Human-technology interaction

Due to the availability of digital technologies in everyday life, many user groups have a large need for innovative human-technology interfaces – at home, at work and in public spaces. New operating and learning concepts link real objects with digital information, take multimodal personality profiles into account and expand the Internet of Things and services to the Internet of Emotions, which is individually tailored to individual users and user groups.

At Fraunhofer ISST we are working on solutions that enable efficient interaction between humans and intelligent technology. We design human-centered innovation processes and develop needs-based concepts for patients and service providers. It is not only the pandemic that has shown us that in the future we will want to experience closeness despite distance with human-technology interaction. We develop solutions that enable interaction over a distance, offer the opportunity to exchange experiences, mediate between generations and transmit emotions. Reliable, autonomous systems allow more personal freedom to be created. We are making robots more human-friendly and turning technology into constant companions by further developing body-like systems.

The range of services offered by Fraunhofer ISST includes feasibility studies, experimental investigations, the development of prototypes and the validation of technical concepts..

Brain-computer interfaces

• Non-invasive recording methods such as electroencephalography (EEG)
• Continuous comparison of recorded activity patterns with predefined or learned reference patterns
• Rehabilitation medicine applications and biofeedback systems
• Enabling conscious influencing of one's own mood and thus helping to reduce stress or increase the ability to concentrate
• Mental State Monitoring

Augmented/Virtual/Mixed reality

• Telepresence systems and object sharing
• Augmented reality for medical interventions

Gamification and serious gaming

• Playful therapy and rehabilitation exercises
• Improvement of (therapy) compliance through in-app solutions

Available software/applications

• MightyU – therapy game solution for children and adolescents with infantile cerebral palsy
• Enlightened – Neurogame for mindfulness and concentration
• Health Reality Platform – mediation between experts from the health and creative industries

Figure 1: Health reality system graphic

Industries

Communication between people and technology is already firmly anchored in everyday life and the world of work, be it with the computer at work, the fitness bracelet for sports or the parking aid for the car. The so-called user interface, i.e. the part of a machine or device that people come into contact with, plays a central role.

Different industries such as IT, medical technology and mechanical engineering work together to develop new human-technology interaction solutions. This creates innovative solutions that support people in more and more areas of life - from the intelligent apartment to intelligent mobility and maintaining health through to assisted care.

Here you will find a selection of approved application examples from the “Human-technology Interaction” area of expertise from the past few years. Are you looking for more information? Just get in touch with us – our contact partners will be happy to answer your questions and talk to you.

Example 1:

MightyU

Health gaming for children and adolescents with infantile cerebral palsy

Infantile cerebral palsy (ICP), a chronic disease of the locomotor system, leads to motor impairments caused by damage to the central nervous system in early childhood. This project aims to develop an adaptable, motivating technology to provide training support for children and adolescents with ICP. Muscle potential and kinematic data of the patient group are recorded using a body-hugging EMG sensor system and transferred to a playful digital application.

Internal project page

Example 2:

ROBO REHKIDS

competence center for interactive assistance robotics for REHaKIDS

The social and meanwhile also legal claim (see Federal Participation Act) to realize social participation of children and adolescents with the most diverse forms of disabilities is on the one hand firmly anchored, on the other hand the implementation still hobbles enormously in most places. In addition to the urgently needed conceptual, organizational and personnel adjustments, the potential for robotic assistance systems in this area is still a long way from being exhausted. The intensified, self-determined and everyday use of such assistance robots therefore offers good opportunities to improve participation and the quality of care under given health economic conditions.

Internal project page

Example 3:

HealthReality

Living lab and interactive service platform for user-centered serious and health games

This project uses an experimentation space called Health Reality Labs and the Health Reality Platform to create a real and digital environment, intended to promote exchanges between the creative industry and healthcare sector in the area of mixed reality applications. Best practices and design principles for the practical implementation of augmented reality/virtual reality applications are researched and quality criteria are established. Creative methods are being further developed so the requirements of the healthcare sector can be met.

Internal project page

HELLWIG, Andre; BUSCHMANN, Katrin; BURMANN, Anja. Designing digital games for people with cerebral palsy-a qualitative approach on fostering self-efficacy and therapy compliance. In: 2020 IEEE 8th International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health (SeGAH). IEEE, 2020. S. 1-7.

MEISTER, Sven; DEITERS, Wolfgang; HELLWIG, Andre; PANTFÖRDER, Michael. Digitale Gesundheit: Wie digitale Medien zur Unterstützung unserer Gesundheit eingesetzt werden. Digitale Gesundheit: Wie digitale Medien zur Unterstützung der Gesundheit eingesetzt werden, S. 2.

HELLWIG, Andre, et al. Sprachassistenten in der ambulanten Pflege. Zukunft der Pflege Tagungsband der, 2018, 1. Jg.

HELLWIG, Andre, et al. Sprachassistenten in der Pflege - Potentiale und Voraussetzungen zur Unterstützung von Senioren. Mensch und Computer 2018-Tagungsband, 2018.