Alston Lantian Xu

Alston Lantian Xu grew up in Shanghai, China, and completed his undergraduate and Ph.D. studies at the City University of Hong Kong, conducting research at the Augmented Materiality Lab, School of Creative Media, under the supervision of Prof. Alvaro Cassinelli. Alston’s research explores human cognition and interaction, particularly focusing on spatial perception, multimodal interfaces, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and user experience (UX) research.

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His comprehensive research portfolio includes psychophysics studies, computational modeling, machine learning-driven predictive analyses, controlled user experiments, and statistical data analyses. Alston has developed and evaluated interactive systems leveraging AI and ML techniques designed to improve user engagement and cognitive efficiency. His work spans innovative interfaces for non-linear video navigation, embodied spatial cognition studies, gesture-based interaction techniques for VR environments, conversational agents enhanced by natural language processing (NLP) for electronic system prototyping, and predictive modeling based on physiological signals.

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Alston applies rigorous empirical methods and advanced quantitative analysis to bridge cognitive science insights with practical UX design principles. His diverse skill set enables him to develop robust, data-driven strategies for enhancing human-computer interactions in various contexts, from immersive virtual environments to intelligent interactive systems.