About Us

The team of the Smart Space laboratory headed by Prof. Dr. Matthias Wölfel specializes in improving user interface experience in both human-machine interaction and human-machine-human interaction. The expertise in the development of sensor-based signal processing algorithms for human-machine interaction and interface and interaction design as well as user-oriented design is well known to the team members. Applications include the areas of virtual, mixed and augmented reality, intelligent agents, 3D user interfaces (gesture recognition) and speech processing (microphone arrays, automatic speech and speaker recognition). In addition to industrial and scientific applications, the team also develops own pieces for exhibitions (e.g. 15th International Architecture Exhibition, Biennale di Venezia) and museums (e.g. ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Kunsthalle Mannheim, DASA Arbeitswelt exhibition in Dortmund). The team members are often invited as speakers to conferences (e.g., Keynote Human Factors in Design, Shanghai) or in-house, e.g. at Intel, Danzig; Microsoft, London; Porsche, Zuffenhausen. In 2013, Dr. Wölfel has been awarded the IKT Innovativ Prize by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology for his development in the field of gesture-based human-machine interaction. In 2014, he received the IT Innovation Award in the entertainment / 3D category. In 2017, Wölfel was awarded the 2nd place in the category engineering / computer science in the nationwide competition “Professor of the Year” of the UNICUM Foundation. Team member Daniel Hepperle was awarded for his master’s thesis entitled “Do you feel what you see? Multimodal Perception in Virtual Realities ” with the Aesculap Award for his particularly innovative theses in 2017.