KAIA CHA

M.S. student in Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University. I study how target parameters, path geometry and real-time feedback shape motor performance in XR upper-limb rehabilitation, and I build the systems I evaluate.

XR rehabilitation Motor performance Usability evaluation Unity / C#

Now

April 2026 – Present

UX Qualitative Researcher

Brand Strategy & Management at ASU

Now

Aug 2025 – Present

Graduate Student Researcher

Human-in-Mind Engineering Research Lab, ASU

HCI Research

XR rehabilitation · usability · human factors

UX & Design Engineering

Interface and prototype work outside the lab: role-based systems, data-heavy dashboards and enterprise tools. Design through code — React, JavaScript, HTML, CSS and Figma.

About

Background · direction

Kaia Mikyo Cha

M.S. Human Systems Engineering · Arizona State University

I study how people use things, and I build the things. That combination is most of what I do: designing an interaction, running the study that tests it, and writing the software in between. I care most about interfaces people lean on when the stakes or the mental load are high, whether that's a rehabilitation task, an operations dashboard, or an enterprise tool nobody has time to learn.

Right now my research is in extended reality and motor performance, with two first-author papers this year at ASPIRE (HFES) and the IEEE ISMAR XRehab workshop. I've also worked as a UX researcher running usability studies and interviews, and earlier on logistics and cloud platform products. I'm wrapping up an M.S. in Human Systems Engineering at ASU, in the HiMER Lab, and I'm open to research and design roles.

Experience

ASU Enterprise Brand Strategy and Management Tempe, AZ · Apr 2026 – Present

UX Qualitative Research Aide

Recruit and screen participants for UX studies for the ASU Brand Team.
Conduct usability studies and in-depth interviews with research participants.
Synthesize qualitative and quantitative findings into research reports for senior leadership.

Human-in-Mind Ergonomics Research Lab (HIMER) Mesa, AZ · Sep 2025 – Present

Human Factors Researcher

Conduct human factors and HCI research on XR-based rehabilitation systems, investigating usability, motor performance, and user-centered design across clinical and non-clinical populations.
Designed and developed a Unity-based VR upper-limb rehabilitation task for Meta Quest Pro, incorporating hand tracking, passthrough rendering, 3D path-following tasks, and real-time kinematic feedback.
Integrated surface EMG sensors with API-based synchronization to capture and align muscle activation signals with task-level kinematic events for multimodal performance assessment.
Designed and executed a repeated-measures usability study examining feedback modality, path geometry, and task difficulty; conducted qualitative thematic analysis of stakeholder interviews to identify user needs and technology adoption barriers.

NGL Transportation Phoenix, AZ · Jan 2023 – Jan 2024

IT Intern

Installed and maintained network & computer systems for logistics operations.
Built front-end features for an internal logistics platform with React.
Authored SOPs and provided tier-two technical support across the organisation.
Led troubleshooting for escalated hardware and software issues.

Naver Cloud Platform Seoul, Korea · Jul 2022 – Oct 2022

Cloud Platform Planning Intern

Researched competitive API offerings and recommended adoption strategies.
Updated navigation UX/UI for the Naver Cloud Platform marketing site.
Drafted key announcements and release notes for the official website.

Research interests

Extended reality for rehabilitationHuman–computer interactionMotor performance & trainingReal-time feedback systemsUsability evaluationCognitive load in immersive environments

Education

M.S. Human Systems Engineering

Arizona State University, Mesa AZ · Aug 2025 – May 2027 (expected) · GPA 4.0

B.S. Media Technology & Computer Science

Hanyang University, Ansan, Korea · Mar 2020 – Aug 2024 · GPA 3.3

Skills

XRUnity, C#, Meta Quest, hand tracking, passthrough, motion-based interaction, real-time visual feedback MethodsExperimental and repeated-measures design, usability testing, user interviews, cognitive load assessment, survey design AnalysisR, Python, linear mixed-effects modeling, behavioral and kinematic analysis Front-endReact, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Figma, Git, Jira, Notion

Tools

Figma

Illustrator

VS Code

Git / GitHub

Jira

Notion

Ways of working

Balance feasibility and delightDesign through co-creationExperiment, then validateBuild with heart and craftAim for clarity and confidence

Awards

Campus Patent Universiade May – Nov 2022

KIPO Director's Prize · $7,700

Cloud-based laptop service for education, from concept through business model.

ETRI Open API Contest Sep – Dec 2022

Excellence Award · $400

Computer vision assistant that generates indoor tasks with ETRI APIs & YOLO v3.

Environment Big Data AI Idea Competition May – Dec 2022

Minister of Environment Award · $2,300

EGG: a big-data powered eco-friendly integration and insights platform.

Cancer Big Data AI Idea Competition Jun – Dec 2021

Grand Prize (National Cancer Center) · $1,500

AntiCancer: AI dashboard forecasting cancer care timelines and outcomes.

AI & Data Education Volunteer 2021 – 2022

NAVER · Seoul, Korea

International Student Mentoring Volunteer 2022

Hanyang University

Publications

Cha, M., & Jeong, H. (2026). Effects of Target Parameters and Path Geometry on Tracking Performance in an XR Upper-Limb Task for Rehabilitation. Accepted for lecture presentation at ASPIRE: HFES International Annual Meeting, Reno, NV.
Cha, M., & Jeong, H. (2026). Toward a Geometry-Guided and Gamified XR Platform for Adaptive Upper-Limb Rehabilitation. Accepted at the 2nd International Workshop on eXtended Reality for Rehabilitation (XRehab 2026); to appear in the 2026 IEEE ISMAR Adjunct Proceedings.