Institute Director Prof. Dr. Thomas Schlegel and his team are researching visualisation, interaction and systems
A new research institute has been set up at Furtwangen University: barely a year after his appointment, Prof. Dr. Thomas Schlegel and his colleague Prof. Christoph Müller from the Faculty of Digital Media have founded "IIIUS" (Intelligent Interactive Ubiquitous Systems) in the current field of visualisation, interaction and systems. Prof. Dr. Thomas Schlegel was also unanimously elected head of the new institute. The graduate software technologist has experience as head of the institute and from over 20 years of teaching and research activities at universities and colleges in Stuttgart, Dresden and Karlsruhe as well as at the Fraunhofer IAO. Prof. Christoph Müller was also unanimously elected to replace him. After five years of research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (IPM) in Freiburg, where he set up a ten-member research group, he is returning to HFU full-time.
Both professors are members of the Institute for Applied Research (IAF) and are delighted that Furtwangen University now has a central research institute with a very well-equipped laboratory on the Furtwangen campus. The core area of "IIIUS" is media informatics, interaction and visualisation of complex issues in ubiquitous and intelligent systems. The institute conducts research primarily in application areas such as mobility systems, Industry 4.0, knowledge media, medicine, archaeology and the environment. The institute team cooperates with researchers and institutes from neighbouring fields and with partners from industry - across the entire spectrum of basic research, applied research and technology transfer for intelligent and interactive ubiquitous systems and processes.
"Whether self-healing systems in industry, new user interfaces, visualisations and augmented reality on the nature trail or using your own smartphone and AI to survey the quality of cycle paths yourself: We are involved with new technologies and innovations in current application topics. I am delighted that these exciting themes now have a home at HFU with the IIIUS," says Prof. Schlegel, who is also involved in the advisory board for mobility data at the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport.
For research, but above all for companies, cooperation partners and students, the new institute and IIIUS Lab will create a new research and innovation platform in Furtwangen.