Intelligent User Interfaces

The Intelligent User Interface (IUI) group is dedicated to enhancing the usability, safety, and trustworthiness of AI systems by developing new, innovative interface designs that serve users in various domains, including mobility, industrial applications, energy consumption and sustainability, healthcare, workplaces, and private life. As AI and technology become more integrated into our daily routines, we see a growing need for holistic strategies that enable seamless and intuitive interaction with the many devices, services, and applications surrounding us. IUI research addresses these challenges by exploring advanced methods to build systems that go beyond meeting functional needs: our concepts of realizing automation and AI respect user experience, safety, and well-being, ultimately shaping meaningful activities when humans and computers intersect.  

Our research group utilizes state-of-the-art methods, including (interactive) reinforcement learning, computational rationality, traditional machine learning, or generative AI, to conceptualize, build, and rigorously evaluate new interface concepts that empower users. Reinforcement learning, for example, helps systems adapt intelligently based on user behavior, physiology, and feedback, while computational rationality enables us to model human behavior when interacting with technology as realistically as possible.   

Our work focuses on critical areas such as managing user attention, modeling human behavior, nudging climate-friendly actions, and creating “true” context-aware adaptive systems that respond to users’ specific contexts, goals, and activities. Managing user attention is especially important in the era of “attention economies” since distraction is a constant challenge. By carefully designing systems that communicate with users always but only when necessary, we aim to minimize interruptions and enhance productivity and user satisfaction. Additionally, by accurately modeling human behaviors, we can predict and respond to user needs more effectively, creating systems that are intuitive and responsive.  

Our ultimate goal is to enable intelligent systems that seamlessly integrate into daily life, making technology beneficial and genuinely helpful in advancing user productivity, safety, and overall quality of life.