Alejandro Delgado - HCI Researcher

About Me

Ph.D. student in Human-Computer Interaction with a focus on Augmented Reality. Experienced in leading end-to-end user research to discover, invent, and build novel user experiences at scale. Passionate about translating foundational research on user interaction models into intuitive and effective mixed-reality applications.

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science - University of South Florida (Expected 2028)

Research Interests: Human-Computer Interaction, Augmented Reality, User Experience

B.S. in Computer Science, Minor in Leadership Studies - University of South Florida (2019-2023)

Graduated Cum Laude (GPA: 3.64/4.0)

Publications

"Because we are human, we use hands": Understanding People's Expectations and Mental Models of Virtual Object Interaction in AR Headsets.

Delgado, A., et al. (2025). In Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '25). ACM.

View PDF

"If you are a Star Wars fan, use the force": Exploring Children's Virtual-Object Interaction Preferences in AR Headsets.

Delgado, A., et al. (2025). Submitted to CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26). (Under Review)

Using Open-Ended Elicitation to Explore Adults' Virtual-Object Interaction Preferences in AR Headsets.

Delgado, A., et al. (2025). Submitted to CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26). (Under Review)

Research Projects

Elicitation Study of Children's AR Interaction Models

Sept 2024 – Present

Led an open-ended elicitation study with 20 children (ages 9-12) to investigate their interaction preferences with virtual objects in AR headsets.
Constructed a conceptual model of children's expectations, revealing preferences for whole-body interaction and the use of external objects, in contrast to adult models.
Analyzed 663 interaction proposals using qualitative coding and affinity diagramming, uncovering that children create narratives to contextualize their interactions.

Elicitation Study of Adult AR Interaction Preferences

Feb 2024 – Dec 2024

Designed and conducted an elicitation study with 30 adults to discover natural interaction preferences for 17 common virtual object manipulations in AR.
Quantified and analyzed 1,017 interactions, finding that while hand gestures were the primary choice (82%), 52% of secondary choices involved a modality switch (e.g., to voice).
Identified novel interaction paradigms not supported by current commercial headsets, including thinking, air-blowing, and air-drawing.

Applied AI for Clinical Assessment

Feb 2025 – Present

Developing a multimodal AI system to analyze speech and gestures, aiming to infer communicative intent in individuals with aphasia.
Engineering a computer vision pipeline with MediaPipe to detect and classify co-speech gestures from the AphasiaBank video dataset.
Integrating a vision-language model (Qwen2.5-VL) to perform multimodal inference and generate annotated transcripts.

AR Virtual Agent Study Platform

Oct 2024 – Present

Built a Unity AR application to investigate children's perceptions of virtual agents during collaborative tasks.
Implemented eye tracking-driven agent behaviors and a headset-tablet communication system for synchronized data collection.
Developed spatial placement algorithms using ARFoundation for automatic agent positioning.

Experience

Graduate Research Assistant, HCI

Engaging Computing Design Lab , USF | Jan 2024 – Present

Leading foundational user research to understand interaction models for future Augmented Reality applications.
Conducting mixed-methods user studies (gesture elicitation, affinity diagramming) with diverse populations.
Translating user data into actionable design recommendations for improving AR user experience (UX).

Software Development Intern

RSR Group, Inc. (Remote) | Feb 2023 – Jul 2023

Led a UI/UX overhaul of an internal tool, redesigning interface components to improve usability.
Improved employee decision-making time by 30% through a user-centered redesign process.

Front End Developer Intern

Vimana Telecommunications, Paraguay | Oct 2018 – Aug 2019

Developed the front-end for a full-stack e-commerce bartering platform.
Designed and implemented key user flows, including registration, product listing, and trade negotiation.

Information Technology Intern

Entidad Binacional Yacyretá (EBY), Paraguay | Nov 2017 – Feb 2018

Developed a workflow automation app using Python to replace a manual, paper-based process.
Provided technical training and support to staff, ensuring smooth adoption of the new tool.