Ahmed Elsharkawy

InnoCore Postdoctoral Fellow @ GIST (HCIS Lab) & DGIST

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GIST, Dasan Building Room 201, 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro (Oryong-dong), Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea, 61005

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I am currently an InnoCORE Postdoctoral Fellow in the InnoCORE Research Group for Bio-Embodied Physical AI, co-affiliated with Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST). Prior to my current position, I served as a Research Assistant Professor in the department of AI convergence at GIST for one year. I received my Ph.D. in Integrated Technology (specializing in Intelligent Robotics) from GIST. Before that, I earned my M.S. in Mechatronics Engineering from GIST. My research lies at the intersection of Human-Computer/Robot Interaction, Extended Reality, and Physical AI.

news

Oct 03, 2026 I will present SelfBlending: Artificial Intelligence-driven Augmentation with Hand Interactions for Seamless Reality Blending in Virtual Environments at IEEE ISMAR 2026 in Bari, Italy, as an invited TVCG paper. My presentation is on October 8, 2026, 09:15–09:30, in the PS21: Hand Gestures (08:30–09:30) session. All times are local to Bari (CEST).
Oct 03, 2026 I attended IEEE ISMAR 2026 in Bari, Italy, October 5–9, 2026, and served as an organizer of The 1st International Workshop on XR on the Way (XRWay’26): XR for Walking, Driving, and Everyday Mobility on October 5. I also chaired the workshop’s XR for Walking and Locomotion session.
Aug 09, 2026 Presented at BrainLink 2026: From Human-Robot Interaction to Human-Centered Intelligent Systems
Aug 09, 2026 Attending BrainLink 2026: “Omnimodal AI·XR Convergence” in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from August 9–11, 2026.
Jul 05, 2026 XRWay’26 workshop paper submission deadline extended
Jun 19, 2026 Our research paper SelfBlending was featured on YTN Science.
Jun 05, 2026 XRWay’26 workshop proposal accepted at IEEE ISMAR 2026
Jan 26, 2026 Attennding HCI Korea conference at Sono Belle Vivaldi Park Convention Center (Hongcheon, Republic of Korea).
Nov 27, 2025 Delivered a seminar titled “Physical AI in Action: Tackling HCI Challenges with XR-Enhanced Robotics” at GIST
Apr 26, 2025 Attended CHI 2025 in Yokohama, Japan.

selected publications

  1. SelfBlending_TO MAK GIF_SHORT_Final_7.gif
    SelfBlending: Artificial Intelligence-driven Augmentation with Hand Interactions for Seamless Reality Blending in Virtual Environments
    Ahmed Elsharkawy, Bocheon Gim, Aya Ataya, and SeungJun Kim
    In IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2026
    IEEE TVCG-26
    DOI
  2. ReD_Shoes.png
    ReD shoes: actuated footwear for multisensory redirected walking in virtual reality
    Aya Ataya, Ahmed Elsharkawy, Jieun Lee, Seokhyun Hwang, Minwoo Seong, and SeungJun Kim
    Virtual Reality, 2025
    VR Springer-25
    Aya Ataya and Ahmed Elsharkawy contributed equally (co-first authors).
    DOI
  3. SYNC-VR.gif
    Sync-vr: Synchronizing your senses to conquer motion sickness for enriching in-vehicle virtual reality
    🏆 Best Paper Honorable Mention Award
    Ahmed Elsharkawy, Aya Ataya, Dohyeon Yeo, Eunsol An, Seokhyun Hwang, and SeungJun Kim
    In Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2024
    CHI-24
    DOI
  4. HRR_1.gif
    Human–Robot Labeling Framework to Construct Multitype Real-World Datasets
    Ahmed Elsharkawy and Mun Sang Kim
    IEEE Access, 2022
    IEEE Access-22
    DOI
  5. LAIDR_1.gif
    A UWB-based lighter-than-air indoor robot for user-centered interactive applications
    Khawar Naheem, Ahmed Elsharkawy, Dongwoo Koo, Yundong Lee, and Munsang Kim
    Sensors, 2022
    MDPI Sensors-22
    Khawar Naheem and Ahmed Elsharkawy contributed equally (co-first authors).
    DOI