Research / publications & ideas

    Research & Publications.

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    Featured Research
    2026
    AI Agents
    Emergence World: Adversarial Stress-Testing of Long-Horizon Multi-Agent Systems
    D Akkil, T Abuelsaad, K Vikram, M Pace, A Vempaty, S Beotra, R Kokku, et al.

    Published in: arXiv preprint arXiv:2609.17320

    2026
    AI Agents
    Emergence World: A Platform for Evaluating Long-Horizon Multi-Agent Autonomy

    D Akkil, R Kokku, K Vikram, T Abuelsaad, A Vempaty, S Nitta

    arXiv preprint arXiv:2606.08367

    2026
    AI Agents
    Emergence WebVoyager: Toward Consistent and Transparent Evaluation of (Web) Agents in The Wild

    D Akkil, M Allaham, A Raj, T Abuelsaad, R Kokku

    arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.29020

    2026
    HCI
    Navigating the Future: A Design Fiction Study on User Perceptions of Next-Gen LLM-Based Voice Interaction

    B Thankachan, D Akkil, S Rahman, K Jokinen, M Turunen

    Multimodal Technologies and Interaction 10(3), 31

    2024
    AI Agents
    Agent-E: From Autonomous Web Navigation to Foundational Design Principles in Agentic Systems

    T Abuelsaad, D Akkil, P Dey, A Jagmohan, A Vempaty, R Kokku

    arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.13032

    2024
    AI Agents
    MathViz-E: A case-study in domain-specialized tool-using agents

    A Bulusu, B Man, A Jagmohan, A Vempaty, J Mari-Wyka, D Akkil

    arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.17544

    2022
    Eye-tracking
    Toward a real-time index of pupillary activity as an indicator of cognitive load

    G Jayawardena, Y Jayawardana, S Jayarathna, J Högström, T Papa, D Akkil, et al.

    Procedia Computer Science 207, 1331-1340

    2020
    HCI
    Gaze interaction with vibrotactile feedback: Review and design guidelines

    J Rantala, P Majaranta, J Kangas, P Isokoski, D Akkil, O Špakov, et al.

    Human–Computer Interaction 35 (1), 1-39

    2020
    Kinesthetic interaction
    Gaze-based kinaesthetic interaction for virtual reality

    Z Li, D Akkil, R Raisamo

    Interacting with Computers 32 (1), 17-32

    2020
    Kinesthetic interaction
    The impact of control-display gain in kinesthetic search

    Z Li, D Akkil, R Raisamo

    International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications

    2019
    Kinesthetic interaction
    Gaze augmented hand-based kinesthetic interaction: What you see is what you feel

    Z Li, D Akkil, R Raisamo

    IEEE Transactions on Haptics 12 (2), 114-127

    2018
    Eye-tracking
    I see what you see: gaze awareness in mobile video collaboration

    D Akkil, B Thankachan, P Isokoski

    ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications

    2018
    Eye-tracking
    Comparison of gaze and mouse pointers for video-based collaborative physical task

    D Akkil, P Isokoski

    Interacting with Computers 30 (6), 524-542

    2018
    HCI
    Where the streets have no name: a field trip in the wild

    B Thankachan, S Sharma, T Gross, D Akkil, M Turunen, S Mehrotra, et al.

    Interactions 25 (3), 56-60

    2017
    HCI
    Vibrotactile stimulation of the head enables faster gaze gestures

    J Kangas, J Rantala, D Akkil, P Isokoski, P Majaranta, R Raisamo

    International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 98, 62-71

    2017
    AI Agents
    Gaze awareness in agent-based early-childhood learning application

    D Akkil, P Dey, D Salian, N Rajput

    IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

    2017
    AI Agents
    Little bear–a gaze aware learning companion for early childhood learners

    D Akkil, P Dey, N Rajput

    IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

    2016
    Eye-tracking
    GazeTorch: enabling gaze awareness in collaborative physical tasks

    D Akkil, JM James, P Isokoski, J Kangas

    CHI Conference Extended Abstracts

    2016
    Eye-tracking
    Feedback for smooth pursuit gaze tracking based control

    J Kangas, O Špakov, P Isokoski, D Akkil, J Rantala, R Raisamo

    Augmented Human International Conference

    2016
    HCI
    Evaluation of HeadTurn: An interaction technique using the gaze and head turns

    T Nukarinen, J Kangas, O Špakov, P Isokoski, D Akkil, J Rantala, et al.

    Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

    2016
    Eye-tracking
    PursuitAdjuster: an exploration into the design space of smooth pursuit-based widgets

    O Špakov, P Isokoski, J Kangas, D Akkil, P Majaranta

    ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications

    2016
    Eye-tracking
    Gaze augmentation in egocentric video improves awareness of intention

    D Akkil, P Isokoski

    CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

    2016
    HCI
    Accuracy of interpreting pointing gestures in egocentric view

    D Akkil, P Isokoski

    ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing

    2016
    Wearables
    User expectations of everyday gaze interaction on smartglasses

    D Akkil, A Lucero, J Kangas, T Jokela, M Salmimaa, R Raisamo

    Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

    2016
    Eye-tracking
    Haptic feedback in eye typing

    P Majaranta, P Isokoski, J Rantala, O Špakov, D Akkil, J Kangas, et al.

    Journal of Eye Movement Research 9 (1)

    2016
    HCI
    Comparison of three implementations of HeadTurn: a multimodal interaction technique with gaze and head turns

    O Špakov, P Isokoski, J Kangas, J Rantala, D Akkil, R Raisamo

    ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction

    2016
    HCI
    Both fingers and head are acceptable in sensing tactile feedback of gaze gestures

    J Kangas, J Rantala, D Akkil, P Isokoski, P Majaranta, R Raisamo

    International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications

    2015
    Wearables
    Glance awareness and gaze interaction in smartwatches

    D Akkil, J Kangas, J Rantala, P Isokoski, O Spakov, R Raisamo

    CHI Conference Extended Abstracts

    2015
    Wearables
    Haptic feedback of gaze gestures with glasses: localization accuracy and effectiveness

    J Rantala, J Kangas, P Isokoski, D Akkil, O Špakov, R Raisamo

    ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing

    2014
    Eye-tracking
    Gaze gestures and haptic feedback in mobile devices

    J Kangas, D Akkil, J Rantala, P Isokoski, P Majaranta, R Raisamo

    CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

    2014
    Wearables
    Glasses with haptic feedback of gaze gestures

    J Rantala, J Kangas, D Akkil, P Isokoski, R Raisamo

    CHI'14 Extended Abstracts

    2014
    Eye-tracking
    TraQuMe: a tool for measuring the gaze tracking quality

    D Akkil, P Isokoski, J Kangas, J Rantala, R Raisamo

    Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications

    2014
    Wearables
    Using gaze gestures with haptic feedback on glasses

    J Kangas, D Akkil, J Rantala, P Isokoski, P Majaranta, R Raisamo

    Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

    2014
    HCI
    Delayed haptic feedback to gaze gestures

    J Kangas, J Rantala, D Akkil, P Isokoski, P Majaranta, R Raisamo

    International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications

    Patents.

    4 granted patents and 2 pending applications in eye-tracking, gaze interaction, AI agents, and voice-based digital assistant technologies.

    Granted Patents (4)

    Granted
    2025
    1 cited
    Context-sensitive customization of remote-control unit

    US12,229,354

    D Akkil, P Dey, R Kokku, SS Ponoth, HI Alonso, S O'Hara, SV Nitta

    IBM
    View Patent
    Granted
    2025
    Content transfer among remote-control units and integrated output devices

    US12,425,460

    D Akkil, P Dey, R Kokku, SS Ponoth, HI Alonso, S O'Hara, SV Nitta

    IBM
    View Patent
    Granted
    2023
    33 cited
    Digital assistant and method for voice-based interactive communication based on detected user gaze indicating attention

    US11,699,439

    E George-Svahn, S Pateriya, O Kurt, D Akkil

    Tobii AB
    View Patent
    Granted
    2026
    2 cited
    System and method for determining reference gaze data

    US12,527,474

    H Andersson, D Akkil

    Tobii AB
    View Patent

    Pending Applications (2)

    Pending
    2025
    Intelligent web-based task planning and execution

    US App. 18/625,088

    A Jagmohan, P Dey, SV Nitta, R Kokku, A Vempaty, T Abuelsaad, D Akkil

    IBM
    View Application
    Pending
    2026
    Decoupled secure data handling for generative AI applications

    US App. 19/196,391

    T Abuelsaad, D Akkil, R Kokku, P Dey

    Merlyn Mind
    View Application

    Blog & Insights.

    Thoughts on AI, research findings, and insights from building autonomous agents and human-computer interaction systems.

    Featured Post
    July 18, 2024
    8 min read
    Agent-E SOTA Results on WebVoyager Benchmark

    We're excited to share that Agent-E has achieved state-of-the-art results on the WebVoyager benchmark, outperforming existing text and multi-modal web agents by 10-30%.

    AI Agents
    Research
    Web Automation
    Read Article
    February 26, 2026
    10 min read
    Trust by Design: Our UX Principles for Building Trustable Data Agents

    Five UX principles for trustworthy data agents: thinking aloud, collaborating with users, surfacing assumptions, explaining analytical logic, and reusing human-verified workflows.

    AI Agents
    UX
    Trust
    Read More
    June 15, 2024
    6 min read
    Distilling the Web for Multi-Agent Automation

    Exploring advanced DOM distillation and denoising methods that enable LLMs to better understand and interact with web pages.

    AI
    Web
    LLM
    Read More
    July 19, 2019
    7 min read
    100 Years of Eye-Gaze Tracking

    The technology of eye gaze tracking has gone through over a century of research and development. Exploring its journey from invasive devices requiring anaesthesia to mainstream AR/VR tech.

    Eye-tracking
    VR
    AR
    Technology
    Read More