Aravindh Maya

Product + Game Designer

Interaction DesignSamsung R&D

Designing Human–Machine Interaction

Role

Interaction Designer

Timeline

2022 - 2024

Domains

XR & AR/VR

AI & Multimodal Systems

Robotics

Cultural Design

Focus

Interaction Behavior

Social Acceptability

System Frameworks

Global Scale Design

Overview

At Samsung, my work centered on a single question:

How should intelligent systems behave when they enter human space?

Not how they look. Not how many features they support. But how they respond, adapt, and stay out of the way—while remaining powerful.

Multimodal interaction systems across XR, AR/VR, AI, and robotics

I worked across XR, AR/VR, AI, robotics, and multimodal platforms. While domains shifted, the intent stayed constant: designing interaction behavior that feels obvious, respectful, and socially aware, even as systems grow more complex.

Impact

4 Interaction frameworks created
3+ Platforms: XR, AR/VR, AI, Robotics
Teams moved faster with aligned design language

Value Delivered: I designed interaction systems that respect human behavior, social context, and emotional nuance—while working at real-world scale. Because much of this work is under NDA, projects are presented as themes rather than detailed case studies. Detailed walkthroughs and artifacts are available in interviews.

THE JOURNEY

Translating Messy Signals into Clear Intent

As systems moved beyond single inputs, interaction design became less about UI states and more about interpreting human signals.

I designed multimodal interaction models where voice, touch, spatial input, and context operated as a unified loop. The challenge wasn't adding inputs—it was deciding which signal mattered when, and how the system should respond without demanding attention.

The goal was simple: absorb complexity into the system so interactions remain predictable, confident, and quiet.

Multimodal system diagram — signals converging into intent

Source: Samsung commercial video

Making Interaction Socially Viable

When interaction leaves the screen and enters the physical world, usability is only the baseline.

What follows is social acceptance.

I worked on XR and AR glass concepts exploring how people interact with systems in public, shared, and private environments. Research focused on questions that determine real adoption:

  • When does an interaction feel appropriate in public?
  • When does assistance become intrusion?
  • How does being observed change behavior?

Often, the right design choice was restraint—fewer gestures, delayed responses, or no interaction at all. These decisions made the systems usable beyond demos.

Public / semi-private / private context triptych

Source: Samsung commercial video

Scaling Interaction Thinking Across Teams

As similar interaction problems surfaced across teams, consistency became the challenge.

I led the creation of internal multimodal and XR interaction frameworks that translated research into shared design language. Rather than prescribing solutions, these systems clarified how to reason about behavior, enabling teams to make aligned decisions without revisiting first principles.

I also collaborated with Samsung HQ, India teams, and KAIST on AI and human–robot interaction guidebooks, aligning system capability with human expectation.

The result: faster progress, fewer reversals, and stronger human-centered outcomes.

Abstracted framework / guidebook page

When Design Decisions Reach Hundreds of Millions

Design decisions made early in a system often travel farther than intended.

I worked on AR Emoji experiences designed for global deployment, where choices around representation, expression, and performance would scale across cultures and hundreds of millions of users.

Research here focused less on trends and more on identity, emotional resonance, and cultural accuracy—ensuring personalization felt authentic without fragmenting the platform.

commercial

Designed 3D emoji Outfits for Samsung's AR emoji studio for 500m+ user

AR Emoji cultural reference 1
AR Emoji cultural reference 2
AR Emoji cultural reference 3

REFLECTION

Keeping Systems Human

Across these projects, my role remained consistent: designing interaction systems that respect human behavior, social context, and emotional nuance—while operating at real-world scale.

Details are intentionally abstracted due to NDA.

Deeper walkthroughs are available in conversation.

Interaction design systems across platforms