The Human Centred Web Lab

"The Human Centred Web Lab is interested in the intersection between Web technology and people. We are currently investigating and modelling user experience to formulate solutions which will enhance Web accessibility for visually disabled users and the usability of small screened mobile devices."

The Human Centred Web Lab is interested in how users interact with the World Wide Web (Web) and how the Web, through its design, technology and infrastructure, enables users to interact with it. The HCW Lab is involved in the experimentation of accessibility technology, visual attention, and the Web to address the problems of Web accessibility. We believe that by understanding disabled-user's interaction we enhance our understanding of all users operating in constrained modalities where the user is handicapped by both environment and technology. It is for this reason that we see fundamental research into users with disabilities as a natural preface to wider human factors research. With this in mind, we are currently investigating and modelling user experience to formulate solutions which will enhance Web accessibility for visually disabled users and the usability of small screened mobile devices. This means we are mainly working in the Web's, so called, "long-tail" creating novel methods of making obfuscated structure, information, and semantics more explicit.

The research conducted within the Human Centred Web Lab fits together as a series of dovetailing projects in areas covering semantics, transcoding, eye tracking and new Web technologies. These projects are funded by the UK EPSRC (Funded Projects) and the University of Manchester (Pilot-Studies).

News! The Human Centred Web provides its User Lab services and facilities for hire so that your Websites and Digital systems can be evaluated in terms of usability and accessibility. Clients may run their own research or take advantage of our expertise. Please visit the HCW User Lab pages to find more information.