Hi, I'm Andres

Andres Pinilla

Portfolio

This is a selection of projects that demonstrate my skills or that I am proud to have worked on.

  • All
  • Electrophysiology
  • Virtual Reality
  • Web/Mobile
  • Emotion research
Electrode placement using 10-20 system

Affect detection in VR

Exploring how to infer VR users' affective states from their EEG activity in real-time.

Mockup of Testigos app

Testigos.co

A swarm intelligence system designed for election observers (i.e., citizens who scrutinize democratic elections), based on Web3 technologies.

Raw and preprocessed EEG signals

Electroencephalography (EEG)

This is a simple Python script for preprocessing EEG signals, suitable for real-time applications.

Screenshot of VR environment

Affective self-regulation training in VR

Reference implementation of a VR experience for training affective self-regulation.

Screenshot of plastic leakage map

World Bank - Plastic Leakage Map

Interactive map with plastic waste indicators in the South Asia Region (SAR), developed for the World Bank.

Mockup of Korczak Forum website

Korczak Forum

Microsite of the 'Foro Korczak' (Korczak Forum), organized by Javeriana University in Bogotá, Colombia.

Publications

Selected peer-reviewed articles and technical reports from my research work.

Real-time affect detection in virtual reality.

Pinilla, A., Voigt-Antons, JN., Garcia J., Raffe, W., & Möller, S.

Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2023

We present a novel approach for detecting users' affective states in real-time while they interact with virtual environments...

How Do Induced Affective States Bias Emotional Contagion to Faces?

Pinilla, A., Tamayo, R., & Neira, J.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2020

Emotional contagion is a tendency to automatically synchronize our emotional states with others'. The results presented in this paper indicate that the distance between the emotional state...

Affective Visualization in Virtual Reality: An Integrative Review.

Pinilla, A., Garcia J., Raffe, W., Voigt-Antons, JN., Spang, R., & Möller, S.

Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2021

This review explores how to visualize users' emotional states in Virtual Reality (VR) by analyzing their brain activity in real-time...

Comparing Emotional States Induced by 360° Videos Via Head-Mounted Display and Computer Screen.

Voigt-Antons, JN., Lehtonen, E., Pinilla, A., Ali, D., Kojić, T., & Möller, S.

2020 Twelfth International Conference on Quality of Multimedia Experience (QoMEX)

We compared how people experience emotions when watching 360° videos through VR headsets versus traditional computer screens...

QUALINET White Paper on Definitions of Immersive Media Experience (IMEx).

14th QUALINET meeting, 2020

As virtual and augmented reality become more prevalent, we need a clear understanding of what makes media experiences "immersive. While terms like immersion and presence are often used interchangeably, their meanings vary across different fields. This paper reviews these concepts to provide a unified..."

Construcción y Evaluación de Advertencias Sanitarias Sobre el Consumo de Tabaco en Colombia Basadas en Evidencia Científica.

This report details the scientific work conducted by the National University of Colombia research team carried out during design health warnings for tobacco products for the 2018-2019 cycle. It also presents the evaluation results from the previous 2016-2017 cycle. The document is structured in three parts: First, it reviews international, regional (Latin America and Caribbean)..."

Skills

Python
Signal Processing
Quantitative Research Methods
Machine Learning
JavaScript / TypeScript
React Native
Next JS
Processing
Unity
C#
PostgreSQL
MongoDB

Bio

I have a background in graphic design, psychology, and software engineering. I am particularly interested in applications of emerging technologies, like Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), Virtual Reality (VR), and Web3, to mental healthcare and civic tech. My prefered programming language is Python, but I am also proficient in JavaScript, TypeScript, C#, and Processing.

I earned a PhD from the Technical University Berlin and the University of Technology Sydney (joint program), where I conducted research at the intersection between emotions, neurotechnology and VR. Prior to that, I completed a master’s by research in Psychology at the National University of Colombia, where I conducted original research on emotional contagion. My bachelor’s was in Advertising Art Direction at the University of Palermo (Argentina).

Teaching

2024 - Present

Los Andes University - Architecture and Design Faculty

Bogotá, Colombia

Lecturer

  • Pensamiento Algorítmico (Algorithmic Thinking)
2023 - 2024

University of Sydney - School of Architecture, Design and Planning

Sydney, Australia

Lecturer

  • Designing for Emergent Technologies
  • Designing for Virtual Reality
  • IDEA Lab (Interactive Installations with P5.js)
2021 - 2023

University of New South Wales - Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture

Sydney, Australia

Tutor

  • Interaction Design
2023 - 2024

Technical University Berlin - Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science

Berlin, Germany

Teaching Assistant

  • Media Lab (Master's and Bachelor's)

Other Projects

Below are some projects I did as a student or during my free time. I leave them here as an example of my interests and skills.

Andando Ando

Projectual Test

An advertising campaign for a fictional travel agency. Iconic buildings from Paris, Malaysia, and New York are recreated using a Rorschach test aesthetic. The text at the bottom says "What you see in the image is a projection of the next place you want to visit."

Walk

Moon Walk

This is photomontage created with Photoshop, and animated using Processing. A functional demo is available here, and the code is available here.

Andando Ando

Internet Privacy

Three iconic modern artworks are resignified for a fictional media campaign, with the aim of protesting against the approval of A.C.T.A., S.O.P.A. and P.I.P.A. These are laws and international agreements that are potentially harmful for people's online privacy.

Esmad

Rubber Bullets

ESMAD (a.k.a. UNDMO) is the name of the riot police in Colombia. They are equipped with rubber bullets that are often shoot at protestors eyes. The text at the bottom says "The objective of ESMAD".

Let's talk

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