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Master Thesis in HCI - project proposals

I have supervised more than 50 Masters students in Interaction Design, Informatics, Software and Computer Science since 2003. I usually work very close my with students on a current research topic within human-computer interaction for pervasive, ubiquitous computing, or mobile computing, - predominantly outside the work domain. Typically, the Masters Theses that I supervise will involve the design and implementation of a prototype system for exploring a contemporary research challenge in HCI, and a subsequent study of the prototype system in use either in the field or in the lab. Masters students under my supervison typically write parts of their Thesis in the form of one or more focussed research papers.

Examples of previous Masters Thesis projects that I have supervised, or been involved with, are:

If you are interested in writing your Masters Thesis within Human-Computer nteraction, feel free to contact me via email (jesper@cs.aau.dk) or come by my office at Cassiopeia.

1. The Digital Music Ecosystem

This theme of master thesis projects is related to a broad interdisciplinary research initiative in the area interactive sound and music technology, with collaborators from other groups in the university, and with industry, such as B&O. HCI master thesis projects can be defined in all areas in the ecosystem illustrated below, but the specifically proposed topics are preferred as they align with ongoing research activities and projects in the HCC group.

1.1. Interactive Sound Zones (Music Experiences)

Projects into “Interactive Sound Zones” fall within the Music Experience theme of the digital music ecosystem. Sound plays a major role in health and well-being. Unwanted sound is a stress inducer, cause cardiovascular complications, and reduce productivity. Wanted sound, on the other hand, is known to have healing effects, induce feelings of happiness, and be a reliever of stress, pain, and anxiety. An interactive sound zone is a physically delimited area in which audio can be played, and/or noise masked, independently from other sound zones nearby, thereby allowing control the wanted and unwanted sound the listener is exposed to in this zone. This allows for new music experiences for the consumer. Interactive sound zones have many unexplored use potentials, domains such as healthcare, in homes and in public spaces. Making interactive sound zones is very difficult technically, but also a big challenge in terms of interaction as sound zones are invisible and intangible and, therefore, difficult to control. The project topics in relation interactive sound zones address this interaction challenge from different perspectives.

1.1.1. Visualizing Sound Zones through Augmented Reality. This project focusses on how it is possible to make invisible sound zones visible using different forms of Augmented reality technologies, such as HMDs (i.e. HoloLens), floor/ceiling projection, laser, or light. Once visualized, a possible next step will be to enable Sound Zone control through natural user interaction (NUIs), through, for example, mid-air gestures and speech. The project will involve the development of interactive prototypes, comparative experiments with users, and possibly evaluations in the field. The project will involve collaboration with a company who specialize in Sound Zone technology, primarily for domestic use.

1.1.2. Interacting with Sound Zones through Tangible Artifacts. This project addresses challenges associated with sound as an immaterial object with which to interact. One way to enable interaction with sound zones is to use tangible artifacts that allow customisation. A challenge arising from this is how such artifacts might be shaped to express their effects on the sound zone. Recent research has explored giving character to things to assist users in making sense of the purpose and use of digital artifacts. The project would use this framework to explore how sound can be represented with certain characteristics in tangible artifacts. The project will first analyse current characteristics of tangible artifacts that allow interaction with sound. A concept will then be developed, prototyped and tested in a user study. The project will involve collaboration with a company who specialize in Sound Zone technology, primarily for domestic use.

1.1.3. Physiological sensing for self-adaptable Sound Zones. This project will explore the use of sensor technology for capturing the physiological and emotional state of a user and using this as input to a dynamic sound zone system. The underlying idea is that a sound zone system, for health or domestic use, can be made “self-adaptable” to a certain degree, in a loop that measure the state of the user, induce appropriate sound, measure the achieved effect, adjust accordingly, and so on. The project will survey promising sensors, develop a prototype system, and do user testing. The project will involve collaboration with a company who specialize in Sound Zone technology, primarily for healthcare, and a company who deploy these technologies in hospitals.

1.1.4. Studying the effect of Sound Zones in healthcare. This project will explore the use and effect of existing sound zone technology in the healthcare domain. It will not involve prototype development but will instead involve comprehensive field studies / field experiments. A major challenge for research into the use of sound zone technology in healthcare is to provide evidence of its effects – positive as well as negative – on patients as well as employees. Some hospitals in Denmark already have simple sound zone installations, making it possible to study their effects. The project will involve collaboration with a company who specialize in Sound Zone technology, primarily for healthcare, and a company who deploy these technologies in hospitals.

 

1.2. Playing and finding music

Projects into under this heading focus on the consumption side of the digital music ecosystem. While more technology-heavy and/or prototype-driven projects are possible, the proposed topic focusses on understanding current practice.

1.2.1. Understanding contemporary music consumption. This project seeks to understand the emerging user practices of finding, listening to, and sharing music happening with streaming services such as Spotify Apple Music, and Deezer. It may also involve studies of user practices in relation to physical media, such as LPs etc, and studies into the people’s consumption of live music, and the role interactive technology plays in relation to these. The project will involve an empirical/analytical part where current services and their use are studied in depth, using a qualitative research approach. Findings from this may lead to concept development, prototypes and user studies. It may also lead to further in-depth empirical /analytical studies into selected findings. The project may involve collaboration with a large producer of audio technology for domestic use.

 

1.3. Creating and producing music

Projects into under this heading focus on the creation side of the digital music ecosystem. While more technology-heavy and/or prototype-driven projects are possible, the proposed topic focusses on understanding current practice.

1.3.1. Understanding contemporary music creation. This project seeks to understand how contemporary artists use interactive digital technologies in their creation and production of music. This may be in home studios, or in professional recording studios. It may also involve studies of live performance of music, and the role interactive technology plays in relation to this. The project will involve an empirical/analytical part where current recording and production tools and their use are studied in depth, using a qualitative research approach. Findings from this may lead to concept development, prototypes and user studies. It may also lead to further in-depth empirical /analytical studies into selected findings. It is expected that students who chose this topic will be able to engage with music artists in the local area, and possibly with music students at the university.

 

2. Sustainable domestic use of precious resources

Master thesis projects under this theme seek to explore how different interactive mobile, pervasive or ubiquitous technologies can be designed and deployed in private households for changing use patterns of precious resources (e.g. electricity, water, or food) towards higher sustainability. It is related to the HCC group’s research within the area, and in context of the “Data-intensive Cyber-Physical Systems” (DiCyPS) research centre. Projects will involve an empirical and analytical part investigating current practices in relation to a selected resource, as well as related work in HCI. This will lead to the definition of a concept, and a prototype implementation, and subsequent real-world deployment. Preferably, the concept will be developed rather early in the process, allowing a long-term deployment. If you study Interaction Design, it may be possible to build directly on your 8. semester project, and thereby enable a significant user study.

Examples of previous research from the HCC group in this area:

Hagensby R., Kjeldskov J., and Skov M.B. (2016) HeatDial: Beyond User Scheduling in Eco-Interaction. Proceedings of NordiCHI 2016. ACM Press. PDF

Kjeldskov J., Skov M.B., Paay J., Lund D., Madsen T. and Nielsen M. (2015) Eco-Forecasting for Domestic Electricity Use. Proceedings of ACM CHI 2015. ACM Press. PDF

For more information about the DiCyPS research center see this page (in Danish)

 

3. Digital ecosystems/multi-device interaction

Master thesis projects under this theme addresses the emerging HCI research challenge of interacting with multiple devices and systems as part of an activity or task. This is also referred to as digital ecosystems and multi-device interaction. It builds on previous research by the HCC group in the area, and can be either qualitative or quantitative, or both, depending on the specific focus and aim. A qualitative project could investigate real world use of a digital ecosystem/cross-device interaction design, such as Apple Continuity, or NetFlix, Spotify, or similar through digital ethnography, interviews, observations etc. (see Raptis et al. 2016). A quantitative project could set up a series of experiments of different interaction techniques for multiple devices (see Paay et al 2017).

Examples of previous research from the HCC group in this area:

Raptis D., Kjeldskov J., and Skov M.B. (2016) Continuity in Multi-Device Interaction: An Online Study. Proceedings of NordiCHI 2016. ACM Press. PDF

Paay J, Raptis D., Kjeldskov J., Skov M.B., Lauridsen B.M., and Ruder E.V. (2017) Investigating Cross-Device Interaction between a Handheld Device and a Large Display. Proceedings of ACM CHI 2017. ACM Press. PDF