During my six-month research stay at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU’s) Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) in Pittsburgh, USA, I had the opportunity to be part of Prof. Dr. David Lindlbauer’s Augmented Perception Lab (APL). Working closely with David and his fantastic team was an incredibly rewarding experience that I truly would not want to have missed. The stay allowed me to connect with amazing researchers in the HCI community, build lasting friendships, and contribute to publications at ISMAR and CHI, as well as other still ongoing research collaborations.
Settling In
Before diving into research, I settled into life in Pittsburgh. I found a great apartment in Bloomfield, just a 15-minute bike ride from campus, making commuting quick and convenient. One of the things I really appreciated about the city was how bike-friendly it is. I got around almost entirely by bike, whether commuting to campus or running daily errands.
From the start, I found the Augmented Perception Lab to be incredibly welcoming, making it easy to become part of the team. The weekly group meetings provided a great platform to discuss our progress, share challenges, and learn from each other’s work.
Attending ACM ISS 2023
Right at the beginning of my stay I attended ACM ISS 2023, where my submission was accepted for the Doctoral Symposium. This was a fantastic opportunity to present my PhD work and get valuable feedback from professors and peers in the international HCI community.
Main Research Project: Push2AR
After ISS, I focused on my main research project: Push2AR. We developed a novel interaction method that combines smartphones and AR HMDs to enhance scroll list navigation. Push2AR lets users push list items from their phone into the surrounding AR space for easy comparison and bookmarking, while keeping familiar touch gestures. Weekly meetings with David helped refine the project, address challenges, and improve our approach. We started with an ideation phase, exploring different concepts before I moved on to implementation. During this phase, Hyunsung Cho and Akihiro Kiuchi, two PhD students in the APL, and Sebastian Hubenschmid (C01) from the HCI Group Konstanz joined as co-authors, offering helpful feedback and support.
We then designed and conducted a user study with 16 participants, which showed that our approach improves user experience and reduces subjective workload compared to conventional phone-only lists. The paper was accepted at ISMAR 2024, providing me with the opportunity to revisit CMU briefly in October 2024 and present our work at the conference in Seattle.
Additional Research Projects
In addition to Push2AR, I also contributed and still contribute to three other research projects:
- MiniMates: With MiniMates, we investigated the use of miniature avatars for AR remote collaboration in confined spaces. Our approach further relies on a novel formation and redirection system to enhance spatial communication across dissimilar spaces. In a study with 24 participants, we found that compared to traditional video conferencing, MiniMates improves non-verbal communication and enables users to manage multiple simultaneous conversations. Akihiro Kiuchi, an intern at the APL from University of Tokyo, led this project. MiniMates was accepted for publication as a full paper at CHI 2025, Yokohama, Japan.
- AR in the Wild: We conducted a longitudinal diary study with 14 participants to study how they integrate an AR laptop into their daily work routines. This project is led by Yi Fei Cheng, a PhD student at the APL with the paper currently being under review.
- Skin-Mounted Haptic Interface: I helped Dr. Nathan Zavanelli from CMU’s Soft Machines Lab to develop an application demonstrating how their novel skin-mounted haptic interface can enhance tactile feedback in VR and AR interactions. The paper is currently in the process of being published.
Exploring the U.S.
Beyond research, I also had the opportunity to explore the United States. I visited Washington D.C. on a weekend trip, saw a total solar eclipse at Lake Erie, went for a day trip to Niagara Falls, and traveled through the western states, including stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and several beautiful national parks.
Thanks and Reflections
I am very grateful to the SFB-TRR 161 for funding my research stay at CMU and making this experience possible. A big thanks to Prof. Dr. David Lindlbauer for hosting me at the Augmented Perception Lab and for his support throughout my stay. His guidance and feedback made a big impact on my research, and I really appreciated the collaborative and open atmosphere he fosters in the lab. He also assisted me with my visa application process, helping to ensure everything went smoothly. Also, he funded my trip to ISMAR 2024 in Seattle, allowing me to present our work in person.
I’m also very grateful to Prof. Dr. Harald Reiterer (C01) for supporting my stay abroad, his additional funding, and letting me spend six months abroad – all in all making this stay possible. Special thanks to TT-Prof. Dr. Tiare Feuchtner (C07), whose mentorship and advice were incredibly helpful throughout this journey.
Thanks also to the Outgoing Centre of the University of Konstanz and Claudia Widmann for their help with all the administrative work and providing helpful advice.
Finally, a huge thank you to all members of the Augmented Perception Lab for welcoming me, becoming great friends, and making my time at CMU incredibly fun, enjoyable, and productive. Beyond work, our social activities and regular squash sessions made the stay even more memorable. Their support, feedback, and collaboration were invaluable, and I truly enjoyed being part of this inspiring team.
This research stay has been an incredibly rewarding experience, offering new perspectives, great collaborations, and valuable skills for both my academic and personal growth. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity, and I truly appreciate the support and contributions of everyone who made this stay possible and so impactful.
