Bachelor, master and project theses

We always have interesting topics for bachelor, master and project theses available for students. Usually, the topics are tightly integrated with our ongoing research and teaching activities. We promise not only to give you all the support you need, but we are also interesteted that the finished thesis gets some real use instead of collecting dust on a shelf.

We have several systems for research and teaching that are under constant development. Some of these systems are actively developed in collaboration with our partners at other universities.

I addition to our suggestions, we are always open for individual, innovative ideas from students who want to write their theses with us.

Questions, ideas, interest? Talk to us.

LATTE – Learning and Teaching Tools and Environments

Here, we work on better environments for teaching and learning.

Sensate – Support Engine for Scholarly and Academic Texts

One focus area is supporting students (and teachers) authoring texts, such as homework assignments, theses or scholarly works. A web-based system analyses your own work or source material, categorizes them and helps you resarching the topic and embedding found literature into your own text. In addition, the system analyzes the readability of the text and supports collaboration with other authors.

Next to methods from Natural Language Processing, we make use of modern web technologies. Addtitionally, we combine those with methods from Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Visualization and Data Management within an exciting application area.

A web2py-based prototype exists, with the heavy lifting done within a master thesis project. This tool implements a general NLP pipeline and performs first analytical tasks on uploaded texts. This includes simple statistics (number of words and sentences), a readability index (using established formulas), keyword generation and indexing (using thesaurii and web services) and a rudimentary identification of citations (APA-style only). It is comparably easy to extend this prototype, which means time-consuming implementation of basic functions is not needed and one can immediately start with the more "interesting things".

Possible thesis topics include:

  • Improving and extending the existing pipeline
  • Identification of new application domains and prototypical implementation

Clara – The Critical Listening Assistant

Another focus area is a system that offers students and teachers new means of interaction with audio- and video material as well as lecture notes and slides (for lectures or other forms of presentations). Material for lecture is to be made available not only as linear narratives or with pre-defined entry points. Instead, the content of the course is to be made accessible through contextualised searches and automatically generated summaries of key issues.

Human communication is always multi modal and multi codal. A lot of information is exchanged non-verbally (as well), through gestures and behaviour. This also holds for the behaviour of lecturers. Changes in intonation, prosody, loudness, gestures as well as the use of keywords give hints about topic changes or key points. Those "multi modal cues" are to be perceived and processed in order to automatically segment a talk and find core parts. As a second step, methods from natural language generation are used to generate summaries etc.

Possible thesis topics include:

  • Improving and extending the existing pipeline
  • Integration of further (multi-modal) forms of interaction

ExRAI – Explainable and Responsible Artificial Intelligence

The current renaissance of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning as well as their extended use in new application domain creates challenging requirements both for explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) and  ethical design processes and responsivle use of intelligent systems.

XAI-systems can make their inner working and reasoning transparent to the user or justify their actions, thereby increasing trust in computational systems. Research in XAI is not new, but there is still a lot to be done, both in terms of requirements towards knowledge representations and reasoning processes and in terms of implementation of dialogic explanatory processes.

In the area of ethical design and responsible use of AI and ML system, the question is whether we can make use of principles from other areas such as safety critical systems development.

Possible topic areas would therefore be, amongst others:

  • Requirements for knowledge representation and learning processes
  • Dialogic explanatory models and their technical representation

ShareBoard – An Interactive Whiteboard

You have a computer with a touch-sensitive display? Or a video projector, a WII-controller and an infrared pen? Or just a computer with mouse and keyboard? Then you can use ShareBoard.

ShareBoard is a digital whiteboard to support teamwork. Several ShareBoard instances can be coupled, so that you can work on diagrams, pictures, drawings together with your friends and colleagues on the other side of the world.

Possible thesis topics include:

  • Cross-Device Interaction coupling the ShareBoard with personal mobile devices
  • Integration of external document repositories (from ownCloud to Dropbox)
  • Natural (spoken and written) language interaction
  • Contextualisation - how can and should the ShareBoard react to things happening in the meeting room?
  • Natural interaction with tangible devices

PerGamEn – Pervasive Games and Environments

Augmented Reality Games bridge the gap between the physical and the virtual world.  Some in-game actions may only be allowed while the player is at specific locations in the physical world. One might have to use physical objects to initiate virtual actions. The world can be the playing field for digital interaction, like in alternate reality games.

Examples for such pervasive games are Ingress, Pokémon Go, Resource Game or father.io. A thesis in this area can e.g. concentrate on the software infrastructure for such games and demonstrate the framework wiht a simple prototype.

Or you can work with a theme like "Future University" and design a concept and implement a prototype for the university. This could be a game helping you learn languages by connecting players with different skils in order to solve language problems. Or you can help new students explore their new home playfully.

Possible thesis topics include:

  • Concept and prototypical implementatoin of an augmented reality game
  • Interactive performance art in public spaces

CAKE – Context-Aware Knowledge-based Environment

You like to work undisturbed while being "in the flow", but still want to take part in gossiping during coffee break? You are annoyed that you had to climb down into the basement for three times, just to see that your neighbor is already using the shared washing machine?

Contextualized systems are able to distinguish different situations and react adequately. They can learn to sense the interruptibility status of persons and show your colleagues when better not to disturb you. They can help to automate the house, or to help us live independently in our own flat when we grow old (Ambient Assisted Living). 

The Context-Aware Environment (CAKE) is a framework to build such contextualized and ambient systems. CAKE can be coupled with different sensors and actuators and make use of artificially intelligent components to reason about the state of the world.

Possible topics for theses include:

  • Implementing an example scenario
  • Implementation and integration of AI-components, e.g. CBR
  • Conceptualization, implementation and test of new actuators and sensors

LADI – Location-Aware Device Integration

You want to work with your data on different devices and share data selectively with other people? You would like to watch pictures on your smartphone in a different resolution than on your desktop PC? You would like to have a search that gives you information about a hotel in Paris, and not always show you certain people when you search for Paris Hilton? You want to show pictures from your smartphone on your TV without having to configure the network or having to log onto an unknown WLAN?

If so, then LADI could be interesting for you. LADI is a system for location-centric (and not network-centric) interaction of different devices. You can use your smartphone to control a presentation on a PC with attached video projector, even although both devices are connected to different networks.

Possible topics for theses:

  • Better contextualization
  • New application areas, e.g. through integration with ShareBoard

Completed Theses

  • Rasenkanten- und Hinderniserkennung mit Hilfe von Infrarottechnik. Bachelorarbeit. Katharina Kanstein, 2019. 
  • Konzeption und Realisierung einer sprachbasierten cross channeling social media Plattform am Beispiel des persönlichen Assistenten Alexa. Masterarbeit. Janina Kleckow und Patrick Jähne, 2019. 
  • Durchblick im Uni-Alltag - Augmented Reality und OpenStreetMap.  Bachelorarbeit. Marcel Sievert, 2019.
  • Concept and Prototype for Visualizing Data on Academic Texts. Master Thesis. Niklas Bendixen, 2019.
  • Menschzentrierte Entwicklung eines pervasive Games. Bachelor Thesis. André Becker, 2019.
  • Autoren-Schreibprogramme – Konzeption einer Autoren-unterstützenden und für die Schreibprozessforschung nutzbaren Schreibsoftware. Bachelor Thesis. Manuel Nedde, 2018.
  • Implementierung einer Nachtsichtfunktion auf einer autonomen Plattform. Project Report. Katharina Kanstein, 2018.
  • Konzeption und prototypische Realisierung eines Android-basierten Frameworks zur einfachen Interaktion vernetzter Anwendungen. Bachelor Thesis. Stephan Vettermann, 2018.
  • A Pipeline for Multi-Modal Markers for Meaning. Master Thesis. Johannes Ude, 2018.
  • StudyApp Hildesheim – Konzept und prototypische Realisierung einer App für Studierende der Universität Hildesheim. Master Thesis. Kristina Hoff, 2018.
  • Make computers see: The evolution of Computer Vision by example of saliency detection in the last 20 years.  Bachelor Thesis. Diana Lange, 2018.
  • Entwicklung eines Arduino UNO und Raspberry Pi basierten Vertikalplotters. Bachelor Thesis, Pascal Kramer, 2018 
  • Merkmalsbasierte Segmentklassifizierung. Master Thesis. Alexander Tebbje, 2017.
  • Arbeitsflußoptimierung durch Prozeßanalyse mit Entwicklung einer Webapplikation zur Auswertung digitaler Fahrzeugdaten. Bachelor Thesis. Pascal Kramer, 2017.
  • ReturnVoid - Building a Library for Processing. Project Report. Diana Lange, 2017. 
  • Konzeption und Prototypische Umsetzung einer Beacon basierten Lokalisierungs-Applikation. Bachelor Thesis. Neslihan Genctürk, 2017.
  • Untersuchungen zu Anforderungen an Ambient Intelligence Systeme in Einrichtungen der Altenpflege. Master Thesis. Hasret Cakir, 2017.
  • Towards an Online Text Analysis and Support Tool for Academic Text Production. Master Thesis. Tobias Wiek, 2017. 
  • Optimierung des DsRepositories. Project Report. Stephan Vettermann, 2017. 
  • Erweiterte und virtuelle Realität für kollaboratives Arbeiten. Master Thesis. David Achilles, 2017
  • Konzeption und Realisierung einer erweiterten Backend-Komponente für das interaktive ShareBoard. Master Thesis. Marcel Lüder, 2016. 
  • WithMyPiano – Konzeption & Entwicklung eines Prototypens zur spielerischen Unterstützung der Instrumentalpädagogik. Master Thesis. Ninja Papke, 2016. 
  • Intelligente Lernsoftware: Anforderungen und Umsetzbarkeit einer tutoriellen Lernsoftware für das Erlernen einer Programmiersprache. Master Thesis. Marcel Brozewski, 2016.
  • Entwicklung eines Risikoanalyseprozesses für Informations-Assets. Bachelor Thesis. Finn Buch, 2016. 
  • Entwicklung eines interaktiven und kollaborativen Shareboard Prototypen in JavaScript. Project Report. David Achilles, 2016.
  • Raspberry Pi HomeCenter – Nutzung von Minicomputern als Heimcloud und Webserver. Project Report. Marvin Heinrich, 2016.
  • Konzeption und Realisierung einer Online-Plattform zum kollaborativen Wissensmanagement einer Online-Reisecommunity. Master Thesis. Patrick Dettmer, 2016. 
  • A Conceptual Model of an Ambient Assisted Living System to Support Elderly with Alzheimer’s Disease. Bachelor Thesis. Verena Traubinger, 2015. 
  • Erlernen einer Fremdsprache mit Hilfe eines Geogames. Bachelor Thesis. Simon Schneider, 2015. 
  • Entwicklung des pervasiven mobilen Lern-Spiels “City Explorer”. Bachelor Thesis. Mareike Haug, 2015. 
  • Lokale Zusammenarbeit am ShareBoard – Eine explorative Studie. Bachelor Thesis. Marco Kilchenstein, 2015. 
  • Ortsbasiertes Spiel als Stadtführer. Bachelor Thesis. Jessica Rudolph, 2015. 
  • Konzeption einer App für einen Museumsbesuch am Beispiel des Kulturspeichers in Würzburg. Bachelor Thesis. Franziska Busse, 2015. 
  • PyCAKE: Ein Framework für verteilte kontextualiserte Anwendungen. Master Thesis. Jens Rademacher, 2015.
  • Konzeption und Realisierung eines browserbasierten und kollaborativen Whiteboards. Bachelor Thesis. David Achilles, 2015.
  • Konzeption und Realisierung von Videokommunikation und natürlicher Interaktion in einem browserbasierten kollaborativen Whiteboard. Bachelor Thesis. Marvin Heinrich, 2015.
  • Markerlose Objekterkennung für Augmented Reality Apps. Verfahren zur Erkennung von Objekten mittels Smartphones. Bachelor Thesis. Alexander Tebbje, 2015. 
  • Pervasive Games – Nutzung im universitären Kontext. Möglichkeiten des Einsatzes mobiler Lehr- und Lernspiele. Maste Thesis. Sven Köhler, 2014.
  • Depth-Keying with ShareBoard. Separation of foreground and background when using the whiteboard and projection of an avatar of whiteboard users at remote locations. Bachelor  Thesis. Max Rogat, 2014.
  • Contextual Service for Android. A service allows any app to use the case-based reasoner mvCBR. Project Report. Henning Schade, 2013.
  • EPIC: A communication-based service for managing personal information. An email-based service with an almost natural language interface for taking notes, organizing todos and other information management tasks. Bachelor  Thesis. Jens Rademacher, 2013.
  • Devlopment of a collaborative whiteboard for software development. Extending ShareBoard for use in software development processes, including integration of other graphics software. Bachelor  Thesis. Sven Köhler, 2013.
  • Authentication and secure communication for a system for location-based use of interactive systems. Secure and authenticated access to other devices using LADI. Bachelor  Thesis. Andre Weber, 2013.
  • Re-implementation of the videochat component in ShareBoard. A better video and audio channel for ShareBoard. Project Report.  Project thesis.  Max Rogat, 2013.