Research

The research paradigm of the Human-Computer Interaction group is Human-Centred Computing—that is, we develop technological concepts, prototypes, and systems based on an understanding of how people interact with and communicate through computing technology. It departs from an understanding of human, social, and cultural issues in order to make technology useful and usable.

At the Cooperative Media Labof the HCI group the faculty and students work on a conceptual and technological foundation as well as methods for the design, implementation, and evaluation of interactive systems. Platforms and toolkits as well as prototypes and systems are designed, developed, and evaluated.

The three core technological topics of HCI, are not only of central importance for our teaching but also for our research: Interactive Systems (with graphical user interfaces and window-based user interaction); Cooperative Systems (for computer-supported communication and cooperation) and Ubiquitous Systems (for natural interaction based on sensors and actuators allowing a variety of input modalities from gestural to speech input).

Our own contributions are primarily in:

  • Foundation: methodological, conceptual, and technological foundation for the design of interactive, cooperative, and ubiquitous systems
  • Context support: modelling of information and contexts, sensors for capturing data, and actuators for adapting the environment
  • Novel user interfaces: exploration, conception, implementation, and evaluation of innovative mobile, Web-based, and ubiquitous user interfaces

The research approach is experimental and characterised by theoretically grounded conceptualisation, practical implementation, and realistic evaluation of basics, methods, and technology.

A comprehensive overview of  our international research can be found on the website of the HCI group's Cooperative Media Lab.