At the 10th International Summer School on AI and Big Data, Dr. Patrick Ebel will talk about AI-Assisted UI Design – Using Computational Models of Human Behavior to Create Better Interfaces.

Talk: AI-Assisted UI Design – Using Computational Models of Human Behavior to Create Better Interfaces

Smartphones, tablets, and in-vehicle interfaces are incredibly complex, and users interact with them in a variety of situations and dynamic environments. Our goal is to improve interaction with these devices – to help users find the information they need and complete tasks as efficiently as possible. Understanding how users visually sample an interface and interact with it is key to achieving this goal.  Unfortunately, traditional user studies can be resource-intensive and time-consuming, making them impractical for evaluating the wide range of features and contexts found in modern devices.

In this talk, I’ll discuss how computational models that simulate human behavior can provide a compelling alternative. I’ll present our research on data-driven models trained to evaluate in-vehicle information systems and explore how reinforcement learning and computational rationality offer a new way to model human visual attention allocation.

Bio

The junior research group leader, Patrick Ebel, joined ScaDS.AI Leipzig on July 1st, 2023. Ebel studied mechatronics in Karlsruhe for his bachelor’s degree and automotive systems with a focus on machine learning in Berlin for his master’s degree. He started his PhD in Computer Science at the TU Berlin and finished it at the University of Cologne.

Previously, Ebel worked with Professor Andreas Vogelsang at the University of Cologne in the Software and Systems Engineering Department. In 2023, Ebel defended his dissertation „Data-Driven Evaluation of In-Vehicle Information Systems“ with summa cum laude. For one of his papers, he received the Early Career Best Paper Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Europe. In 2019, Ebel placed 4th in the research competition „Forum Junge Spitzenforscher”. He is also involved in the organization of the ACM Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications.