RACHEL POONSIRIWONG / RACHELPYW@GMAIL.COM
1. ADAPTIVE WELLNESS ALLY, 2. SCALE AI 3, SYNAPTIC ANIMISM 4. CYBERNETIC FAUNA 5. MICROSOFT TEAMS
adaptive wellness ally
What if AI interfaces integrated human cultural contexts in enhancing human health?
Supported by DesignSingapore, adaptive wellness ally redefines care systems, positioning robots and AI as active participants in cultural inclusivity and personal care. Built for Singapore’s elderly—who often struggle with accessing reliable healthcare due to language challenges—this project reimagines AI as a culturally-aware assistant. Developed and tested with over 30 elderly participants, adaptive wellness ally tailors its design to real user needs. This project led to a 43% increase in trust in AI response, upon evaluative research with my participants.
Using tools like Kinect and Mediapipe, the system captures gestures, speech, and environmental context, processing them with OpenAI’s CLIP for cultural inference. These inputs shape ChatGPT’s responses in real time, adapting to users’ cultural identities, languages, and preferences. By integrating adaptive interfaces with gestural and audio inputs, the project combines design ethnography with machine learning systems.
Role: Independent HCI Researcher
Collaborator: Chua Jia Xiang, Asst. Director, Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Date: 15 June 2023 - 14 June 2024
scale ai: making robots safer
How can we help robots navigate complex environments to improve human safety?
I was the lead product designer on Scale Nucleus (now Scale Data Engine), a multimodal platform for managing and optimizing machine learning datasets. My work focused on safety-critical applications in autonomous systems, including self-driving cars and personal robots. By designing intuitive tools for dataset curation, object detection, and anomaly tracking, I ensured that machine learning models could operate reliably in high-stakes environments.
Featured on TIME Top 200 Inventions, CNN and Bloomberg, my product has been used by NATO forces in detecting building damage in relief efforts during the Ukraine conflict. Furthermore, these tools were also used to train autonomous vehicles by Toyota, Nuro and Velodyne, as well as personal robots like the Roomba by iRobot.
My work at Scale combined technical depth with a focus on user-centric safety, helping ML engineers and roboticists push the boundaries of AI-driven interactions in ways that prioritize trust and reliability.
synaptic animism
How can multisensory, robotic interfaces amplify the spirituality and vitality of Southeast Asian cultures?
Synaptic Animism delves into the emotional and sensory potential of human-machine collaboration, transforming the sacred vitality of Bali’s forests into immersive digital ecosystems. Drawing inspiration from Balinese animistic traditions—where every natural element is believed to hold spiritual energy—this project reimagines 3D-scanned plants from Nuanu City as rhythmic, pulsating digital forms. These point clouds, animated in TouchDesigner, respond to music by local artist Sabdairama, creating an interplay of light, motion, and sound that reflects the spiritual heartbeat of Bali’s landscapes.
By merging the organic with the digital, Synaptic Animism honors the animistic belief in nature’s living spirit while speculating on a future where adaptive systems evoke empathy and emotional resonance.
Exhibited at Labyrinth Studio Bali’s TouchDesigner showcase in March 2024, Synaptic Animism invites participants to step into a shared sensorial space.
cybernetic fauna
What is the shape of AI nature? Does it hold shape and form in the way that humans perceive in our physical environment?
Cybernetic Fauna explores the delicate balance between wonder and unease, transforming Bali’s lush ecologies into haunting AI-generated cyanotypes. Inspired by the alchemical process of cyanotype printing—where sunlight and shadow conjure transient images—the series blends real flora with spectral insects like the giant atlas moth and the longhorn beetle. These indigo forms celebrate nature’s intricacy while unsettling viewers with their fragmented, uncanny beauty.
AI systems play a dual role as creators and stewards in Cybernetic Fauna. They choreograph light, motion, and subject with precision, enhancing the cyanotype’s ephemeral quality while archiving endangered biodiversity and cultural memory. Rooted in Southeast Asia’s ecological and ritual traditions, Cybernetic Fauna imagines AI as a synthetic life force.
Cybernetic Fauna was exhibited in IMMERSIO 2024 in Kuala Lumpur.
microsoft teams:
co-creating safety with students
How can tech-enabled, collaborative interfaces evolve to be safer for students?
As part of Microsoft’s Garage internship, I collaborated with seven engineers to design and prototype an anti-harassment feature for Microsoft Teams, aimed at creating safer, more inclusive educational environments. The system empowers students to flag inappropriate messages anonymously, while administrators manage, review, and escalate reports through intuitive workflows tailored for both desktop and mobile platforms.
Grounded in interview insights and co-creation with 37 students, educators, and administrators, I developed user-centric workflows that balance privacy, accountability, and empathy. The solution includes dynamic message categorization, automated error handling, and educational resources for offenders and victims, ensuring a holistic approach to digital safety.
This project highlights how AI and design can address safety and cultural sensitivity, integrating seamlessly into Microsoft Teams to foster trust and inclusivity in diverse learning spaces. It reflects a deep commitment to using technology as a collaborator in creating respectful and supportive digital ecosystems.