What the facility does
Tech3Lab is a research laboratory focusing on user experience. It specializes in analysing interactions between organizations’ technological interfaces and their employees or consumers.
Areas of expertise
Tech3Lab is a research laboratory focusing on user experience in a business context. It specializes in analysing interactions between organizations’ technological interfaces and employees or consumers. The multidisciplinary nature of the research team (information systems, commerce, e-marketing, decision sciences and neuroscience) enables original, holistic coverage of this research area. The lab uses an array of cutting-edge behavioural and neurophysiological measurement instruments to observe and analyse people’s interactions with technology (eye movements, cardiac activity, electroencephalography, etc.). The lab has the unique ability to synchronize and triangulate data from two or more of these measurement instruments.
Research services
Evaluation of user experience (UX) and system usability.
Sectors of application
- Aerospace and satellites
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Arts and cultural industries
- Automotive
- Consumer durables
- Consumer non-durables
- Defence and security industries
- Education
- Financial services and insurance
- Information and communication technologies and media
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
- Professional and technical services (including legal services, architecture, engineering)
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Tech3Lab | Eye-tracking unit | Tech3Lab is equipped with the best eye-tracking technology available on the market. The equipment is manufactured by Tobii and SMI. Eye-tracking technology enables real-time measurement of point of gaze, i.e., the place that participants look at on an interface, screen or mobile device. Tobii’s infrared-camera-assisted eye-tracking unit allows completely non-invasive measurement and identification of the most (and least) looked-at areas and the order in which participants look at items. SMI’s eye tracking glasses are designed to record a person’s gaze in a mobile context. |
Electronic emotion measurement system
| Developed by Noldus, the FaceReader system enables real-time assessment of participants’ emotional reactions. FaceReader analyses facial expressions via webcam, and is contactless and non-invasive. | |
Physiological measurement
| Tech3Lab is equipped with cutting-edge, wireless physiological measurement systems. Designed by Biopac, the BioNomadix system records participants’ cardiac (ECG), respiratory and electrodermal activity. Placed on the palm of the hand and torso, small wireless sensors continuously monitor psychophysiological responses, in the most authentic context possible. | |
Electroencephalographic measurements
| Developed by EGI and Brain Vision, Tech3Lab’s encephalographic measurement technology is among the highest performance and least invasive technologies. Wide-band, 32-electrode headsets register participants’ cortical activity with a high level of precision and minimal experimental bias. Tech3Lab is one of a small number of labs in the world that can record several participants simultaneously. This paves the way to new state-of-the-art, innovative research into group interactions. The NeuroRT software from Mensia is used to develop constructs based on preliminary data and machine learning to automate measurement integration and extraction. NIRSport (headgear and backpack) manufactured by NIRx measures cerebral oxygenation (fNIRS) in a mobile context. | |
Measurement triangulation
| One of the unique characteristics of Tech3Lab is the parallel use of different types of objective observation instruments. A number of commercial and scientific labs use eye-tracking equipment to determine what users look at on a screen. Very few laboratories, however, even scientific labs, combine eye-tracking equipment with other objective measuring instruments. Tech3Lab integrates eye tracking and electroencephalography, enabling better understanding of users’ behaviours (e.g., affective reactions when users do not understand how a site works). Observer XT software by Noldus enables triangulation of physiological, neurological, ocular and behavioural measurements. |
Private and public sector research partners
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- HEC Montréal
- Electrical Geodesics Inc. (EGI)
- Tobii
- Noldus
- BIOPAC Systems Inc.
- Brain Vision
- CPU
- ERPsim Lab
- RBC Financial Group Chair of E-Commerce
- SAP Canada Inc.
- Imarklab
- Sobeys
- Hibernum Créations
- Tribal Nova-HMH.
Additional information
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| Entrevue au journal Le Devoir – octobre 2012 | http://www.ledevoir.com/economie/actualites-economiques/361587/tech3lab-sonder-le-consommateur-dans-un-environnement-experimental-unique |
| Prix OCTAS – mai 2013 | http://www.hec.ca/nouvelles/2013/OCTAS_tech3lab.html |
| Laboratoire Tech3 du HEC Montréal | http://youtu.be/m7cA26TjhRI |
| Entrevue au journal Le Metro – 11 Novembre 2013 | http://journalmetro.com/plus/techno/401518/du-marketing-a-partir-des-neu... |
| HEC Montréal - Laboratoire Tech3 | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vtfBvFv_zE[ss1] |
| Texter en marchant : danger! | http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/science/2015/02/13/002-marcheurs-attention-textos-decouverte.s… |
| La chaise, votre ennemie | http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/science/2014/09/26/006-position-assise-bureau-actif-decouverte… |
| Losing focus: Why tech is getting in the way of work | http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32628753 |
| Could working at a treadmill desk make you smarter? | http://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-working-at-a-treadmill-desk-make-you-smarter/ |