Human-Computer Interaction
Bavaria's new Minister of Digital Affairs at the XR Hub
Bavaria's new Minister of Digital Affairs Dr. Fabian Mehring visited the University of Würzburg for the first time. He was visibly impressed by the projects and achievements of the XR Hub.
Studien-Info-Tag 2024
We welcomed pupils to the university-wide Studien-Info-Tag, where prospective students had the opportunity to join our lab tor entitled 'AI, Metaverse and User Experience: Understanding and Designing Digital Worlds in the Human-Computer Interaction degree program'.
TooCloseVR Workshop in Marktheidenfeld
On 22 January, members of the HCI group visited the 6th grade of the Marktheidenfeld Gymnasium to give a workshop. Using virtual reality goggles, they experienced how distressing it can be to experience insults and threats, and what can be done about it.
Assaults in the metaverse: Prof. Dr Marc Erich Latoschik gives insights to Die Tageszeitung.
A recent article from taz deals with assaults in the metaverse. In the article, Prof. Dr. Marc Erich Latoschik emphasises the need for platforms to incorporate security measures and provides insights into the potential and risks of virtual environments. Read the full article on the taz website.
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Open Positions

Student Workers for the VHB courses
We are looking for student workers to help develop and administer two VHB online courses
Wissenschaftliche:r Mitarbeiter:in (m/w/d) für AIL AT WORK Projekt gesucht
Wir haben eine offene Stelle im wissenschaftlichen Dienst für das AIL AT WORK Projekt.
Student Workers for CoTeach Project
Unity development and research support
Open Research and PhD Position (TVL E13 100%)
The HCI-group has an open position for a research assistant (and PhD candidate) in the general area of interactive systems and related research projects, e.g., VR, AR, avatars, or multimodal interfaces.
Student Workers for the CoTeach Project
We are looking for student workers to help develop and investigate fully immersive learning environments


Recent Publications

Florian Kern, Jonathan Tschanter, Marc Erich Latoschik, Handwriting for Text Input and the Impact of XR Displays, Surface Alignments, and Sentence Complexities, In IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, pp. 1-11. 2024.
[Download] [BibSonomy] [Doi]
@article{10460576, author = {Florian Kern and Jonathan Tschanter and Marc Erich Latoschik}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10460576}, year = {2024}, pages = {1-11}, title = {Handwriting for Text Input and the Impact of XR Displays, Surface Alignments, and Sentence Complexities} }
Abstract: Text input is desirable across various eXtended Reality (XR) use cases and is particularly crucial for knowledge and office work. This article compares handwriting text input between Virtual Reality (VR) and Video See-Through Augmented Reality (VST AR), facilitated by physically aligned and mid-air surfaces when writing simple and complex sentences. In a 2x2x2 experimental design, 72 participants performed two ten-minute handwriting sessions, each including ten simple and ten complex sentences representing text input in real-world scenarios. Our developed handwriting application supports different XR displays, surface alignments, and handwriting recognition based on digital ink. We evaluated usability, user experience, task load, text input performance, and handwriting style. Our results indicate high usability with a successful transfer of handwriting skills to the virtual domain. XR displays and surface alignments did not impact text input speed and error rate. However, sentence complexities did, with participants achieving higher input speeds and fewer errors for simple sentences (17.85 WPM, 0.51% MSD ER) than complex sentences (15.07 WPM, 1.74% MSD ER). Handwriting on physically aligned surfaces showed higher learnability and lower physical demand, making them more suitable for prolonged handwriting sessions. Handwriting on mid-air surfaces yielded higher novelty and stimulation ratings, which might diminish with more experience. Surface alignments and sentence complexities significantly affected handwriting style, leading to enlarged and more connected cursive writing in both mid-air and for simple sentences. The study also demonstrated the benefits of using XR controllers in a pen-like posture to mimic styluses and pressure-sensitive tips on physical surfaces for input detection. We additionally provide a phrase set of simple and complex sentences as a basis for future text input studies, which can be expanded and adapted.
Franziska Westermeier, Larissa Brübach, Carolin Wienrich, Marc Erich Latoschik, Assessing Depth Perception in VR and Video See-Through AR: A Comparison on Distance Judgment, Performance, and Preference, In IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, pp. 1-11. 2024.
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@article{westermeier2024assessing, author = {Franziska Westermeier and Larissa Brübach and Carolin Wienrich and Marc Erich Latoschik}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10458408}, year = {2024}, pages = {1-11}, title = {Assessing Depth Perception in VR and Video See-Through AR: A Comparison on Distance Judgment, Performance, and Preference} }
Abstract: Spatial User Interfaces along the Reality-Virtuality continuum heavily depend on accurate depth perception. However, current display technologies still exhibit shortcomings in the simulation of accurate depth cues, and these shortcomings also vary between Virtual or Augmented Reality (VR, AR: eXtended Reality (XR) for short). This article compares depth perception between VR and Video See-Through (VST) AR. We developed a digital twin of an existing office room where users had to perform five depth-dependent tasks in VR and VST AR. Thirty-two participants took part in a user study using a 1×4 within-subjects design. Our results reveal higher misjudgment rates in VST AR due to conflicting depth cues between virtual and physical content. Increased head movements observed in participants were interpreted as a compensatory response to these conflicting cues. Furthermore, a longer task completion time in the VST AR condition indicates a lower task performance in VST AR. Interestingly, while participants rated the VR condition as easier and contrary to the increased misjudgments and lower performance with the VST AR display, a majority still expressed a preference for the VST AR experience. We discuss and explain these findings with the high visual dominance and referential power of the physical content in the VST AR condition, leading to a higher spatial presence and plausibility.
Carolin Wienrich, Viktoria Horn, Arne Bürger, Jana Krauss, Personal Space Invasion to Prevent Cyberbullying: Design, Development, and Evaluation of an Immersive Prevention Measure for Children and Adolescents, In Springer Virtual Reality. 2024.
[BibSonomy]
@article{wienrich2024personal, author = {Carolin Wienrich and Viktoria Horn and Arne Bürger and Jana Krauss}, journal = {Springer Virtual Reality}, year = {2024}, title = {Personal Space Invasion to Prevent Cyberbullying: Design, Development, and Evaluation of an Immersive Prevention Measure for Children and Adolescents} }
Abstract: Previous work on cyberbullying has shown that the number of victims is increasing and the need for prevention is exceptionally high among younger school students (5th-9th grade). Due to the omnipresence of cyberattacks, victims can hardly distance themselves psychologically, thus experience an intrusion in almost all areas of life. The perpetrators, on the other hand, feel the consequences of their actions even less in cyberspace. However, there is a gap between the need and the existence of innovative prevention programs tied to the digital reality of the target group and the treatment of essential aspects of psychological distance. This article explores the design space, feasibility, and effectiveness of a unique VR-based cyberbullying prevention component in a human-centered iterative approach. The central idea is reflected in creating a virtual personal space invasion with virtual objects associated with cyberbullying making the everyday intrusion of victims tangible. A pre-study revealed that harmful speech texts in bright non-removable message boxes best transferred the psychological determinants associated with a personal space invasion to virtual objects contextualized in cyberbullying scenarios. Therefore, these objects were incorporated into a virtual prevention program that was then tested in a laboratory study with 41 participants. The results showed that the intervention could trigger cognitive dissonance and empathy. In the second step, the intervention was evaluated and improved in a focus group with the actual target group of children and adolescents. The improved application was then evaluated in a school workshop for five days with 100 children and adolescents. The children understood the metaphor of virtual space invasion by the harmful text boxes and reported the expected psychological effects. They also showed great interest in VR. In summary, this paper contributes to the innovative and effective prevention of cyberbullying by using the potential of VR. It provides empirical evidence from a laboratory experiment and a field study with a large sample from the target group of children and adolescents and discusses implications for future developments.
Nina Döllinger, David Mal, Sebastian Keppler, Erik Wolf, Mario Botsch, Johann Habakuk Israel, Marc Erich Latoschik, Carolin Wienrich, Virtual Body Swapping: A VR-Based Approach to Embodied Third-Person Self-Processing in Mind-Body Therapy, In 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2024.
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@inproceedings{dollinger2024bodyswap, author = {Nina Döllinger and David Mal and Sebastian Keppler and Erik Wolf and Mario Botsch and Johann Habakuk Israel and Marc Erich Latoschik and Carolin Wienrich}, url = {https://downloads.hci.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/2024-chi-bodyswap-preprint.pdf}, year = {2024}, booktitle = {2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems}, title = {Virtual Body Swapping: A VR-Based Approach to Embodied Third-Person Self-Processing in Mind-Body Therapy} }
Abstract: Virtual reality (VR) offers various opportunities for innovative therapeutic approaches, especially regarding self-related mind-body interventions. We introduce a VR body swap system enabling multiple users to swap their perspectives and appearances and evaluate its effects on virtual sense of embodiment (SoE) and perception- and cognition-based self-related processes. In a self-compassion-framed scenario, twenty participants embodied their personalized, photorealistic avatar, swapped bodies with an unfamiliar peer, and reported their SoE, interoceptive awareness (perception), and self-compassion (cognition). Participants' experiences differed between bottom-up and top-down processes. Regarding SoE, their agency and self-location shifted to the swap avatar, while their top-down self-identification remained with their personalized avatar. Further, the experience positively affected interoceptive awareness but not self-compassion. Our outcomes offer novel insights into the SoE in a multiple-embodiment scenario and highlight the need to differentiate between the different processes in intervention design. They raise concerns and requirements for future research on avatar-based mind-body interventions.
Carolin Wienrich, Stephanie Vogt, Nina Döllinger, David Obremski, Promoting Eco-Friendly Behavior through Virtual Reality - Implementation and Evaluation of Immersive Feedback Conditions of a Virtual CO2 Calculator. 2024.
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@inproceedings{wienrich2024promoting, author = {Carolin Wienrich and Stephanie Vogt and Nina Döllinger and David Obremski}, url = {https://downloads.hci.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/2024_chi_co2_calculator.pdf}, year = {2024}, title = {Promoting Eco-Friendly Behavior through Virtual Reality - Implementation and Evaluation of Immersive Feedback Conditions of a Virtual CO2 Calculator} }
Abstract: Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges in the 21st century. Urgent actions favoring the environment's well-being are essential to mitigate its potentially irreversible consequences. However, the delayed and often distant nature of the effects of sustainable behavior makes it challenging for individuals to connect with the issue personally. Immersive media are an opportunity to introduce innovative feedback mechanisms to highlight the urgency of behavior effects. We introduce a VR carbon calculator that visualizes users' annual carbon footprint as CO2-filled balloons over multiple periods. In a 2x2 design, participants calculated and visualized their carbon footprint numerically or as balloons over one or three years. We found no effect of our visualization but a significant impact of the visualized period on participants' environmental self-efficacy. These findings emphasize the importance of target-oriented design in VR behavior interventions.
Nina Döllinger, Jessica Topel, Mario Botsch, Carolin Wienrich, Marc Erich Latoschik, Jean-Luc Lugrin, Exploring Agent-User Personality Similarity and Dissimilarity for Virtual Reality Psychotherapy, In 2024 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW). 2024. Conditionally accepted for publication
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@inproceedings{dollinger2024exploring, author = {Nina Döllinger and Jessica Topel and Mario Botsch and Carolin Wienrich and Marc Erich Latoschik and Jean-Luc Lugrin}, url = {https://downloads.hci.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/2024-ieeevr-pandas-personality.pdf}, year = {2024}, booktitle = {2024 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)}, title = {Exploring Agent-User Personality Similarity and Dissimilarity for Virtual Reality Psychotherapy} }
Abstract: Imaginary self-encounters are a common approach in psychotherapy. Recent virtual reality advancements enable innovative approaches to enhanced self-encounters using photorealistic personalized Doppelgangers (DG). Yet, next to appearance, similarity in body language could be a great driver of self-identification with a DG or a generic agent. One cost-efficient and time-saving approach could be personality-enhanced animations. We present a pilot study evaluating the effects of personality-enhanced body language in DGs and generic agents. Eleven participants evaluated a Photorealistic DG and a Generic Agent, animated in a seated position to simulate four personality types: Low and High Extraversion and Low and High Emotional Stability. Participants rated the agents' personalities and their self-identification with them. We found an overall positive relationship between a calculated personality similarity score, self-attribution, and perceived behavior-similarity. Perceived appearance-similarity was affected by personality similarity only in generic agents, indicating the potential of body language to provoke a feeling of similarity even in dissimilar-appearing agents.
Pascal Martinez Pankotsch, Sebastian Oberdörfer, Marc Erich Latoschik, Effects of Nonverbal Communication of Virtual Agents on Social Pressure and Encouragement in VR, In Proceedings of the 31st IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VR '24). 2024. to be published
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@inproceedings{martinezpankotsch2024effects, author = {Pascal Martinez Pankotsch and Sebastian Oberdörfer and Marc Erich Latoschik}, url = {http://downloads.hci.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/2024-ieeevr-agent-encouragement-peer-pressure-preprint.pdf}, year = {2024}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 31st IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VR '24)}, title = {Effects of Nonverbal Communication of Virtual Agents on Social Pressure and Encouragement in VR} }
Abstract: Our study investigated how virtual agents impact users in challenging VR environments, exploring if nonverbal animations affect social pressure, positive encouragement, and trust in 30 female participants. Despite showing signs of pressure and support during the experimental trials, we could not find significant differences in post-exposure measurements of social pressure and encouragement, interpersonal trust, and well-being. While inconclusive, the findings suggest potential, indicating the need for further research with improved animations and a larger sample size for validation.
Sebastian Oberdörfer, Sandra Birnstiel, Marc Erich Latoschik, Influence of Virtual Shoe Formality on Gait and Cognitive Performance in a VR Walking Task, In Proceedings of the 31st IEEE Virtual Reality conference (VR '24). 2024. to be published
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@inproceedings{oberdorfer2024influence, author = {Sebastian Oberdörfer and Sandra Birnstiel and Marc Erich Latoschik}, url = {https://downloads.hci.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/2024-ieeevr-stroop-shoes-preprint.pdf}, year = {2024}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 31st IEEE Virtual Reality conference (VR '24)}, title = {Influence of Virtual Shoe Formality on Gait and Cognitive Performance in a VR Walking Task} }
Abstract: Depending on their formality, clothes do not only change one's appearance, but can also influence behavior and cognitive processes. Shoes are a special aspect of an outfit. Besides coming in various degrees of formality, their structure can affect human gait. Avatars used to embody users in immersive Virtual Reality (VR) can wear any kind of clothing. According to the Proteus Effect, the appearance of a user's avatar can influence their behavior. Users change their behavior in accordance to the expected behavior of the avatar. In our study, we embody 39 participants with a generic avatar of the user's gender wearing three different pairs of shoes as within condition. The shoes differ in degree of formality. We measure the gait during a 2-minute walking task during which participants wore the same real shoe and assess selective attention using the Stroop task. Our results show significant differences in gait between the tested virtual shoe pairs. We found small effects between the three shoe conditions with respect to selective attention. However, we found no significant differences with respect to correct items and response time in the Stroop task. Thus, our results indicate that virtual shoes are accepted by users and, although not eliciting any physical constraints, lead to changes in gait. This suggests that users not only adjust personal behavior according to the Proteus Effect, but also are affected by virtual biomechanical constraints. Also, our results suggest a potential influence of virtual clothing on cognitive performance.
See all publications here
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