Principal Engineer
HCI Systems, NRCC
Contact
Background
I joined NRC Cambridge in November 2005 to pursue my interests in featherweight devices engaged in opportunistic communications.
I spent the last nine years working for HP Labs on a variety of projects. While there I worked on a number of projects including an HCI project centered on a kiosk that used machine vision to track and engage people in public spaces; a Linux port to the HP PDA; a SIP-based VOIP infrastructure that did double duty as a research platform as well as the lab’s production telephony system; and an 802.15.4 based location-aware computing project focused on healthcare applications. Before HP Labs, I worked for a couple of small machine vision companies.
Publications
- A. Christian, B. Avery, S. Ayer, F. Bomba, J. Hicks.
- "HPL-2005-113 SNAP Computing: Wireless Location-based Plug and Play". HP Labs Tech Report. June 2005.
- A. Christian, J. Hicks, B. Avery, B. Kuris, D. Denning, S. Ayer, J. Ankcorn.
- "HPL-2005-114 Fingertips of the Network: Featherweight Communicators and Sensors". HP Labs Tech Report. June 2005.
- J. Hicks, A. Christian, B. Avery.
- "HPL-2005-115 Integrating Presence and Location Services using SIP". HP Labs Tech Report. June 2005.
- A. Christian, B. Avery.
- "Speak Out and Annoy Someone: Experiences with Intelligent Kiosks". ACM SIGCHI 2000, April 2000
- A. Christian, B. Avery.
- "Digital Smart Kiosk Project". CHI '98, 18-23 April 1998.
Patents & Pendings
- U.S. Patent 6,043,827
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for acknowledging multiple objects using a computer generated face, March 2000
- U.S. Patent 6,052,132
- A. Christian, B. Avery, K. Waters, Technique for providing a computer generated face having coordinated eye and head movement, April 2000
- U.S. Patent 6,141,434
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for processing images, October 2000
- U.S. Patent 6,163,822
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for controlling and processing a section of an interactive presentation simultaneously with detecting stimulus event in manner that overrides process, December 2000
- U.S. Patent 6,184,858
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for updating a background image, February 2001
- U.S. Patent 6,240,197
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for disambiguating proximate objects within an image, May 2001
- U.S. Patent 6,239,292
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for controlling a presentation of a computer generated object having a plurality of movable components, June 2001
- U.S. Patent 6,400,830
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for tracking objects through a series of images, June 2002
- U.S. Patent 6,421,462
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for differencing an image, July 2002
- U.S. Patent 6,434,271
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for locating objects within an image, August 2002
- U.S. Patent 6,556,708
- A. Christian, B. Avery, Technique for classifying objects within an image, April 2003
Research Interests
My research interests include
- Featherweight wireless devices
- Mobile opportunistic communication
- VOIP/SIP extensions to make communication more pleasant
Personal Info
Education
- S.M.E. Mechanical Engineering, 1992, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA, Force Control/Robotics.
- B.S. Mechanical Engineering, 1989, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.