The “Interactive & Data-Driven Systems” research group led by Prof. Michael Zöllner at Hof University of Applied Sciences has been participating in the iWOAR conference for many years. The conference focuses on sensor-based activity recognition and AI. The community regularly gathers at this international conference-style workshop to discuss topics such as human activity recognition, sensor technology in wearable devices, data processing, and artificial intelligence. This year, the research group was even able to present three publications as well as student projects. Reason enough to talk to Prof. Zöllner and Moritz Krause about the conference.
Prof. Zöllner, you’ve been attending the iWOAR conference for many years now. The conference has around fifty participants and features a high-caliber lineup. How did you find the conference this year?
“The open exchange among researchers and the high diversity of projects within the shared thematic area make iWOAR a very interesting conference for us. The participants come from a wide variety of disciplines—ranging from traditional computer science and medicine to psychology, as well as very practical fields such as building automation. The relaxed yet professional atmosphere facilitates cross-disciplinary dialogue. That’s extremely valuable and not something to be taken for granted.”
Why exactly did you both attend?
Michael Zöllner: “For our research group, iWOAR represents the community where we present our research findings and discuss them.”
Moritz Krause: “At iWOAR, we gain insight into how research is conducted by other teams in related fields—from industry and research institutes—using similar or even identical methods.”
Michael Zöllner: “And, of course, the original initiative from the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research (IGD)—where I conducted research for many years before my appointment at Hof University—also plays a role.”
Prof. Zöllner, what new research findings did you and your team present? Did you also give presentations?
“We published three short papers this year: a study on air quality in seminar rooms by my colleague Moritz Krause and me, which was developed in preparation for a joint seminar (Campuls has already reported on this >> Link). In it, we described the methods—namely, sensors, software, and data—as well as the results, such as air quality, concentration levels, and ventilation concepts.
Our newest research assistant, Sebastian Wengler, published his bachelor’s thesis on motion analysis and human pose estimation while skateboarding, which we are currently using to apply for a startup grant through StartUpLab.”
Moritz Krause: “Two students from our seminar published their project, in which they describe a screenless interactive device for the intuitive communication of sensor-based air quality readings. The short papers were presented during the Lightning Talks.”
How does the connection between research and teaching manifest itself specifically in your work?
“I first explore new technologies—so-called ‘emerging technologies’—in my research group. This has been the case in the past with virtual reality, augmented reality, physical computing, and Industry 4.0. Currently, the topics are human pose estimation—that is, interaction and motion analysis—as well as Gaussian splatting, which involves 3D digitization and data visualization.
I promptly share the latest findings in my seminars, using examples from my research group, to provide impetus for related developments. As soon as we have implemented these new technologies and made them usable, applicable, or accessible to students, they become part of the curriculum for our practice-oriented seminars, and students build upon them to develop concepts and prototypes for economically relevant projects. These, in turn, form the basis for startup ideas. And, at my initiative, some students write papers about their project results while still in school, and we take them to conferences. That’s how the circle closes.”
Were there any industry partners at the conference?
Moritz Krause: “One of the two keynote speeches was delivered by Dr. Andreas Braun, a former research group leader at Fraunhofer IGD who later moved into industry to join PwC. His presentation on the economic opportunities and potential of our work in this field of research was very interesting and was explicitly intended to shed light on the industry perspective, which otherwise tends to receive less attention at iWOAR. It was interesting that he cited a great many technologies as examples that have also been—or are still being—applied in our research and teaching.”
Did you interact more with other researchers or with industry contacts?
Moritz Krause: “The exchange was focused more on participants from other research groups and teams—though no less valuable for that. Since our projects tend to focus on visualizing and communicating complex issues using data, this is often an aspect that other research groups want to adapt for their own projects. Conversely, the insights we gained into related projects—and, above all, the feedback from the researchers—are of immense value to us.”
What insights are you taking home from Wiesbaden?
Moritz Krause: “That the field of human activity recognition could become established in many more areas in the future than is currently the case. From medicine, sports, and health all the way to everyday life, we’re actually well-equipped—thanks to our smartphones, smartwatches, and various other wearables—to gather much more information, and consequently also feedback, about our environment and behavior. Now the only question remaining is how these new insights will be communicated.”
Michael Zöllner: “That we should work even more closely with StartUpLab and the Einstein1 Startup Center to further develop our ideas into spin-offs. Year after year, iWOAR demonstrates that the scope of application for these projects is very broad and, above all, that the necessary technologies—such as smartphones, smartwatches, and other wearables capable of tracking our movements—are well-established in research and accepted by society.”
Thank you very much for the interview!
