CIAO 👋

We are the Junior Research Group CIAO (Computational Interaction and Mobility) and work at the intersection of machine learning, human-computer interaction, and mobility.
We develop computational models that simulate human-like interaction behavior. These models can be used to evaluate user interfaces, predict how users interact with them and allow designers and researcher to better understand not only the users but also their design. We develop models that are either data-driven (based on usage data collected from customers) or based on computational rationality.

We are part of the Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (ScaDS.AI) at Leipzig University. ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig is one of five new AI centers in Germany funded under the federal government’s AI strategy.

Our Vision

At CIAO we strongly believe that the design, development, and evaluation of intelligent mobile devices (which includes cars) is not yet human-centered enough.
This leads to decisions that are detached from customer needs and real-world problems. We want to rethink the current design process. Data-driven insights and machine learning-based user modeling need to be an integral part of the product development and evaluation process. Only by doing so, one can account for the variety of individual and contextual factors and build systems that are easy and safe to use for all users in all situations. We aim to contribute to a better understanding of how humans interact with intelligent mobile interfaces and transportation systems by developing new data-driven user models and evaluation methods (1) based on supervised machine learning and (2) based on the theory of computational rationality and reinforcement learning.

Interview for a project called “Digitial Mobile Classroom”, which aims to promote computer science and AI for students in German schools.