Image of Research Results (2026) – Moving Image

Paper Imitations by Meghan Ferraro

The stop motion animation short, “Paper Imitations”, was created as a part of my research into the “Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA” exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture. The scenes were animated using paper cut-outs of images from the exhibit in order to gain an understanding of both the process of stop motion animation and how LAIKA is unique from other studios in the field. Production took about 2 months of planning, cutting, animating, and editing to achieve a dynamic series of scenes that allowed me to experiment with different techniques. By engaging with the medium in this hands-on way I was able to experience a fraction of the craft and dedication that are required to make stop motion animation film.

Schwa | A somatic Wearable for Breath-led Anxiety Regulation by Minoo Marasi

Schwa is a research-driven wearable that explores how the body, rather than cognition, can regulate anxiety. Developed at the University of Illinois Chicago, the project draws from research in somatic psychology, affective neuroscience, and human-computer interaction, which shows that anxiety is linked to disrupted breathing patterns and heightened sympathetic arousal. Although slow breathing is clinically proven to restore autonomic balance, many existing techniques rely on deliberate attention, often unavailable during acute stress.

Informed by studies on physiological entrainment and therapeutic co-breathing, Schwa translates these findings into a soft, wearable interface. Inspired by the regulating mechanism of a therapeutic hug, where one person’s steady breath subconsciously guides another’s, Schwa uses gentle pneumatic inflation and deflation across the chest and diaphragm to provide a tangible respiratory rhythm. Research in haptic interaction and soft robotics supports the use of rhythmic, low-force tactile cues to influence autonomic states without cognitive effort.

Visually minimal and apparel-like, Schwa reflects design research on stigma-free medical aesthetics and everyday wearability. When activated, its slow oscillations invite the wearer’s breath to entrain naturally, transforming physiological research into an embodied, intuitive experience.

When Air Meets Ground: Collaborative Robots for Surveillance by Mohammad Safwan Mondal

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are powerful tools for surveillance, but their limited battery life makes it difficult for them to operate for long periods. My research at the University of Illinois Chicago explores how this challenge can be addressed by enabling drones to work closely with ground robots. In this collaborative setup, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) supports the drone by providing mobile recharging and coordination, allowing surveillance missions to continue far beyond a single flight.

The video illustrates this idea by showing an aerial and a ground robot working together during a surveillance task. It highlights how the two systems share responsibilities and meet at designated locations to maintain continuous operation. Behind this visual demonstration is a coordinated planning and control approach that helps the robots decide where to move and when to recharge, while adapting to changing conditions in the environment. This approach has been tested in outdoor field experiments, where the robots demonstrated reliable cooperation and adaptability. Together, the video and results showcase a practical way to extend the capabilities of robotic surveillance through aerial–ground collaboration.

The States of Light by Klaudia Paulina Biskup

As a graduate student in the Master of Design program at UIC, my research focuses on impermanence in design, the idea that nothing is fixed and everything is in constant flux. This perspective has led me to think not only about change, but about how humans experience time and seek connection within that change. My interests are on a spectrum, with one end being transience and the other being community.

Through projects exploring light and movement, typography, and collage, an idea recurs: design is not only about objects, forms, or letterforms, but about how elements come together to create shared meaning. Even under unstable or shifting conditions, design can connect people.

For this installation, I work with light, an energy that never remains the same. It continuously moves, transforms, and responds to its environment.

The States of Light explores presence, self-perception, and impermanence through shifting light, mirrors, and iridescent paper. The mirrors function as symbols of fragmented identity, reflecting the self in broken and shifting pieces. The iridescent paper reacts to light and movement, creating constantly changing surfaces that reinforce the idea of instability. Together, these elements create an atmospheric space in which the viewer becomes both an observer and a subject.

This exploration invites the viewer to slow down and become more self-aware; the installation positions identity not as fixed but as continually forming and dissolving through perception and time.

VR Animal embodiment by Naphatsorn Sakdaauscoskul

This video about embodying or seeing from a baby Malayan Tapir’s perspective serves as a prototype for the research title “The Effect of Animal Embodiment in Virtual Reality to Foster Empathy in Wildlife Conservation,” conducted in the Biomedical Visualization program at the University of Illinois Chicago. It was created using Cinema 4D to model, rig, and animate a baby Malayan Tapir, Substance Painter for textures, Unity to build the Virtual Reality (VR) scene, and Adobe After Effects to create the end credits. The research aims to determine whether utilizing threat-laden storytelling and perspective-taking in VR animal character embodiment increases empathy, connectedness to nature, and pro-environmental behavior. In the actual research experiment, participants will embody an African forest elephant, a critically endangered species, using a similar technique created in the protocol to experience the threats they face, which push them toward near extinction in the wild.