Supervisor: Max Rädler

Level: Master

Description:

This thesis extends a VR-based visual aid system for low vision users into augmented reality. The goal is to develop camera-based AR filters that enhance real-world readability while addressing new challenges like physical obstacles and environmental dynamics.

Supervisor: Pascal Jansen

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description: How can human-computer interfaces (e.g., via wearables, robots, AR/VR, smart vehicles, fabrication, habitats, etc.) support humans‘ physical and mental performance in space? This thesis aims to investigate the unique interplay of human-computer interaction (HCI) and space exploration. A prototype of a computer interface in space should be implemented in VR, and the defined concepts should be evaluated by conducting a user study.

Supervisor: Max Rädler

Level: Master

Description:

This thesis explores the use of Bayesian optimization to design accessible interfaces for autonomous vehicles, focusing on the visually impaired. As autonomous driving evolves, offering new levels of independence, the challenge arises in designing interfaces that do not inadvertently disclose the user's disability in shared settings. This research aims to incorporate Bayesian optimization into vehicle interior design, creating personalized environments while considering social acceptance as a crucial factor. The feasibility of these designs will be assessed through a user study, exploring the balance between accessibility and social discretion.

Supervisor: Albin Zeqiri

Level: Bachelor & Master

The efficiency paradox (also known as "rebound effect") is the concept that increases in resource efficiency can lead to higher consumption, which offsets the environmental benefits. For example, energy-efficient light bulbs may lead to decreased energy consumption per bulb, but leaving them on for longer periods could increase overall energy consumption. Without addressing the issue, sustainable transitions will remain challenging, and environmental issues will persist or even worsen. The goal of theses on this topic is to design and evaluate countermeasures to mitigate these effects. Based on Bachelor or Master level the thesis is adapted.

Supervisor:  Luca-Maxim Meinhardt

Level: Bachelor & Master

Description

The first thing we do when we get up and the last thing we do before we go to sleep is to look at our phone to check for new notifications and search for new content on social media. Unfortunately, our dependence on technology is already so deeply integrated into our habits that we do not even realize how often we use our phones. On the one hand, this addiction harms us by being less focused due to distraction via notifications. Additionally, it is said that social media contributes to our attention span getting smaller. On the other hand, technology usage is also harming our social interactions during face-to-face interactions. For example, some people focus on their phones instead of engaging in a conversation, decreasing its quality. Recent trends in wearable technology, such as smartwatches and AR glasses, might even deteriorate this behavior. Therefore, new methods and interactions must be found to nudge people towards healthier technology usage and change their habits unconsciously.

Supervisor:  Luca-Maxim Meinhardt

Level: Bachelor & Master

Description
The human peripherical vision provides us with information without shifting our focus from the primary task. This is particularly interesting since peripheral vision demands less cognitive load. So information that is positioned at the edge of the field of view can be received unconsciously without drawing attention. A prominent example is car driving since only a short moment of inattention might end in serious accidents. However, even daily struggles with loud and attention-drawing smartphone notifications that distract from working might be solved calmly with peripherical displays. In order to enable this concept, Augmented Reality glasses are the key since they provide us with wearable displays attached to our view. 

Supervisor: Max Rädler

Level: Bachelor/Master

Description:

This thesis aims to investigate how blind and low-vision users prefer to physically interact with
robots, focusing on where and how they initiate touch, the functional and emotional purposes of
contact, and how robot design influences comfort, trust, and autonomy.

Supervisor: Julian Britten

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description:

Determining whether an everyday object functions correctly is an important challenge when assessing its condition or evaluating the outcome of a repair. An object that appears functional may still contain defects, and users may not know which tests are necessary to establish whether it meets its intended requirements. Depending on the object, verification can involve checking mechanical fit, structural stability, component alignment, or operational performance. Without clear testing procedures and acceptance criteria, users may overlook remaining defects or incorrectly conclude that an object is functioning as intended. Accessible testing and verification methods could help users assess the condition of everyday objects more systematically and make informed decisions about further action.

Supervisor: Albin Zeqiri

Level: Bachelor

Goals of theses in this area cover the development of new, interactive concepts that explicitly or implicitly induce behavior change regarding mobility choices. Theses include reviewing relevant literature, implementing, and evaluating the developed concepts. Based on bachelor/master level the scope is adapted.

Supervisor: Albin Zeqiri

Level: Bachelor & Master

Environmental labels play a significant role in shaping our behavior towards the environment. Understanding the meaning of eco-visualizations can help consumers make informed and sustainable purchase decisions. However, current eco-visualizations are often complex and difficult to comprehend, leading to a lack of action and confusion among consumers. The Awareness-Behavior Gap describes this issue. Personalized eco-visualizations tailored to individual behavior patterns and lifestyles could be a solution to this problem. This project aims to develop concepts, prototypes, and solutions to integrate personalized context into eco-visualizations and evaluate their effectiveness in user studies.

Supervisor: Julian Britten

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description:

Repairing an everyday object can involve a range of possible approaches, from fixing a damaged component to fabricating a replacement, adapting an existing part, or purchasing a replacement component. Determining which approach is most suitable requires considering technical feasibility, available tools and materials, cost, durability, and the effort involved. While experienced makers can draw on existing knowledge and repair resources, users may struggle to identify possible approaches and assess their suitability. Personal fabrication expands the range of available repair strategies, but finding a solution that is technically feasible and appropriate for a particular situation remains challenging.

Supervisor: Luca Meinhardt and Jana Funke

Level: Bachelor & Master

Description: Based on literature research and related work, this thesis will aim for a solution to boost our self-control in phone usage. Our goal is to help people establish healthier smartphone usage by nudging them to do sports instead of browsing the phone.

Supervisor: Pascal Jansen

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description: This thesis aims to create an interface concept for explainable in-vehicle AI in automated vehicles. Related work research should be conducted, and a virtual reality prototype should be designed and implemented. Finally, the created interface should be evaluated by conducting a study.

Supervisor: Annalisa Degenhard

Level: Master

The aim of this thesis is to explore the phenomenon of presence in virtual reality. A literature analysis should be conducted. By designing a suitable virtual environment a hypothesis on the behavior of presence will be tested in a user study. The goal is to get insights into how users perceive virtual environments and to draw conclusions on how they should be designed to improve the experience of virtual reality.

Supervisor:  Luca-Maxim Meinhardt

Level: Bachelor & Master

Description
Imagine the scenario that you need to translate a document in a foreign language that you are not familiar with. You will probably look for an online translator such as Google Translator or DeepL and just copy the translator’s output. But how can you trust this translation? How can you be sure that the translation is precisely what you are trying to say? Prominent examples are sayings that might have no meaning if translated word by word. But since you are not familiar with the language, you cannot verify if the online translator grasped the hidden meaning behind the saying. Current online translators lack this explainability. They provide multiple alternatives for the translated phrase, but there is no explanation about why these alternatives were shown and how well they suit the inputted text.

Supervisor: Julian Britten

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description:

Many everyday objects contain components that are difficult to replace because they are unavailable, discontinued, expensive, or sold only as part of a larger assembly. Personal fabrication technologies, such as 3D printing, offer an alternative by enabling users to manufacture replacement components themselves. However, producing a suitable part can require finding an existing design, creating or modifying a CAD model, determining the necessary dimensions, selecting an appropriate material, and choosing suitable fabrication settings. Dimensional inaccuracies or unsuitable material properties may prevent a fabricated component from fitting or functioning as intended. Making these processes more accessible could expand the practical use of personal fabrication for everyday repair.

Supervisor:  Luca-Maxim Meinhardt

Level: Bachelor & Master

Description
This thesis aims to test different kinds of obstacle-avoidance visualization during bad weather conditions in Urban Air Mobility. Furthermore, investigations should be conducted regarding path visualizations of the own vehicle and other vehicles in order to support the passenger‘s mental model of the flying urban traffic. A prototype should be designed and implemented in VR that investigates the concepts mentioned above in a user study.

Supervisor:  Luca-Maxim Meinhardt

Level: Bachelor & Master

Description:  Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has started to gain increasing interest in future mobility. Unlike conventional transportation such as buses and trains, flying taxis will not be limited to predefined routes, thus avoiding transportation delays. Hence, the vision is to create a network of flying vehicles operating in metropolitan areas to connect short and medium distances. 
Experts predict that the first UAM vehicles will lift passengers in the mid 2020th. In fact, the first crewed flight of the German start-up Volocopter successfully ran 2019 in Singapour.
UAM will shift air mobility from the current mass transportation to a relatively private ride with 2-4 passengers, which creates new interesting aspects for HCI research since the passengers are focused.
 

Supervisor: Julian Britten

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description:

Repairing an everyday object often involves physically manipulating components, using tools, and following a sequence of disassembly, component removal, replacement, and reassembly steps. These activities can require practical skills and an understanding of component relationships and assembly procedures. Conventional repair instructions are often provided as static text, images, or videos, which may not adequately support users while they work with a physical object. Important details can be overlooked, steps may be performed in the wrong order, and mistakes can compromise the repair outcome. Interactive guidance could make physical repair tasks easier to understand and execute.

Supervisor: Albin Zeqiri

Level: Bachelor

The aim of this thesis is to develop strategies that mitigate the effect of dark patterns in MR. This includes reviewing/categorizing relevant literature, implementing, and evaluating the developed concepts. Based on bachelor/master level the scope is adapted

Supervisor: Albin Zeqiri

Level: Bachelor & Master

Goals of theses in this area cover the development of new, interactive concepts that introduce living materials or even microorganisms into hardware and map its respective needs to various device functionalities. Based on bachelor or master level, the scope is adapted.

Supervisor: Max Rädler

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description:

This thesis explores the integration of voice assistance and screen reader technologies in autonomous vehicle interfaces to enhance usability for visually impaired users. With advancements in autonomous driving providing increased independence for the blind and visually impaired, the focus here is on determining how these assistive technologies can be adapted for automotive use. This involves developing various prototypes of speech interfaces and assistance systems. The effectiveness and user-friendliness of these prototypes will be assessed through workshops or studies involving visually impaired participants, aiming to ensure that all vehicle controls are accessible and comprehensible.

Supervisor: Max Rädler

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description:

This thesis focuses on utilizing auditory technologies such as 3D Sound and Earcons in autonomous vehicles to aid visually impaired individuals. With significant advancements in autonomous driving, these technologies can enhance situational awareness by conveying essential road information. This project will implement these auditory methods in Unity's virtual reality environment and evaluate their effectiveness through a workshop with visually impaired participants. The study aims to develop practical design guidelines based on the findings and existing literature.

Supervisor: Max Rädler

Level: Master

Description:

User interfaces are often designed with the average user in mind, which can leave out those with different physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities. Simulated users—especially reinforcement learning agents in environments like MuJoCo—offer a way to realistically model diverse interactions by incorporating motor and perceptual differences. Our goal is to develop a framework that uses these agents, enhanced with models of impairment, to simulate users with varying abilities. We'll then compare their task performance times to real data from both impaired and non-impaired users.

Supervisor: Julian Britten

Level: Bachelor / Master

Description:

Everyday objects can fail in many different ways, ranging from damaged mechanical components to loose connections or worn-out parts. Identifying the underlying cause of a malfunction can be challenging, particularly when symptoms have multiple possible explanations or when the relevant components are not directly visible. Incorrect diagnoses can lead to unnecessary disassembly, ineffective repair attempts, or the replacement of functional components. Although personal fabrication technologies enable the production of replacement parts, their potential for repair depends on understanding what is broken and what needs to be addressed. Improving the accessibility of fault diagnosis could therefore help users approach repair tasks more effectively.