Invention defines HP , and the 50-year history of HP Labs exemplifies the kinds of research projects that result in market-changing innovation . The light-emitting diode ( LED ), the handheld scientific calculator , and inkjet printer technology are among the results of HP Labs research and development efforts . And after 50 years , HP Labs is as vibrant and innovative as ever .
HP Labs was the brainchild of Bill Hewlett , Dave Packard , Barney Oliver , and others who had a vision for the future of technology . This vision was not constrained to humanity either . When Barney Oliver retired from HP , he helped lead the search for extraterrestrial life as senior manager at the SETI Institute . Clearly these technology leaders had potent visions of the future , visions that they believed Labs could help HP achieve .
But as a company that prides itself on invention , HP must also demonstrate innovative user experiences . The HP mission is to engineer experiences that amaze , while the HP vision is to create technology that makes life better for everyone , everywhere . Both of these statements describe the tremendous importance that HP has placed on end-to-end experiences that provide real customer value .
Bridging the social and the technical
Enter the Immersive Experiences Lab . The members of this Lab design for innovation by considering people first . The Lab ’ s mission is to understand people and their practices in order to craft the best experiences with future
Intern Alex Ju working with Mirjana Spasojevic , Head of Immersive Experiences Lab
technologies . The Immersive Experiences Lab exists to understand and fulfill the promise of valuable , delightful experiences through data-driven , user-focused solutions .
“ Real life is messy and part of our job here at HP Labs is to make sense of the mess so we can help improve people ’ s lives .”
— Mirjana Spasojevic Head of Immersive Experiences Lab , HP
Mirjana Spasojevic , PhD is the driving force behind the Immersive Experiences Lab . She is a tech industry veteran who leads the Lab , and who previously worked for HP from 1995 to 2005 . She rejoined HP in 2015 after co-founding Kindoma , a company that enabled children and grandparents to read and play together even when they were apart . She also founded and directed the IDEA team at Nokia Research Center in Palo Alto , a team that developed ground-breaking ideas in augmented reality and mobile technology .
The Immersive Experiences Lab works inside HP to drive the “ people first ” message in a variety of ways . For example , the Lab hosted industry experts from People Rocket who led a design thinking workshop for members of the Office of the CTO . The first workshop was all about helping a diverse audience learn more about user-centered design . The response was extremely positive : Participants got their hands dirty with prototyping materials as they became familiar with some of the methods that members of the Lab use on the job . The Immersive Experiences Lab also worked through follow-up sessions to explore new ideas , some of which led to field studies of novel technology concepts that will be described in future issues of this Journal .
Working with the best and brightest
The Immersive Experiences Lab has an allstar team of designers , researchers , prototypers , and free thinkers who push the boundaries of what HP can do next . Lab members are trained to look several years ahead and design the interactions and experiences that people will want to have with new technologies . Megatrends and signals of what lies ahead from a technology perspective inform research perspectives .
However , researchers cannot simply ask people , “ How much virtual reality will you want in the year 2026 ?” Instead , Lab team members apply tried-and-true methods and techniques to dig into the details of people ’ s lives . The results of those inquiries drive design decisions about next-generation interactions and experiences .
Specifically , they use various qualitative and quantitative research methods , cutting-edge design skills , and a mix of modern and traditional prototyping techniques . Lab members develop these skills through academic programs that focus on human-computer interaction ( HCI ), user-centered design , and other related disciplines .
For example , the Human Centered Design and Engineering ( HCDE ) department at the University of Washington teaches a variety of courses on HCI design and research . These courses teach critical skills such as how to conduct ethnographic field research , how to design and run interviews , and how to analyze different kinds of data . Alex Thayer , PhD is the Senior Manager of the Immersive Experiences Lab and an HCDE PhD graduate , while summer intern Mia Suh is entering her fourth year in the HCDE PhD program .
Tight connections with academic programs and professors provide a vital way for the Lab to stay ahead of the technology curve . By sponsoring the annual CHI conference in 2016 , the Lab became even more visible beyond HP . CHI is one of the premier venues for professors , students , and industry experts alike to publish and discuss their work . The Lab worked together with the HP Sprout organization and ran
Issue 4 · Fall 2016 · Innovation Journal 13