Back to ProjectsHCI Research — Android App · Mar 2025 – Sep 2025
Nail pHolish — Wearable pH Sensing App
Co-authored 2 peer-reviewed publications (ACM, INTERACT 2025)[Placeholder: Add screenshot — pH reading screen]
Tech Stack
KotlinXMLAndroid Studio
Objective
Turn a hardware research prototype into a usable mobile app that gives people real-time feedback on oral pH from a wearable sensor.
The Problem
The existing prototype produced raw sensor readings with no accessible way for a non-technical user to view or interpret them.
Approach
Built the Android front-end in Kotlin/XML via Android Studio, surfacing live Nix Color Sensor readings, while iterating directly with hardware and backend teammates on debugging and usability. Co-authored the design and test documentation that translated research findings into shipped product behavior.
Challenges
- Debugging across the hardware/software boundary, since sensor readings over Bluetooth didn't always arrive consistently.
- Translating raw research findings into UI decisions that non-engineer teammates and reviewers could still validate.
What I Learned
- Working in a cross-functional research team (hardware, backend, design) surfaces different failure modes than a purely software team — debugging often meant ruling out hardware before touching code.
- Co-authoring peer-reviewed documentation alongside shipping code is a different discipline than writing code comments — it has to hold up to reviewers who never see the codebase.