Current research is aligned with the University’s distinctive development goals and the Department’s strategic strengths. The Department’s U-Learning Interactive Gallery, smart campus, and Asia Museum of Modern Art are used as experimental environments for context-aware smart-campus applications. These applications integrate student film and video works, IoT interactive artworks, paintings, sculptures, and other physical objects with digital exhibitions and guided-tour functions. By using real application environments for distinctive teaching, the Department strengthens its academic profile while building adaptive and interactive context-aware learning environments. Current research and implementation focus on next-generation human–computer interfaces, context-aware technologies, AI, smart communication, and the development and application of U-Learning platforms. Ongoing research projects include:

• 5G + ultra-high-definition, 3D, and 360° video communication
• Floating projection + real/virtual characters
• AI + interactive devices + interactive interfaces (including AR/VR, GUI, 3D, 360°, and floating projection)
• Ubiquitous Learning and smart campuses
• Development and application of U-Learning platforms
• Development and application of Creative Design, Multimedia, Cultural Creativity + AI platforms
• Department of Information Communication U-Learning Interactive Gallery
• Context-aware learning in smart campuses
• Virtual companion robot research: using large language models and generative AI to collect and build a storyboard-based dialogue database for older adults

• A study of affective interaction between companion robots and young children
• Development of an AR-based smart campus platform
• Using recurrent neural networks to collect and build a dialogue-script repository for older adults: a study of virtual ancestor robots

Advances in artificial intelligence have brought greater convenience to everyday life. With global population aging and declining birth rates, applying AI to improve the well-being of older adults has become an important research topic worldwide. Humanoid robots are designed to resemble the human form and may feature bipedal walking, arm and hand movement, facial expressions, and even verbal communication. As AI, robotics, and mechanical engineering continue to advance, humanoid robots are becoming more flexible, intelligent, and capable of performing a wider range of functions. This research examines how such technologies can improve older adults’ quality of life and address challenges associated with an aging society. Interviews with older adults explore functional requirements, appearance preferences, concerns, and acceptable pricing for humanoid robots. The findings can provide useful references for technology and service providers and contribute to healthier, more comfortable, and safer lives for older adults.

• Applications of artificial intelligence in geriatric psychiatry

1. A study of project-based learning using instructional materials as teaching examples (manuscript in preparation)
2. A study integrating backward learning with project-based learning (manuscript in preparation)
3. A study of collaborative learning in web design courses using learning scaffolds and place-based learning
4. A study of an intelligent interactive advertising platform
5. Development of a location-aware learning platform based on place-based education

1. Teaching Practice Research Program: A study of collaborative learning in web design courses using learning scaffolds and place-based learning
2. Ministry of Science and Technology Project: Development of a location-aware learning platform based on place-based education
3. Undergraduate Research Projects:
   a. A study on the development of a place-based education learning platform
   b. Development of a management architecture and platform for an interactive advertising system

• 2021 Digital Humanities and Social Sciences Teaching Innovation Project [Industry–Academia]
• 2018 Audiovisual Self-Media Marketing and Creative Practice Program
• 2019 Audiovisual Self-Media Marketing and Creative Practice Program
• Threats, challenges, and opportunities of AI for journalism and communication
• 2020 Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labor Subsidized University Employment Program
• 2021 Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labor Subsidized University Employment Program
• 2021 Industry New Talent Pilot Program course
• 2021 Taichung City Government Convention and Exhibition Center Aesthetic Filming Project
• 2021 Taichung Green Museumbrary Aesthetic Filming Project

1. Construction of a 360-degree immersive visual environment for journalism
2. A study of AR/VR applications in physical spaces

Recent research extends prior experience in film and documentary production, with community-based visual development as a central focus. The work examines how visual media can become localized, take root within communities, and develop into practices that reach broader audiences. Building on this foundation, the research has gradually shifted toward the impact of new-media culture and popular phenomena on contemporary society, with particular attention to changes in the creative environment faced by a new generation of creators. Current research explores how creators respond to rapidly changing social and technological contexts and how artificial intelligence, big data, and information technology can improve production efficiency, expand narrative forms, and support more viable creative and business models. Through interdisciplinary integration of research and practice, the goal is to generate concrete and forward-looking outcomes for visual production and new-media development.

• Practice and analysis of new-media creation
• Media creation models involving generative AI
• Community visual development in the short-form video era
• Information reception effectiveness among audiences engaged in continuous short-form video viewing

Recent research integrates the Department’s distinctive strengths through the core perspective of “data governance and communication policy.” It combines big-data applications, new-media industry practices, and media/data literacy to systematically examine the distribution of power, responsibility, and capacity in the development of digital platforms and the data economy. The research also focuses on institutional tensions among telecommunications data monetization, data ownership, and personal-data protection, addressing conflicts between industrial innovation and regulatory governance. Related topics extend to competitive and cooperative strategies in mobile communication and media industries, changing professional roles of journalists in platform environments, and the development of civic data literacy and data-driven decision-making capabilities. Overall, the work follows an interdisciplinary path combining policy analysis, industry observation, and literacy education.

Ongoing Research Projects:

• Data governance, data ownership, and personal-data protection
• Big-data applications and digital communication policy
• Business strategies and coopetition in telecommunications and new-media industries
• News production and professional transformation in platformized environments
• New-media content management and digital-platform practices
• Data literacy, data-driven decision-making, and smart communication applications

• The role and impact of AI literacy in digital news consumption
• A study of AI literacy and misinformation detection abilities
• The impact of AI literacy on the professional roles of news anchors and content creators

Recent research focuses on the integrated application of artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and digital-content production. It examines how AI can support learning interaction, instructional assessment, and the generation of educational media. In particular, work at the intersection of AI and video production has begun developing intelligent video-production workflows that combine automated script generation, video editing, and voice integration for digital learning materials in language learning and professional courses. Building on practical and research experience in virtual reality (VR) and blended learning, the research also integrates AI-based speaker recognition, corpus analysis, and situational simulation to construct multimodal interactive learning platforms that enhance immersion and participation. In parallel, needs analysis and model design are being conducted to examine students’ educational-technology competencies in the AI era, with the goal of establishing a systematic development mechanism. Overall, the research advances field-based applications that integrate AI and educational technology, emphasizing intelligent instructional content, refined media interaction, and effective transformation of learning environments.

• AI applications in teaching
• Intelligent video production
• Virtual reality learning
• Multimodal interactive platforms
• Educational technology literacy

The current research focus is the “deep integration of digital technology with diverse educational settings,” particularly the use of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and game-based learning to create innovative teaching models for ecological conservation education and special education. The overall goal is to bridge technology-enhanced education and social practice, using digital tools and gamification mechanisms to provide more effective solutions for environmental education, science communication, and inclusive education.

Recent Projects:

• 2023 Promotion Project: Appreciating Ecological Beauty and Inspiring Citizen Action
• 2023 Evaluation and Analysis of the Development of Physical-Interaction Teaching Aids: Exploring the Beauty of Nature
• 2024 Endemic Species Conservation Project: Citizens in Action
• 2025 Citizen Science in Action: An Encounter with Endemic Species
• 2025 Evaluation of Sensory Interactive Teaching-Aid Development: No Fear of Insects!

• Deepening mixed-reality (MR) instruction
• Standardization and wider adoption of assistive tools for special education
• Digital inclusion and intergenerational co-learning
• Community connection and dissemination in citizen science

Current research centers on the University’s and Department’s distinctive development in AI. As XR (VR/AR/MR), metaverse, and generative AI technologies mature rapidly, culture is no longer merely “represented” through text or images; instead, it can be “reconstructed” in interactive, immersive, and algorithmically generated forms.

1. Cultural Representation and Language Sustainability in the Age of Immersive Media: An Interdisciplinary Study Centered on the Hakka Metaverse and Generative AI
2. 2025 Survey of National Languages Facing Intergenerational Transmission Risk and Development of an Implementation Plan for National Language Development
3. Research Project on Generative-AI Co-Learning and Task-Oriented “Text” Instruction: Literary Reading, Rhetoric, and Understanding the Real World