Research & Applied Innovation
Research at the intersection of computing, engineering, game design, and human-centered technologies, transforming scientific concepts into functional systems and real-world applications.
Research Journey
From serious games for health education to gamified augmented reality for industrial applications, my research explores how interactive technologies can address real-world problems through design, experimentation, and applied computing.
MASTER’S RESEARCH
Serious Games for Adolescent Obesity Prevention
João e Maria contra a Bruxa Guloseima e suas Diabetes
Design and development of a serious game aimed at promoting healthy habits and supporting the prevention of obesity among adolescents. The project combined game design, educational content, and interactive technologies to transform health-related concepts into an engaging learning experience.
DOCTORAL RESEARCH
Gamification & Augmented Reality for Manual Assembly
GRAAL — Gamified Responsible Augmented Assembly Line
GRAAL combines augmented reality and gamification to support operators during manual assembly processes. The research investigated how interactive guidance, game design elements, and performance feedback can improve the assembly experience while addressing efficiency, effectiveness, and human factors in industrial environments.
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH
GRAAL for Industrial Training
Building on the GRAAL research, the postdoctoral work investigates its evolution as a platform for industrial training. The research explores how augmented reality, gamification, and interactive guidance can support learning and skill development in industrial environments, while extending the system beyond its original manual assembly context.
This research also involves collaboration with undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral researchers, contributing to related projects and to the development of new applications of interactive technologies.
RESEARCH RECOGNITION
Recognition of research contributions in game design, serious games, gamification, and applied interactive technologies.
SBGAMES 2017
Best Paper — Art & Design Track
Um Jogo Sério Educativo para Prevenção à Obesidade na Adolescência: Trabalhando Múltiplas Dimensões do Problema
Awarded 1st place for Best Paper in the Art & Design Track at SBGames 2017, recognizing the research associated with the serious game developed during the master’s research.
XVI Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil — 2017
SBGAMES 2025
Best Doctoral Thesis — Game Design
GRAAL — Gamification in Manual Assembly Lines with Augmented Reality for Industry 5.0
Awarded Best Doctoral Thesis in the Game Design category of the Thesis and Dissertation Contest at SBGames 2025, recognizing the research and development of GRAAL.
XXIV Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil — 2025
Selected Research Outputs
Selected publications and research outputs reflecting the evolution of my work across serious games, augmented reality, gamification, human-centered technologies, and industrial applications.
2024 · JOURNAL ARTICLE
GRAAL—Modeling, Prototyping and Assessing a Gamified Responsible Augmented Assembly Line System
Salvador S. Agati · Marcelo da S. Hounsell · Aleksander S. Paterno
Research presenting the modeling, implementation, and assessment of GRAAL, integrating augmented reality and gamification into a functional manual PCB assembly system.
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology · 2024
View publication → GRAAL article — Springer Nature
2017 · CONFERENCE PAPER
Um Jogo Sério Educativo para Prevenção à Obesidade na Adolescência: Trabalhando Múltiplas Dimensões do Problema
Salvador S. Agati · Marcelo da S. Hounsell · Rafael Kanitz Braga · Renata Werneck · Regina Vilela
Research presenting the design of an educational serious game addressing adolescent obesity prevention through multiple dimensions of the problem, combining game design, health education, and interactive learning.
SBGames 2017 · Art & Design Track
View publication →
2025 · CONFERENCE PAPER
GRAAL — Gamificação em Linhas de Montagem Manuais com Realidade Aumentada para a Indústria 5.0
Salvador S. Agati · Marcelo da S. Hounsell
Research extending the GRAAL framework toward Industry 5.0, exploring the integration of gamification and augmented reality in manual assembly environments with an emphasis on human-centered industrial systems.
SBGames 2025 · Game Design
View publication →
Applied Engineering Research
Applied engineering investigations focused on medical device communication, proprietary protocols, connectivity interfaces, and real-time clinical data acquisition. This work combines protocol analysis, communication tracing, technical documentation research, and experimental validation to enable interoperability with healthcare systems.
Proprietary Protocol Analysis & Characterization
Investigation and characterization of proprietary communication protocols used by medical devices, including the analysis of message structures, data framing, parameter encoding, communication sequences, and device behavior. This work supports the identification and validation of methods for acquiring real-time clinical data when conventional interoperability interfaces are unavailable or insufficient.
Methods & Technology
Serial and network traffic analysis · RS-232 · Ethernet · TCP/IP · message decoding · data mapping · experimental validation
Medical Device Ecosystems
Applied investigation and integration work involving medical devices from multiple manufacturers, including patient monitors, mechanical ventilators, infusion pumps, anesthesia systems, and other connected clinical equipment.
Selected manufacturers
Philips · Dräger · GE HealthCare · Mindray · Nihon Kohden · Medtronic · Baxter · B. Braun · Getinge · ICU Medical
Clinical Data Acquisition & Validation
Development and validation of methods for acquiring real-time clinical data from medical devices, including physiological parameters, waveforms, alarms, device status, and therapy-related information. The work involves interpreting device communications, mapping raw data to clinically meaningful information, and validating the consistency and reliability of the acquired data.
Clinical data investigated
Vital signs · physiological waveforms · alarms · device status · ventilatory data · infusion data · therapy parameters.
From Device Protocols to Healthcare Interoperability
Translating device-level communication into interoperable clinical information by connecting proprietary and standardized medical device data to integration architectures and healthcare information systems. This work bridges the gap between physical medical equipment, communication protocols, clinical data models, and software platforms.
Interoperability context
Medical devices · IoMT · integration layers · HL7 · clinical information systems · real-time data pipelines.
Explore My Research & Publications
Explore my publications for a broader view of my academic work, or get in touch to discuss research, engineering, medical device interoperability, and applied technology projects.