Christoph Hölscher is Professor of Cognitive Science at ETH Zürich since 2013, with an emphasis on Applied Cognitive Science. He holds a PhD in Psychology from University of Freiburg (Germany), serves as honorary senior research fellow at UCL, Bartlett School of Architecture, and as visiting Professor at Northumbria University Newcastle.

»Why is wayfinding in public settings (airports, malls, etc.) often challenging and what can we do about it? The core mission of the Chair for Cognitive Science at ETH Zürich is to help understand the complex interaction of humans and their physical, technical and social environment with an emphasis on cognitive processes and task-oriented behavior.

In the area of human-computer interaction this includes projects on how people interact with desktop computers and digital mobile devices, e.g. ongoing research with Google Indoor Maps in museums and university settings. In our work on building usability we emphasize collaboration with architectural design researchers on orientation and navigation in complex public buildings and urban environments. Understanding how environmental features as well as individual spatial abilities shape orientation as well as movement behaviors can help architects improve the usability and user experience of their building designs. We employ spatial analysis tools such as Space Syntax, behavior observation and targeted user experiments, eye-tracking studies and Virtual Reality simulation as part of human-centered design support and evaluation. I will provide an overview of these studies and hope to discuss how this can extend to movement behavior of groups and how multi-agent simulation can be integrated.«

About »bauhausinteraction.colloquium«:
The Bauhausinteraction Colloquium is a new interdisciplinary colloquium series at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar which is to address issues between technology and arts+design and the humanities. This colloquium is organised by different disciplines at the Bauhaus-Universität, across media-informatics (applied computer sciences), media-design, media arts and product + interaction design.
The talks take place on Monday evenings. All talks are in english. In design, human–computer interaction, and software development, interaction design is »about shaping digital things for people’s use«, and alternately defined as the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services.

Beyond an interest in the mere form, interaction design has its main focus on human behavior and the interplay between human actions and technology. Coming from different disciplines in this colloquium we explore the central questions: Do we speak a common laguage? Are we ready for interdisciplinary dialogues and are we prepared for upcoming transdisciplinary challenges? Through a series of lectures and workshops on interaction design and related topics. A selection of internationally renowned speakers will give insights into their work, current developments and discussions. The colloquium provides a forum for exchange of ideas, impulses for inspiration and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Talk:

Date:
Monday, 12 January 2015 
7 p.m.

Location:
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Faculty of Art and Design
Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 8, room 116
99423 Weimar

For further information please check » http://bauhausinteraction.org/colloquium/