Johann Wentzel

Johann
Wentzel

Headshot of Johann Wentzel

Building accessible and immersive input experiences at  Apple in California.

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Projects & Publications

  1. 01 MotionBlocks teaser
    MotionBlocks: Modular Geometric Motion Remapping

    Exploring modular motion remapping to make upper body movements in VR more accessible.

    PDF ACM Talk Blog
    CHI2025
  2. 02 PhD Dissertation
    PhD Dissertation: Improving VR Accessibility

    My doctoral dissertation, focusing on combining familiar input devices with context-aware remapping to improve VR accessibility.

    PDF UWSpace
    Thesis2024
  3. 03 VR Menu Archetypes
    A Comparison of Virtual Reality Menu Archetypes

    A comparative analysis of raycasting, direct input, and marking menus in virtual reality.

    PDF IEEE Blog
    TVCG2024
  4. 04 SwitchSpace
    SwitchSpace: Context-Aware Peeking Between VR and Desktop

    Investigating seamless transitions between immersive VR and traditional desktop interfaces.

    PDF ACM Blog Talk Slides
    CHI2024
  5. 05 Inclusive AR
    More Than Input: Using the Gaze-Psychology Link for More Accessible AR

    Using the gaze-psychology link for more accessible Augmented Reality.

    PDF
    CHI WS2024
  6. 06 Bring-Your-Own Input
    Bring-Your-Own Input: Context-Aware Multi-Modal Input

    Work on context-aware multi-modal input for more accessible virtual reality.

    PDF ACM Poster
    CHI DC2023
  7. 07 Lens Flare and Film Grain
    Volumetric Rendering for Lens Flare and Film Grain in VR

    Volumetric and user-centric rendering techniques for lens flare and film grain in VR.

    PDF
    CVMP2022
  8. 08 Multi-Modal Input
    Understanding How People with Limited Mobility Use Multi-Modal Input

    Research into how users with limited mobility leverage multiple input devices simultaneously.

    PDF Blog ACM Talk
    CHI2022
  9. 09 Social VR
    Designing for Differing Physical Spaces in Social VR

    Exploring design solutions for social VR when users have different-sized physical playspaces.

    PDF Blog
    CHI WS2021
  10. 10 Font Your Friends
    Font Your Friends: On the Utility of Ugly Interfaces

    An exploration of personal expression and communication through unconventional user interfaces.

    PDF Blog ACM Demo YouTube
    alt.chi2021
  11. 11 VR Ergonomics
    Improving VR Ergonomics through Non-Linear Input Amplification

    A novel input technique to improve comfort for users in virtual reality. (Best Paper Honorable Mention)

    PDF Blog ACM YouTube
    CHI2020
  12. 12 Master's Thesis
    Master's Thesis: Reach-Bounded, Non-Linear Input Amplification

    My Master's thesis, which formed the foundation for the VR Ergonomics project, exploring non-linear input for VR comfort.

    PDF UWSpace
    Thesis2019
  13. 13 Shared Presence
    Shared Presence and Collaboration using a Co-Located Humanoid Robot

    Early work into using a physical robot for collaborative tasks with a remote user.

    PDF ACM YouTube
    HAI2015

Experience

  • Apple Interaction Software Prototyper

    Building new device-sensor interaction techniques and interactive prototypes for human factors teams across wearables, AR/VR, mobile, and AI agents — and running the end-to-end user studies that inform pre-release UX and sensor algorithm decisions.

    Cupertino, CA2025 — Now
  • University of Waterloo Graduate Researcher & Teaching Assistant

    Authored and presented qualitative and quantitative HCI research, and built VR/AR prototypes in Unity, SteamVR, WebXR, PyTorch, and MediaPipe — including a custom VR controller driver for users with limited mobility.

    Waterloo, ON2018 — 2024
  • Meta Reality Labs Research Scientist Intern

    Developed AR/VR interaction techniques in Unity using eye tracking and EMG neuromotor signal transformer models, and ran a 16-participant experiment evaluating AR/VR eye-tracking accuracy.

    New York, NY2022 — 2023
  • Microsoft Research Research Intern · Ability Team

    Designed and ran VR accessibility experiments on multimodal input, and published qualitative work on multi-device input configurations for people with mobility limitations.

    Redmond, WA2021 — 2022
  • Autodesk Research Research Intern · UI Research Group

    Primary author and sole Unity developer on hybrid VR–desktop interface research, resulting in a patent and conference publication, plus a paper using generative AI to create typefaces.

    Toronto, ON2020

Education

  • PhD, Computer Science (Human–Computer Interaction) University of Waterloo 2020 — 2024
  • Master of Mathematics, Computer Science University of Waterloo 2018 — 2020
  • BSc, Computer Science University of Calgary 2011 — 2017
  • BComm, Business Technology Management University of Calgary 2011 — 2017

Skills

Research
Controlled experiments, user studies, UX research, surveys, interviews, statistical data analysis
Languages
C#, Swift, Python, R, JavaScript, Objective-C, C++, SwiftUI, HTML, CSS
Dev Tools
Unity, Xcode, ARKit, RealityKit, React, PyTorch, NumPy, OpenCV, Git
Design Tools
Figma, Sketch, Balsamiq, Adobe Illustrator, Final Cut Pro