The User Experience (UX) Laboratory at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) was established in August 2013 with the support of the Istanbul Development Agency (İSTKA) and contributions from TURKCELL. Located within the Faculty of Computer and Informatics, the lab is a leading center for academic research in user experience and applied telecommunications, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.
Our laboratory hosts one of Turkey’s most comprehensive UX technology infrastructures. We support research that integrates diverse fields such as human behavior, consumer trends, customer experience, product management, innovation, neuroscience, and social sciences. Through scientifically grounded methods, we test and refine new technologies and strategies to enhance user interaction and system performance.
The lab is equipped with advanced tools including mobile and stationary eye-tracking systems and EEG-based emotion analysis devices. Our software and hardware infrastructure enables both qualitative and quantitative analysis, offering researchers a comprehensive environment for user experience research and evaluation.
The UX Lab serves as an open platform for scientific collaboration among academics, researchers, and students. We invite interested individuals and institutions to explore our lab and contribute to interdisciplinary knowledge production.
Our team in the Computer Engineering and Informatics Faculty at ITU is actively involved in designing and evaluating Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) and Human-Computer Interfaces (HCI). We conduct usability testing of systems such as driving assistants at both the software and hardware level. Our assessments focus on usability, safety, efficacy, and the user-friendliness of interface elements. Our findings aim to improve interface design, information architecture, and navigation performance.
Laboratory Facilities and Equipment
The UX Center was founded with approximately $1 million in funding under İSTKA’s Information-Oriented Economic Development Financial Support Program for Non-profit Organizations. Our lab includes:
- A dedicated test room for conducting user studies
- An observation room with one-way glass for real-time viewing
- Two cozy rooms for individual and group surveys and interviews
- Twelve high-sensitivity audio recorders and video cameras for 24-hour recording from multiple angles
- Eight TV screens to observe and monitor any audio/video stream within the lab
- A variety of Android, iOS, and Windows-based mobile devices
- Full Wi-Fi infrastructure to support wireless testing and interaction
- A static eye-tracking device for screen-based gaze analysis
- A mobile eye-tracking device for studies in open or mobile environments (e.g., inside a real bus)
- A 3D projection system simulating immersive environments with 180-degree cinema projection
- An EEG device to support emotional and neurological analysis of user interactions
With its cutting-edge infrastructure and multidisciplinary team, the ITU UX Lab continues to lead innovative research that bridges design, technology, and human experience.