Xiaoyuan Tu (born 1967) is a Chinese researcher and computer scientist specializing in

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine ...

, behavior modeling, physics modeling, biomechanical modeling, motion control interfaces, and intelligent virtual characters. She holds a Ph.D in computer science from

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and currently serves as a lead scientist and software engineer at

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

, researching and developing next generation motions control and recognition technology.

Education

Tu attended

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

where she earned BEng in

control theory Control theory is a field of mathematics that deals with the control of dynamical systems in engineered processes and machines. The objective is to develop a model or algorithm governing the application of system inputs to drive the system to a ...

and

information science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, Categorization, classification, manipulation, storage, information retrieval, retrieval, movement, dissemin ...

. She then continued her education at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

earning her MSc in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

with a focus on algorithms for

parallel computation Parallel computing is a type of computation in which many calculations or processes are carried out simultaneously. Large problems can often be divided into smaller ones, which can then be solved at the same time. There are several different for ...

between the years 1990 and 1991. Immediately thereafter she enrolled in

where she completed her Ph.D in computer science in 1996 as well as the

ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award The ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award is awarded annually by the Association for Computing Machinery to the authors of the best doctoral dissertations in computer science and computer engineering. The award is accompanied by a prize of US $20,000 a ...

for her dissertation ''"Artificial Animals for Computer Animation: Biomechanics, Locomotion, Perception, and Behavior".'' She is both the first woman and the first Canadian academic to receive this award.

Industry

After completing her Ph.D, Tu spent a brief period of time at

Silicon Graphics Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and soft ...

as a researcher and at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

as a guest lecturer prior to being hired at

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

as a research scientist. There she worked to research and develop a 3D animation testbed for the creation of intelligent virtual characters. In addition to this she was the lead developer on an interactive commerce interface. In May 2000 she left her position at Intel to create the company AiLive Inc with

Wei Yen Wei Yen () is a Taiwanese-American technologist and serial entrepreneur. He has been involved with several companies, including most recently as Chairman and Founder of AiLive. Yen received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in Operating System ...

. There she assumed the role of co-founder, lead scientist and product manager, working to implement machine learning algorithms as middleware in video games. Additionally, she worked to implement LiveMotion, a program focused on motion recognition, tracking and control in games. This technology was used in the creation of

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

's Wii MotionPlus controller and helped enable a generation of motion controlled games for the platform. After leaving AiLive Inc in December 2009 she entered a position at

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

where she currently works to develop and implement motion recognition and control in next-generation

iOS devices Comparison of models Legend Supported Unsupported (64-bit CPU) Unsupported (32-bit CPU) iPhone systems-on-chips Timeline Geekbench benchmark scores Note: Hardware reviewers have commented that these benc ...

. Projects she has been instrumental in designing and implementing include: * Orientation Recognition * Raise to Talk * iOS Motion Activity Classification * Compass Algorithms * iOS CoreMotion Technology In her time at Apple she has also been credited as an inventor on several patents filed by Apple including

AirDrop An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible tro ...

data encryption, improvement to

Magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

mapping on iOS devices, as well as Apple

CarPlay CarPlay is an Apple standard which enables a car radio or head unit to be a display and a controller for an iOS device. It is available on all iPhone models beginning with iPhone 5 running iOS 7.1 or later. According to Apple's website, all m ...

automation.

Awards

* ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award �
"Artificial Animals for Computer Animation: Biomechanics, Locomotion, Perception, and Behavior"
* Technical Excellence Award from the Canadian Academy of Multimedia and Arts

Books

* ''Artificial animals for computer animation'' (1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tu, Xiaoyuan 1967 births Living people Chinese computer scientists Chinese women computer scientists Tsinghua University alumni McMaster University alumni University of Toronto alumni Chinese women in business Apple Inc. employees Silicon Graphics people Intel people Chinese businesspeople