Interactive Experiences

The Center of Interactive Experiences explores relevant use cases and research questions at the intersection of society and technological innovation. Our work focuses on extended reality (XR), including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). In interdisciplinary and participatory research settings, we design, prototype, and evaluate the impact and user experience of immersive applications. To ensure relevance and diversity of perspectives, we collaborate with academic, non-profit, and commercial partners in applied research projects. Insights and research-driven challenges from these projects are integrated into our teaching activities at Bachelor’s, Master’s, and further education levels.

We are open to research questions and collaborations from a wide range of domains and industries. Over the years, our XR project track record has developed particular focus areas in learning, vocational education, healthcare, counselling, social skills training, and stress management. In these contexts, we investigate immersive and interactive forms of learning, training, and communication, as well as the role of conversational and embodied AI. This also includes questions around digital identity, afterlife memory, and AI-mediated presence in virtual environments.

A central motivation of our work is responsible innovation and a humanistic approach to designing and assessing emerging technologies. Both in research and teaching, we embrace the ethical, social, and psychological dimensions of technological developments and investigate how digital systems influence human experience, social interaction, and everyday life. To this end, we combine methods such as Science Fiction Prototyping with multilinear narratives and immersive XR scenarios to trigger critical reflection, discussion, and public discourse about desirable technological futures.