Show: all, bachelor theses, master theses, project theses, diploma theses, PWAL
| Type | Advisor | Title |
|---|---|---|
| MT/BT/PT/DT | Prof. Dr. Florian Alt |
Abschlussarbeiten im Bereich Usable Security and Privacy
Students interested in topics related to usable security and privacy have the opportunity to do their master theses / bachelor theses / practical research project (Einzelpraktikum) at the CODE Research Institute for Cyber Defense (University of the Bundeswehr, Munich). More information on the research group on Usable Security and Privacy Group can be found on our website. We offer a large variety of topics, including but not limited to:
If you are interested in working with us, please get in touch with the respective contact person. Details |
| BT/MT | Francesco Chiossi |
Design of a Virtual Reality Adaptive System based on Electrodermal Activity phasic components
DescriptionElectrodermal activity (EDA) denotes the measurement of continuous changes in the electrical conductance properties of the skin in response to sweat secretion by the sweat glands. EDA is autonomously modulated by sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, a component of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is involved in the control of involuntary bodily functions as well as cognitive and emotional states. Specifically, phasic EDA activity correlated with stress, cognitive load, and attention orienting. Therefore, measuring phasic EDA responses can give us information about the user's state.In this thesis project, we want to develop an adaptive system that modifies the visual complexity of the VR environment based on changes in phasic EDA. Specifically, we want to use new signal processing methodologies termed adaptive thresholding and gaussian filtering.The research consists of three main stages: (1) validation of the psychophysiological inference underpinning the adaptive system (2) implementation of a working VR prototype, and (3) an evaluation of the adaptive environment. You will
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| BT/MT | Francesco Chiossi |
Physiologically adaptive MR Blending
DescriptionMixed reality (MR) systems refer to the entire broad spectrum that ranges from physical to virtual reality (VR). It includes instances that overlay virtual content on physical information, i.e., Augmented Reality (AR), and those that rely on physical content to increase the realism of virtual environments, i.e., Augmented Virtuality (AV). Such instances tend to be pre-defined for the blend of physical and virtual content. To what extent can MR systems rely on physiological inputs to infer user state and expectations and, in doing, adapt their visualization in response? Measurement sensors for eye and body motion, autonomic arousal (e.g., respiration, electrodermaland heart activity), and cortical activity (e.g., EEG, fNIRS) are widely used in psychological and neuroscience research to infer hidden user states, such as stress, overt/covert attention, working memory load, etc.However, it is unclear if such inferences can serve as useful real-time inputs in controlling the presentation parameters of MR environments.In this thesis project, we will investigate whether this blend can be adaptive to user states, which are inferred from physiological measurements derived from gaze behavior, peripheral physiology (e.g.., electrodermal activity (EDA); electrocardiography (ECG)), and cortical activity (i.e.., electroencephalography (EEG)). In other words, we will investigate the viability and usefulness of MR use scenarios that vary in their blend of virtual and physicalcontent according to user physiology. In particular, we will focus on understanding how physiological readings can passively determine the appropriate amount ofvisual information to present within an MR system. You will
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| BT/MT | Francesco Chiossi |
Evaluation of an Adaptive VR environment that Uses EEG Measures as Inputs to a Biocybernetic Loop
DescriptionBiocybernetic adaptation is a form of physiological computing where real-time physiological data from the brain and the body can be used as an input to adapt the user interface. In this way, from the physiological data, we can infer the userâs state and design implicit interactions in VR to change the scene to support certain goals. This thesis aims the develop and evaluate an adaptive VR environment designed to maximize users' performance by exploiting changes in real-time electroencephalography (EEG) to adjust the level of visual complexity. The research consists of three main stages: (1) validation of the input EEG measures underpinning the loop; (2) implementation of a working VR prototype; and (3) an evaluation of the adaptive environment. Specifically, we aim to demonstrate the sensitivity of EEG power in the (frontal) theta and (parietal) alpha bands to adapt levels of visual complexity. You will
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| BT/MT | Francesco Chiossi |
Modulating distraction by adapting the perceptual load: implementation of a biocybernetic loop to support performance and prevent distraction
DescriptionResearch from cognitive science and computerized displays of simple stimuli has shown how perceptual load is a critical factor for modulating distraction. Perceptual load is the amount of information involved in processing task stimuli. According to Lavie (1995), our attentional resources are limited and mainly directed towards task-relevant goals, but we might be more prone to distractors if we have cognitive spare resources. Previous research showed that human faces have bigger distracting power than non-face objects. This project aims to assess the distracting potential distracting effect of human avatars in a social VR scenario. We aim to transfer of traditional paradigms that assess attention and distraction to immersive VR. Lastly, we adapt the target-distractor recognizability to evaluate if a physiologically-adaptive system that optimizes for perceptual load can support task performance. The research consists of three main stages: (1) validation of the psychophysiological inference underpinning the physiological loop (2) implementation of a working VR prototype, and (3) an evaluation of the adaptive environment. You will
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| BT/MT | Francesco Chiossi |
Design of a physiological loop settled in a Social VR scenario to support task performance and user experience
DescriptionPhysiological computing is a multidisciplinary research field in HCI wherein the interaction depends on measuring and responding to the user's physiological activity in real-time (Fairclough, 2009). Physiological computing allows for implicit interaction; by monitoring the physiological signals of the user, the computer can infer, e.g., if the task demands are either too challenging or easy, and either adapt the difficulty level or when users are getting distracted from the task, the system could give them a notification. Measuring the psychological state of the user creates intriguing possibilities for Social VR scenarios as we can either adapt the number of displayed avatars, their form or even their proxemic distance. This thesis aims the develop an adaptive Social VR environment designed to support users' performance when engaged in a cognitive task using a measure of physiological state (electrodermal activity: EDA) as input for adaptation. The research consists of three main stages: (1) validation of the psychophysiological inference underpinning the physiological loop (2) implementation of a working VR prototype, and (3) an evaluation of the adaptive environment. You will
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| BT/MT | Francesco Chiossi, Abdallah El Ali |
Designing and Evaluating Mixed Reality Transition Visualizations
DescriptionPrior work has explored transition visualizations between VR environments, or on specific interaction techniques for transferring objects from VR <-> AR views. However, there has been less attention on what are the more effective transitions across the reality-virtuality continuum. The focus of this work would be to (a) identify suitable MR transitions (b) create a mapping to common tasks where such transitions may be applicable (e.g., keyboard typing) (c) prototype different transitions, from R-->AR-->AV--VR, and vice versa: VR-->AV-->AR--R, and empirically investigating different parameters of each (d) run a user evaluation to assess perceived UX. comfort, sickness, etc. This project extends the work in Keep it simple? Evaluation of Transitions VR, by exploring MR transitions, instead of only across different VR environments. Evaluation metrics will involve both objective and subjective measures. RQ1: What are the most effective methods for transitioning users across the reality-virtuality spectrum? RQ2: How do these transition visualizations influence user experience, user physiological state, workload, and acceptance across tasks? You will
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| MT | Sarah Delgado |
Offline QKD II - Perceived vs. "Real" Security
Imagine Bob's office is connected via a (quantum-)encrypted connection to a server. How could Bob access this server from his home office if he does not have the necessary hardware at home? Well, he could get keys in his office and save them on his personal key-safe token. He could subsequently use the token at home and connect to the server. The topic of offline distribution of cryptographic keys is interesting for researchers and practitioners alike, even outside the QKD context. Your thesis would evolve around the evaluation of already existing consumer devices that could be used to store and transport QKD-keys (or symmetric cryptographic keys in general). Details |
| MT | Dennis Dietz |
Self-made tracking system for sports analysis in VR
DescriptionThis projects purpose is to investigate in building a full body tracking system based on self-made trackers which are usable by the HTC VIVE and its Lighthouses. We want to compare the original HTC VIVE tracker with a varying amount of self-made trackers in order to use it for VR sport analysis. Tasks
Preferred qualification
Suggested Reading
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| BT/MT | Sören Klingner |
Development of Occupant Monitoring Methods in Virtual Reality in the Automotive Domain
DescriptionDevelopment of a method in virtual reality to measure user behavior or user states (occupant monitoring) in the automotive domain. Tasks
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ContactEmail: klingner ät fortiss.orgDetails |
| BT/MT | Sören Klingner |
Development of Situational Awareness Measurement Methods in Virtual Reality in the Automotive Domain
DescriptionCar accidents are a significant concern, as they claim a high number of yearly fatalities. These accidents have been accounted to originate from recognition errors, including driver's inattention, internal and external distraction, and inadequate surveillance, causing decision errors. These errors can be attributed to a lack of situation awareness.Thus the development of a tool to measure people's situation awareness in VR could be very beneficial. It could be used to assess the user's situation awareness and compare different scenarios and interfaces and their respective effects. Tasks
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ContactEmail: klingner ät fortiss.orgDetails |
| BT/MT | Sören Klingner |
Smoking Simulation in Virtual Reality
DescriptionSmoking lead to long-term health issues, causes death and big costs in the economy and health system. Many people would like to stop smoking, but many attempts stay unsuccessful. That is why new ways of treating nicotine addiction are being sought. Virtual Reality (VR) has developed rapidly with many important technical advancements that is becoming more widely available and user-friendly. This opens new therapy possibilities. Tasks
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ContactEmail: klingner ät fortiss.orgDetails |
| BT/MT | Sören Klingner |
User Profiling through Interaction and User Reaction
DescriptionIn this thesis project, we will investigate how an AI-system learns characteristics about the user through interaction patterns and user reactions. The final goal is a system in a specific domain, that adapts to the user based on their characteristics. Tasks
Requirements
ContactEmail: klingner ät fortiss.orgDetails |
| MT | Jan Leusmann |
Facial Expressions and Communication Patterns in Robots: A Face Design
Facial expressions are a powerful form of communication humans use to convey a wide range of non-verbal cues. With the idea that robots will become an integral part of our daily interactions, we want to explore how different facial expressions of a humanoid robot affect human-robot interaction, as there currently needs to be a greater understanding of how humans perceive facial expressions in robots. Do users want robots to have human-like levels of expressiveness in collaborative tasks? What are essential states to be expressed by a robot with facial expressions? Can we perceive robots as curious, uncertain, or confident just by their facial expressions? You will:
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| MT | Jan Leusmann |
Curious Non-verbal Communication for Humanoid Robots
Curiosity is a fundamental human emotion that motivates us to explore and learn about the world around us. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the development of robots that can express curiosity. We envision that in the future, robots will help us with our daily chores and tasks. For this, robots should 1. want and be able to learn from humans, 2. communicate their intent to learn from humans, and 3. refer to related abstract contents or concrete objects. We envision that by expressing curiosity, interaction with such robots will be more engaging and rewarding for humans. You will:
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| BT/MT | Jan Leusmann |
Exploring the Design Dimensions of Curiosity for Robots
Due to the advances in Artificial Intelligence technologies and Robotics, the field of Human-Robot Interaction is currently able to envision robots as constant collaboration partners for a magnitude of daily tasks. With robots being exposed to different environments and human needs, they need to be able to learn multiple different personalized tasks. Currently, this is mostly done with Robot Learning from Demonstration. However, due to the sheer amount of possible tasks, objects, and interactions, it is an impossible task to teach robots every subtask manually. Thus, we propose that enabling curiosity for robots; giving them an intrinsic desire to learn. In this thesis, we will investigate the human aspect of this learning process. Teaching other humans new skills is a hard job, but humans clearly see a long-term benefit. Thus, humans are kind and supportive and therefore, also show a new skill multiple times. Will this be the same for training our domestic robot? For example, showing them how to cook? or simply how to open a drawer? Moreover, when giving the robot humanoid characters are humans more likely to put more effort into training their robot? You will:
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| Jan Leusmann, Prof. Dr. Sven Mayer |
Body- and Hand-Aware In-Environment Selection Techniques
The goal of this work is to get an overview of the vast variety of selection methods in smart environments, mixed reality, and VR. Through a literature review, the first step is to select a handful of selected methods. Therefore, in the next step, these interactions need to be implemented, to allow them to be compared in a lab study. Here, the aim is to compare these technologies with respect to measurements such as accuracy, speed, immersion, presence, and their effect on the embodiment. You will:
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| BT/MT | Jan Leusmann, |
Questionnaire Development to Assess Curiosity
Curiosity is a complex emotion that is essential for learning and exploration. In humans, curiosity is often measured through self-report questionnaires, such as the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II [1]. We currently want to create non-verbal and verbal communication methods with which robots can express curiosity. However, there is no standardized questionnaire for measuring curiosity in robots and other assistive systems. In contrast to measuring one's own curiosity, we want to measure the perception of a digital system's curiosity. You will:
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| PT | Yuanting Liu |
Praktikum Entwicklung von Mediensystemen: Stress Management mit eingebetteten Geräten
InhalteDas bayerische Landesforschungsinstitut fortiss und IBM werden im Rahmen des IBM fortiss Center forAI das Thema Stress-Management für sicherheitskritische Anwendungen erforschen. Dafuür wird einKonzept entwickelt, um Stress bei Einsatzkräften der Feuerwehr zu überwachen und managen. Die Ideen werden prototypisch umgesetzt und präsentiert. Die Workshops und Gespräche während desPraktika können entweder in englischer oder deutscher Sprache gehalten werden. BewerbungBeschreiben Sie kurz Ihre Motivation, relevante Fachkenntnisse, beispielsweise aus früheren Kursen,Jobs und anderen Projekten, die Ihre Fähigkeiten in einem oder mehreren der folgenden Bereichedemonstrieren: Programmierung, Benutzererfahrung, Nutzerstudien, Prototyping. Details |
| MT | Prof. Dr. Sven Mayer |
Machine Learning Based Capacitive Sensing for Tangible Interaction
After an initial induction into existing marker technologies and conducive 3D printed objects, the goal is to design and build new a machine learning (ML) pipeline to detect conductive markers. Therefore the prototyping of physical markers is required, these will be used to record capacitive tangible footprints using the screen of a large capacitive screen as ML ground truth data. Based on that a model will be trained to distinguish and classify capacitive markers on touchscreens using a new ML classifier. You will:
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| MT | Prof. Dr. Sven Mayer |
Wireless Mesh Networking App
This project aims to use the ad hoc network functionality of iPhones to build a mesh network (especially if the provider network is down) within a manageable area). A mesh network is a network where each device can act as a router for other devices. This allows for a network that is very robust against failures of individual devices. The project will start with a literature study to find out how to build such a network. After that, the focus will be on the implementation of the network. You will:
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| BT/MT | Florian Müller |
Augmented Reality on the go
With the increasing proliferation of augmented reality glasses (e.g. Hololens), we are getting closer to the vision of truly mobile interaction in a digitally augmented physical world. As a consequence, a major part of the interaction with such devices will happen on the go. This establishes a need for interaction and visualization techniques that support the user in highly mobile situations. In this thesis, we will prototype and evaluate such interaction and visualization techniques to better support users while interacting on the go.
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| BT/MT | Florian Müller |
How much Reality in Mixed Reality?
Mixed reality describes a continuum between physical reality and complete digitality (i.e., virtual reality). Both, reality and digitality, offer inherent advantages and disadvantages depending on the use case. For example, a higher degree of digitality causes a loss of connection to the real world and, on the other hand, a higher degree of reality decreases the immersiveness of the experience.In this thesis, we will investigate how the positive and negative factors of reality and digitality affect different usage scenarios. Furthermore, we want to investigate how users can move on this continuum, i.e., how they can control the amount of digitality and reality.
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| MT | Sarah Christin Reichmann |
Infotainment Systems for Motorbikes [Exchange Australia]
We, the Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia, offer you a unique position for your Master/Bachelor thesis in the areas of human-computer interaction and infotainment systems for motorbikes. Join us on the journey of shaping the digital future and break the cycle with newest innovation technology approaches. We are a dedicated research team based in Brisbane in the Sunshine State of Australia and look for creative and out of the box thinking minds to join our team onshore. We work on the most difficult challenges in the automotive industry where the only limits are our own imagination. Digitalization will be key to ensure a safe riding experience in the future. Come join our creative team to shape the future of motorbikes. All in? What awaits you? We will work with you to shape and scope your thesis project to align with any of the following activities:
What should you bring along?
Challenge accepted? Apply now! Earliest starting date: 01.05.2023 Details |
| PT/BT/MT | Julian Brüstle, Martin Postl |
3D Visualization on WatchOS
The aim of this work is to get an overview of the possibilities of developing the representation of objects in three-dimensional space for smartwatches. As part of a literature review, the first step is to determine the technical feasibility and the current state of development. In the next step, these insights can be programmed and implemented for WatchOS You will:
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| PT/BT/MT | Julian Brüstle, Martin Postl |
Creation and Comparison of Different Feedback Models in Sports
Due to the increasing complexity of digital workplaces, workers often face interruptions, mental overload, and a The aim of this paper is to get an overview of the different digital feedback possibilities in sports. Within the scope of a literature research, the first step is to determine the current models and the current state of research. Then, a study will be conducted to test which models are best suited as feedback. The main focus will be on the psychological aspect regarding the effect on motivation and the perception of feedback. You will:
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BT = bachelor thesis - PT = project thesis - DT = diploma thesis - MT = master thesis - PWAL = practical research course
