Jun 2020

A simulation design platform for service robots, developed as my master's thesis project. The platform leverages virtual reality, mixed reality, and component-based prototyping to support three key phases of service robot interaction design: conceptual character design through virtual bodystorming, interface and flow design through a visual interaction prototype builder, and usability testing through mixed-reality user simulation. Built with Unity and tested with designers, the platform lowers the cost of robot prototyping and enables rapid iteration across the full design cycle. Part of this work was published at AHFE 2023.

VR human-robot interaction Unity

Hypercard

Mar 2019 – Jun 2019

Hypercard is a tangible programming education system that combines board games, augmented reality, and tangible programming language to teach computational thinking in a spatial, embodied way. Children place hexagonal programming cards on a table, the mobile app recognizes and configures each card, then renders interactive AR scenes on top. The system supports multiple input modalities (voice, face recognition, screen gestures, UI widgets) and seven card types (operating, user input, logic, variable, signal, object, AI). Built with Unity and Vuforia, prototypes demonstrate scenarios including voice-controlled lighting, multiplayer AR golf, facial expression weather control, and guided programming challenges.

AR visual programming

Visual Analytics for Service Robot Personalized Knowledge Graphs

Oct 2017 – Apr 2018

This project explores user-in-the-loop visual analytics for building and refining personalized knowledge graphs that support service robots in individualized environments. I participated in the visualization interface and interaction design, focusing on how to visually represent working knowledge graphs so that users can inspect potential errors, input domain knowledge, and iteratively refine the graph.

visualization interaction design human-robot interaction

AOI Planet

2017

AOI Planet is a motion-sensing game designed for overweight children and their parents. When playing, kids actually exercise while learning how to eat healthier. It is not only an indoor game, but outdoor activities are also recorded through a wearable device. The project includes a motion-sensing game built with Unity, a companion wearable device powered by Arduino 101 with IMU and machine learning modules for motion recognition, and a parent-child interaction system.

motion-sensing game Arduino

Ninja

2016

Ninja is a smart phone companion that transforms your phone from a tool into a friend. Inspired by the ninja's spirit of endurance and perseverance, the device uses the Pomodoro technique to help users stay focused while building an emotional bond through anthropomorphic expressions, eye contact via face tracking, and contactless gesture interaction. The phone becomes Ninja's face, displayed on a 3D-printed body with servo-driven movements.

interaction design iOS development