AIT Austrian Institute of Technology (Project Coordinator)
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is Austria´s largest non-university research institute, specialist on research and development activities of technologies, techniques and tools of key infrastructure solutions of the future. Within the Business Unit Technology Experience (Department Innovation Systems), an experienced and interdisciplinary research team, headed by Prof. Dr. Manfred Tscheligi, deals with User Experience and specific factors, that influence experiences derived from interaction with innovative technology, goods and services.
Based on enhanced foundational interaction thinking, research activities aim to create dedicated experiences in key technology areas and application contexts in order to optimally align future technologies to specific user groups and different contextual situations. In addition, subjectively perceived qualities of these experiences are a major research focus to ascertain high quality experiences in order to ensure that acceptance of future technological innovation will be accomplished and enhanced.
To get deep insight in usage patterns and interaction quality a User Experience Laboratory equipped with modern and leading edge technology is available for user research and demonstration activities in lab based settings as well as field trials. This further includes dealing with dedicated methods and tools to support the development of high-quality technology experiences.
The team headed by Prof. Tscheligi has longtime experience in the development and execution of national and international research and cooperation projects and is an active contributor to the international research scene.
Role in the project
Within this project, AIT's first and foremost responsibility as the project coordinator is the successful delivery of the technology within time and budget and matching with user needs. AIT is furthermore responsible to ensure that the developed technology and the PEACOX prototypes are aligned to the need of the end-users and provide a positive experience and surplus value during usage. AIT will also work on the development of persuasive strategies targeted to convince user to choose more environmentally friendy trip alternatives. AIT will also lead the evaluation activities and will ensure the validity of the project‟s results through lab tests and field trials.
Key Personnel
Univ. Prof. Manfred Tscheligi has been working in the area of Interactive Systems, Human Computer Interaction, Usability Engineering, User Interface Design and User Experience Research for more than 20 years.
He is pioneer in establishing this field in Austria, author of several publications and distinguished speaker at conferences. He successfully managed numerous research and industrial projects and was responsible in establishing national and international initiatives. Since August 2013 Manfred Tscheligi is Head of the Business Unit Technology Experience at AIT. He is also founder of the research organization CURE and Full Professor for Human-Computer Interaction & Usability at the University of Salzburg (Center for Advanced Studies and Research in Information and Communication Technologies & Society). Further, he is leading the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Contextual Interfaces at the University of Salzburg.
Johann Schrammel, Scientist at AIT, studied education sience, sociology and group dynamics, holds a Master degree in adult education from University of Graz and is a skilled trainer for team and organizational development, professionally trained in group dynamics with experience as group moderator. Johann is active in the field of HCI for more than ten years and is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. He has successfully led numerous national and international research projects, focusing on different topics such as interacting with intelligent systems, information visualization, persuasion and user experience.
Sebastian Prost, Scientist at AIT, studied media computer science at Vienna University of Technology with a focus on HCI and interaction design. Sebastian has multiple years of experience with user experience research and user-centred design. His work focuses on sustainability and persuasive technologies. He has experience in European and national research projects in the areas of sustainability, energy saving and mobility behaviour. Sebastian also studies sociology at the University of Vienna.
Elke Mattheiss, Scientist at AIT, received a diploma degree in Psychology from the University of Graz and focussed as postgraduate researcher on motivational aspects in adaptive educational games. In 2013 she finished the extra-occupational bachelor degree course “Software Design” at the University of Applied Sciences in Kapfenberg. Her current research focus is on accessibility for visually impaired and blind people, digital games and gamification as well as mobile eye tracking.
