I am a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher, who aims to make computer applications usable and enjoyable. My interests lie in augmented and virtual reality technologies, as well as smart cities, and applications for civic engagement.
I recently completed my PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Merced, where I worked under the supervision of Dr. Ahmed Sabbir Arif.
Input and Interaction in Virtual Reality using wearable devices
Input and interaction in Virtual Reality (VR) remains a challenge. We are developing and evaluating digital finger wearable devices to advance input and interaction in VR.
Mid-air Gestures Augmented with Ultrasonic Haptic Feedback
Midair interaction presents an intuitive way to interact with computer systems. However, mid-air gestures lack haptic feedback. We are developing and evaluating mid-air interaction methods augmented with ultrasonic haptic feedback.
Text entry in Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) is gaining ground in different industries but the ability to enter text efficiently remains a challenge. We are currently working on improving text entry in VR. We are developing and evaluating text entry techniques that can make VR effective for different applications, including office work.
Virtual Art Gallery with Augmented Reality
I worked on this project under the supervision of Sibangiso Ngwenya during my undergraduate studies. We developed a virtual art gallery which has an augmented reality (AR) functionality. The web based virtual art gallery allows the display of Zimbabwean artifacts in 3D on a web interface, with an option to auction them. Furthermore, the AR functionality allows users to superimpose the artifacts on the real world to visualize how they would look like in a real setting.
Augmented and Virtual reality based interfaces for choreography design
I worked on this project under the supervision of Gökhan İnce during my M.Sc. studies. We developed interfaces that allow choreographers to design choreography. We evaluated these interfaces and concluded that users performed faster on the AR interface. Furthermore, the ability to use both physical and digital objects fascinated users.
PhD Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 2024
University of California, Merced, United States of America
M.Sc. Computer Engineering 2017
Istanbul Technical Univeristy, Turkey
B.Sc. Computer Science 2013
National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
High school
Sizane High School, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Ahmed Sabbir Arif. 2023. Ultrasonic Keyboard: A Mid-Air Virtual Qwerty with Ultrasonic Feedback for Virtual Reality. In the 17th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI 2023). ACM, New York, NY, USA.. 
Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Yuan Ren, Hannah Limerick, Scott MacKenzie, Ahmed Sabbir Arif. 2022. Push, Tap, Dwell, and Pinch: Evaluation of Four Mid-Air Selection Methods Augmented with Ultrasonic Haptic Feedback. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces Conference (ISS 2022). ACM, New York, NY, USA, . Best Paper Award
Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Kevin Johnson, Ahmed Sabbir Arif. 2022. Shapeshifter: Gesture Typing in Virtual Reality with a Force-based Digital Thimble. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts (CHI EA 2022). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Article 230, 1–9.
Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Ahmed Sabbir Arif. 2020. Impact of Key Shape and Dimension on Text Entry in Virtual Reality. In Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA 2020). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1–10.
Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Ahmed Sabbir Arif. 2019. Text Entry in Virtual Reality: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature. In Kurosu M. (Eds.), Human-Computer Interaction. Recognition and Interaction Technologies (HCII '19), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 11567. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 419-437.
Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Gökhan İnce, 2019. A Novel Interface for Generating Choreography Based on Augmented Reality. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 132 (2019): 12-24.
Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Gökhan Kurt, Gökhan Ince, 2017. A Comparative Assessment of User Interfaces for Choreography Design. Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions (ACHI), pp. 53-61.