Lab Location and Reservations

The Biometrics and User Experience (BaUX) lab is a research lab primarily for faculty and students within the College of Information and Communication. It is located in Room 110 of Davis College. This lab is equipped with two biometric stations including eye tracking, facial tracking, galvanic skin conductance, brain wave detection (EEG), and other psychophysiological devices. 

Use of the lab should be prioritized as follows:

1. Faculty or graduate student-led research using biometrics and other equipment housed by the BaUX lab.
2. Faculty or graduate student-led research groups conducting research-related meetings.
3. Faculty-led graduate or undergraduate class sessions that may need access to BAUX equipment.

To reserve time in the lab, please email davis110@mailbox.sc.edu at least two weeks in advance of the time you want to use the lab. The assigned graduate assistant (Khalid Alharbi in fall 2021) will monitor this email address and reserve time and space in the lab for faculty and graduate students.

When you submit your request, please include the following information:

1. Your name and the purpose of the meeting.
2. The number of people to be accommodated.
3. The time and date requested.
4. Indicate whether you need the whole facility or just part of it (there is a main room, 110, along with two testing rooms, 110B and 110C, for biometric research)
5. Indicate whether you need to reserve the laptop(s) equipped for data analysis (these can be reserved separately – they can be checked out – please specify the duration you will need it).
6. If you need technical assistance, please also email CICTech@mailbox.sc.edu. Note: The CIC Tech team has not been trained on iMotions equipment, but they can help with other requests.

Within 48 hours of your request, someone should reply letting you know if the lab is able to accommodate the request. If you need to change your reserved lab time for any reason, please email davis110@mailbox.sc.edu as soon as you are aware of changes so we can maximize lab time and space. 

On the date of your reservation, please make sure that you and your group arrive on time and do not bring any food or drink into the lab.

Scheduling Conflicts

The BaUX lab is available based on the ranked priorities listed above (and then on a first-come, first-serve basis) for CIC faculty and graduate students conducting research or for occasional research-related class sessions. If the lab has already been reserved, any additional requests for that time will need to accommodate the original reservation.

For example, within the lab, 110B and 110C are testing rooms specifically for biometrics research. Quiet is needed when these rooms are in use, so the space outside of these testing rooms will also need to be reserved in order to keep the lab quiet and to accommodate waiting research participants. Therefore, if Rooms 110B and 110C are in use, the whole lab will be booked. However, it is possible to book Room 110 for research meetings (as listed above) and not use the testing rooms (110B and 110C).

If you need to change your reserved lab time for any reason, please email davis110@mailbox.sc.edu as soon as you are aware of changes so we can maximize lab time and space.

Research vs. Other Use

The BaUX Lab is meant for research purposes. The funding for this lab came from the Provost to enhance research. Graduate and undergraduate students may use the lab with faculty supervision or approval. Research needs will take priority over other types of reservation requests. If you reconfigure anything in the main room (110), please rearrange it when you are finished so the room is as it was when you entered.

Using the Equipment

If you are going to use the biometrics equipment in the lab, you need to be trained to do so before using it. Taylor Wen has volunteered to be the faculty coordinator for the lab and is willing to help faculty interested in being trained in the iMotions equipment. We are also hosting iMotions personnel for some initial trainings and should have graduate assistants helping with the lab as well.  

The iMotions equipment from the lab cannot be checked out and must remain inside the lab. However, there are two laptops equipped with software for data analysis that can be checked out.  The laptops can be checked out and back in via the graduate assistant. The lab equipment has been calibrated to optimize the space for research purposes. If any equipment is damaged during use, faculty and/or graduate students may be held responsible. Lab privileges may be suspended or revoked and there may be financial liability.

If you notice that any of the equipment is not functioning properly, please let the supervising staff person know so they can arrange for repairs or replacements.

Please be aware that the lab equipment is shared by many people in the CIC. We have disinfecting wipes for wiping down hard and soft surfaces after you use the equipment. Be considerate of the person using the equipment after you and be sure to place everything back in its original position after you are finished with your research. The lab and equipment should remain locked when not in use. Everything should be turned off and stored safely after being used.