Rate My Professor Robert Herne

Dr. Robert Herne serves as a Lecturer in the School of Information Technology at Murdoch University, specializing in areas such as human-computer interaction, user experience, user interfaces, serious games, and gamification. He obtained his Bachelor of Computer Science with First Class Honours from Murdoch University. Subsequently, he pursued and completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology at the same university from 2017 to 2022. His PhD thesis, titled "Game design principles and game design factors," was supervised by Mohd Fairuz Shiratuddin and Shri Rai. Herne began his research into serious games for rehabilitation during his honours year, focusing on enhancing engagement through innovative game design.

Herne's research primarily explores desktop virtual reality-based serious games for upper limb rehabilitation among stroke survivors. A prominent publication is "Improving Engagement of Stroke Survivors Using Desktop Virtual Reality-Based Serious Games for Upper Limb Rehabilitation: A Multiple Case Study," published in 2022 and cited 37 times. He also co-authored "Game Design Principles Influencing Stroke Survivor Engagement for VR-Based Upper Limb Rehabilitation: A User Experience Case Study" in 2019. Furthermore, he contributed to the book chapter "Serious Games Design Principles Using Virtual Reality to Gamify Upper Limb Stroke Rehabilitation: The Importance of Engagement for Rehabilitation" in 2022, published in the Handbook of Research on Cross-Disciplinary Uses of Gamification for Digital and Media Literacy and Learning. In his academic role, Herne supervises student projects, including the development of a VR training tool for equine radiography in collaboration with the School of Veterinary Medicine, as featured in a 2026 Murdoch University news article. This initiative highlights experiential learning and cross-disciplinary gamified education. Additionally, he acts as the contact for the Murdoch University Stroke Survivor Support Group and has presented research at the 4th Neurological Disorders Summit, collaborating with experts from the Perron Institute. His work demonstrates the impact of VR and serious games in rehabilitation and education.