This course serves as a framework to learn about the process of design thinking throughout a project process. It aims at enhancing and developing novel interaction techniques. In the end, you will create a functioning, prototypical system and evaluate it.

The course which stretches over two semesters can be refined as applied subject course (12 ects) or project (16 ects).

The course starts off with an general introduction of the line of thought and related methods. Simultaneously, we will demonstrate contemporary interaction technologies as a possible subject to research. The project model of design thinking involves the following steps:

• Empathize
• Define
• Ideate
• Prototype
• Test

The project work itself shall lead to a project website including a short demo video.

The teams first have to choose an acceptable research topic. We suggest the following areas of research:

• Driver Vehicle Interaction in Automated Driving
  Research in the context of driver vehicle interaction will be carried out by means of a modern driving simulatior. It is expected to focus on interaction concepts and their evaluation, but also relies on building test tracks and software modules.
   
• Mobile / Nomadic Virtual Reality
  The focus lies on interaction techniques for virtual reality in mobile contexts - developping and evaluating new concepts for input and output. Compared to usual application cases of current VR equipment, the project is supposed to explicitly consider mobile contexts.
   
• Wearable Interaction Techniques
  Developing new interaction techniques for wearables involves the implementation of prototypes for novel input devices. The project will focus on the optimization of different qualities compared to existing technical solutions, such as social acceptance, access time, and access speed.
   
• Mobile Assistive Systems
  Developing mobile systems to assist disabled or otherwise physically restricted persons means to solve probles in interaction with mobile devices in general or answering user specific obstructions. The projects will focus on the design and development of such systems themselves, but also the evaluation of its usefulness.
   
• Augmented and Virtual Reality in Education
  Augmented and Virtual Reality are expected to change the ways of, e.g., lecture courses in a fundamental way. We could think of augmented lecture halls as well as virtual learning environments to enable interaction of lecturers and students untied to a certain place. The project shall focus on developping and evaluating the adequacy of AR and VR in certain use cases.

Projects are usually conceived for a duration of two semesters. We also offer support to make possible to conclude the entire course in one semester.