By Donghoon Shin, HCDE PhD candidate
I attended ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (CUI 2025) in Waterloo, Ontario to present our paper, PlanFitting: Personalized Exercise Planning with Large Language Model-driven Conversational Agent. This work, done in collaboration with Young-Ho Kim, a researcher at Naver AI, explored how LLM-powered conversational agents can help users build and adjust personalized workout plans through natural language interactions. I presented the system design, results from user studies, and design implications for building more responsive and trustworthy fitness agents. The session drew interest from both researchers and practitioners, particularly around the role of agency and adaptability in long-term health support.
The conference brought together an energetic community working at the intersection of conversation, interaction design, and AI. CUI 2025 featured a wide range of talks spanning both foundational technologies and real-world applications of conversational interfaces. I had the chance to connect with researchers tackling related problems in areas like therapeutic dialogue systems, adaptive learning agents, and voice-first productivity tools. These interactions sparked meaningful conversations and offered useful perspectives for where PlanFitting might evolve next—especially around generalizing our techniques to other domains.
Waterloo provided a great setting for the conference, combining a strong academic presence with a growing tech ecosystem. The venues encouraged both formal exchange and informal networking, with evenings spent at local restaurants and cafes continuing conversations that began during paper sessions. Presenting at CUI 2025 was a rewarding experience that deepened my engagement with the conversational UI community and inspired new ideas for future work.
Give to support HCDE student travel
The Mary B. Coney Endowed Fund, named in honor of Emeritus Professor Mary Coney, supports HCDE students by funding costs associated with travel to conferences and international workshops. Your support of this fund enriches the HCDE student experience and enhances HCDE's influence in the field.