15 Years of Augmented Human(s) Research: Where Do We Stand?

2026-04-04

AI Summary

This study addresses the need to clarify the core themes, developmental trajectory, and boundary ambiguities within the Augmented Human research domain. Through the first large-scale retrospective scientometric analysis of 735 papers published in flagship conferences from 2008 to 2023, the work combines topic modeling, temporal evolution analysis, and author collaboration networks to uncover a bimodal growth pattern and cross-conference influence phenomena. Key thematic clusters—including haptic interaction, wearable sensing, and visual tracking—are identified, alongside the notably high activity of the Japanese HCI community. The study further reveals that seminal contributions frequently appear in peripheral top-tier venues such as CHI, thereby offering a systematic foundation for understanding the field’s knowledge structure and scholarly ecosystem.

Abstract

The Augmented Human vision broadly seeks to improve or expand baseline human functioning through the restoration or extension of physical, intellectual, and social capabilities. However, given the rapid pace of technology development, we ask: what exactly does Augmented Human research involve, what are its core themes, and how has the Augmented Human(s) conference series evolved over time? To answer this, we conducted a scientometric analysis on the past 15 years of the Augmented Human(s) conference (N=735 paper), focusing on: geographical aspects, submissions and citation timelines, author frequency and popularity, and topic modeling. We find that: (a) Number of papers in the conference exhibit a bimodal distribution, peaking in 2015 and 2025, but showing periods of stagnant growth; (b) key topics over time include Haptics, Wearable Sensing, Vision & Eye Tracking, Embodied Interaction, and Sports / Motion; (c) some seminal papers on AH are not published in AH(s), but rather at related venues (e.g., CHI); (d) the conference has an active Japanese HCI community despite its historical Eurocentric location dominance. We contribute a closer look at the trajectory of the AH(s) field, and raise considerations of definitional and research scope ambiguities given the core problems/enhancements the field seeks to address.

Problem

• Augmented Human
• research scope
• definitional ambiguity
• scientometric analysis
• conference evolution

Innovation

• Scientometric analysis
• Augmented Human
• Topic modeling
• Human-computer interaction
• Wearable sensing