The sustainable transformation of the economy and society is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. In addition to significant investments in sustainable technologies and infrastructure, profound changes in decision-making processes and behavioral patterns in economic and society are required. A successful transformation requires the systematic integration of ecological and economic objectives; interdisciplinary approaches to analyzing and promoting sustainable decision-making and action play a central role. The VORAN project addresses various perspectives of sustainability transformation – from the financing of sustainability projects and the promotion of sustainable behavior in organizations to the design of procurement processes and the use of immersive technologies for transformation processes. The subprojects provide complementary insights into how environmental and social conditions and decision-making processes can be designed to promote sustainable decision-making and action at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.

Link: TBD

Contact: Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners: University of Mainz of Applied Sciences and Business:

• Prof. Dr. Sabine Landwehr-Zloch (Academic Director)
• Prof. Dr. Anett Mehler-Bicher (Deputy Academic Director)
• Prof. Dr. Lydia Bals
• Prof. Dr. Susanne Rank

University of Trier, Department IV - Business Administration, Economics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Sociology:

• Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jörn Block (Academic Director)
• Univ.-Prof. Dr. Benjamin Weyers (Deputy Academic Director)
• Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kathrin Muehlfeld
• Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thorsten Semrau

Funding:

• Ministry of Science and Health (MWG) of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Funding Line "Research Colleges Rhineland-Palatinate"

Funding Period: since 2025

Europe’s Cultural Heritage represents an invaluable repository of history, identity, knowledge and creativity, serving as a strategic resource for the EU economy, well-being, cultural diversity, sustainable development, and social cohesion, as highlighted in the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026. To enhance the study, protection, sharing, and use of this invaluable resource, the European Commission aims to leverage digital transition to increase public accessibility, enrich Cultural Heritage experiences, and create a collaborative framework tailored to Cultural Heritage professionals and researchers. To address this EU goal, the UNVEIL project aims to enhance the diagnostics and understanding of both surface and subsurface conditions of CH artworks, such as paintings and sculptures, by combining Non-Destructive Evaluation methods with advanced digital data processing and visualisation tools. UNVEIL aims to train a new generation of researchers proficient in Cultural Heritage Science, equipping them to contribute to more informed and effective diagnostic and conservation efforts, thus helping to preserve Cultural Heritage and making it more accessible to the public.

Link: TBD

Contact: Benjamin Weyers

Beneficiaries:

• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
• Università della Calabria (IT)
• The University of Warwick (UK)
• Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. (DE)
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (BE)
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
• Profilocolore Srl (IT)
• University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)
• Trier University (DE)
• RWTH Aachen University (DE)

Funding:

• EU, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Doctoral Networks, Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01-01

Funding Period: 2026

Teleportation has emerged as one of the most widely adopted forms of travel through immersive virtual environments as it minimizes the occurrence of sickness symptoms for many users. Despite its significance, however, several major research questions on the foundational building blocks that make up these techniques remain unanswered, with many people resorting to ground-restricted teleportation with default parameters as offered by their development platform. In this joint research effort between Dr. Weissker (RWTH Aachen University) and Dr. Zielasko (University of Trier), we aim to deepen our understanding of teleportation interfaces by investigating different target specification metaphors and pre-travel information and their effects on travel precision, efficiency, usability, and predictability. Our research is divided into four phases, starting with an analysis of different parametrizations of ground-based teleportation and the resulting tradeoff between selection distance and precision. These insights then serve as a basis for further research on the successful instantiation of more advanced teleportation interfaces, which allow the user to travel to targets beyond the ground plane (Dr. Weissker) as well as to incorporate virtual rotations into the movement when their physical space is confined (Dr. Zielasko). By seamlessly extending and opening up conventional teleportation techniques, these additions will enable users to gain novel perspectives on the scene, travel to targets more expeditiously, and maneuver around objects of interest more efficiently. The project concludes with a final consolidation phase, in which we formulate an overarching summary of our insights as well as derive design guidelines to develop expressive teleportation interfaces in immersive virtual reality. Based on the already widespread use of basic teleportation in head-mounted displays, these foundational research insights will have a profound impact on a large variety of academic and industrial virtual reality applications.

Link:  DFG - GEPRIS

Contact:

• Matthias Wölwer
• Bryson Lawton
• Dr. Daniel Zielasko

Participating Project Partners:

• Dr. Tim Weißker

Funding:

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Funding Period: Since 2023

In this project we want to deal with the question how the software development process can be improved using AR and VR technologies. We focus on the debugging task, which plays a crucial role in both the implementation and the maintenance phase of software. Taking the desktop workspace of software developers as a starting point, we want to investigate what added values can be created by extending the workspace, virtualizing physical objects and spaces, and in particular by using situated visualization of information and tools both in the real and virtual space.

Link:   DFG - GEPRIS

Contact:

• Benjamin Weyers
• Nico Feld

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Stephan Diehl

Funding:

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Funding Period: since 2022

How can an AI-driven metaverse support sustainable and resource-efficient production processes through digital twins and embodied agents?

The research college aims to develop an AI-driven Meta Verse of Sustainable Production (AIMS). At its core is the AIMS reference model, providing a research framework for resource-neutral, cyber-physical production systems. The project combines AI, extended reality (XR), and embodied agents to capture expert knowledge and mirror real-world processes through cognitive digital twins. A key application is battery remanufacturing—a top-tier method in the circular economy. Additional use cases include logistics, trade, and skilled crafts.

Link: AIMS

Contact:

• Tana Glemser
• Hilal Khalife
• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Guido Dartmann - Trier University

Funding:

• Ministry of Science and Health (MWG) of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate

Funding Period: since 2024

How can an integrated development environment using SNNs, Norse, and neuromorphic hardware effectively support applied machine learning?

The "DATIpilot" project develops an advanced development environment for machine learning using spiking neural networks (SNNs). A prototype based on NEST Desktop integrates the bio-inspired simulator Norse, neuromorphic hardware, and EBRAINS APIs. The goal is a powerful tool for learning and development, evaluated through a qualitative assessment.

Link: DATIpilot

Contact:

• Hilal Khalife
• Sebastian Spreizer
• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners:

• University of Trier

Funding:

• Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space

Funding Period: Until 26. February 2026

How can digital brain atlases and digital twin technologies contribute to a better understanding and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders?

The overarching goal of EBRAINS 2.0 is to foster a deeper understanding of brain structure and function with dedicated and mature software tools, to facilitate the development of more effective treatments, new drugs, diagnostics and preventive measures for neuro-psychiatric disorders. The project will further the development and provision of the infrastructure’s research technologies to the scientific community. It aims to establish a new standard for brain atlases, gather and connect multimodal neuroscientific and clinical data, and push forward the development of digital twin approaches.

Link: EBRAINS 2.0

Contact:

• Sebastian Spreizer
• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners:

• EBRAINS
• Jülkich Reserach Center
• and more…

Funding:

• Co-founded by the European Union

Funding Period: January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2026

In its 2021 report, the German Advisory Council on the Assessment of Developments in the Health Care System identified an urgent need for research and development in the field of "Digitalization for Health." "Germany lags far behind other countries in the digitalization of the healthcare system" (Advisory Council, 2021). This means, among other aspects, that preventive and therapeutic measures could be enabled or supported by digital solutions have not yet been sufficiently researched and subsequently translated into healthcare practice. The funded XR-PATH research group aims to develop scientifically valid immersive Extended Reality (XR)-based solutions for the healthcare system in a total of six cooperative doctoral projects jointly supported by Trier University of Applied Sciences and Trier University. The Chair of Human-Computer Interaction at Trier University is conducting subproject 1, which involves research into social interaction in therapeutic applications using augmented and virtual reality. The aim of the project is to develop social interaction, physical aspects as well as the presentation and distribution of therapy-relevant information in and with the help of extended reality technologies using suitable design concepts.

Link:https://www.hochschule-trier.de/informatik/forschung/projekte/forschungskolleg-xr-path

Subproject:https://www.hochschule-trier.de/informatik/forschung/projekte/forschungskolleg-xr-path/teilprojekt-tp-1

Contact:

• Pauline Bimberg
• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners Hochschule Trier:

• Prof. Dr. Jörg Lohscheller (Medical Informatics, Spokesperson of the College)
• Prof. Dr. Christoph Lürig (Game Programming)
• Prof. Dr. Tilo Mentler (Human Computer Interaction)
• Prof. Dr. Steffen Müller (Physical Therapy)
• Prof. Dr. Georg Rock (Software Engineering)

Participating Project Partners University of Trier:

• Prof. Dr. Heike Spaderna (Nursing Science, Health Psychology, Academic Lead University)
• Prof. Dr. Peter Sturm (System Software and Distributed Systems)
• Prof. Dr. Ana N. Tibubos (Nursing Science, Diagnostics in Healthcare & e-Health)
• Prof. Dr. Ingo Timm (Intelligent Assistance Systems and Simulation)
• Jun. Prof. Dr. Benjamin Weyers (Human Computer Interaction)

Funding:

• Ministry of Science and Health (MWG) of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, funding line “Research Colleges Rhineland-Palatinate”

Funding Period: 2021 - 2025

The aim of the project is the development and scientific investigation of a system for the maintenance of hulls and tanks. Autonomous robotic systems, especially drones in the air and water, as well as so-called crawlers are used for this purpose. The latter walk along the hull of a ship and scan its surface. The damaged areas detected in this way are automatically documented and processed three-dimensionally. The results will then be incorporated into corresponding products. Together with the Chair of Business Psychology at the University of Trier and the RWTH Aachen University, we are developing suitable user interfaces to support this process in virtual reality.

Link: Project homepage; Cordis @ EU; Project homepage of Business Psychology @ Uni Trier

Contact:

• Jan Gründling
• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Cédric Pradalier - National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS, France), Georgia Institute of Technology Lorraine
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Ellwart – Universität Trier – Psychologie
• Prof. Dr. Torsten W. Kuhlen - RWTH Aachen
• Simon Oehrl, M.Sc. - RWTH Aachen
• Sebastian Pape, M.Sc. - RWTH Aachen

Funding: 

• European Union, Horizon 2020 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Robotics in Application Areas (ICT-09-2019-2020)

The Human Brain Project (HBP) is building a research infrastructure to help advance neuroscience, medicine and computing. It is one of the two largest scientific projects ever funded by the European Union. The 10-year Project began in 2013 and directly employs over 500 scientists at more than 100 uni-versities, teaching hospitals and research centers across Europe. The University of Trier contributes to the HBP by building a software catalogue of interactive and visual data analytics tools, which potentially support the neuroscientists in their daily scientific data analysis workflows as well as the development of interactive and web-based learning software for neuroscience.

Link: HBP

Contact: 

• Sebastian Spreizer
• Jens Bruchertseifer
• Jan Gründling
• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Markus Diesmann - Forschungszentrum Jülich
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Ekkehard Plesser - NMBU
• Prof. Dr. Torsten Kuhlen - RWTH Aachen

Funding:

• Horizon 2020 European Union Funding for Research & Innovation

Funding Period: 2013 - 2023

The AKuT project is developing a web-based tool that will make archaeological research data from collaborative research accessible to other researchers, enable analyses, make results available to the public and thus be an example of research data management in the field of cultural heritage. An automatic generation of visual, three-dimensional representations is demonstrated using the example of a virtual city model of ancient Trier, which will simultaneously serve to inform the public and, depending on the target group, also be used as an immersive virtual museum.

Link: AKuT

Contact: 

• Benjamin Weyers
• Daniel Zielasko
• Nico Feld

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Torsten Mattern - University of Trier – Archaeology
• Dr. Sascha Schmitz - University of Trier – Archaeology

Funding:

• Rhineland-Palatinate Research Fund (Support for regional research excellence, Funding Line 2 – Ideas and Structures)

Funding Period: 2020 - 2021

The question of how AI ecosystems can be realized in such a way that they enable sustainable and adaptive processes involving humans and machines will be investigated. Application scenarios of such overall AI systems can be found in knowledge- and planning-intensive work processes in areas such as robotics, supply chains, production, services, intelligent mobility or agriculture. Data obtained from people, machines and the environment as well as from their interaction comes, for example, from mobile devices, digital products, production or environmental sensors or sensors from wearables.

Link: AI-CPPS

Contact: 

• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Ralph Bergmann, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ingo J. Timm, Prof. Dr. Axel Kalenborn - University of Trier
• Prof. Dr. Stefan Neumann - University of Trier
• and others

Funding:

• Ministry of Science, Research Colleges Rhineland-Palatinate

Funding Period: 2020-2024

The aim of this BMBF-funded change project in the sense of the human-technology-organization approach (M-T-O approach, Strohm & Ulich 1999) is to support employees and managers in dealing with this constantly changing work environment, the inclusion of new, different To support tasks and exercise of powers and (project) roles in a targeted manner. The aim of the project is to develop and support the roles that have changed as a result of the dismantling phases through training measures based on the scientific approach to training development (Goldstein & Ford, 2002; IAEA, 1998) in a target group-oriented manner. The HCI group at the University of Trier played an advisory role in this project and did not receive any funding of its own.

Link: FORKA

Contact: 

• Benjamin Weyers
• Myriel Kinkel

Participating Project Partner:

• Prof. Dr. Annette Kluge, Lisa Thomaschewski M.Sc. - Ruhr University Bochum

Funding:

• Federal Ministry of Education and Research (no financial participation of the University of Trier)

The impact of ambient awareness on the temporal coordination of spatially dispersed teams. Temporal coordination is an important aspect of team work. Temporal coordination has three aspects: 1) the correct sequencing of joint action, 2) the correct timing, and 3) the adaptation of dynamic effects as variables in the teams’ context, which may change dynamically in terms of their own state. Challenges of temporal coordination include errors in timing and problems of synchronization. These errors are founded in an inadequate task state awareness (TSA). In the proposed project, we will particularly focus on the temporal coordination of spatially dispersed production teams. As a countermeasure to impediments to temporal coordination, teams use temporal coordination activities to define the rhythms by which group members synchronize their activities, e.g. by synchronization and allocation of resources by means of temporal coordination artifacts. Additionally, temporal coordination is supported by scripted coordination or by side-by-side work as team members are allowed to share a visual context. As spatially dispersed team work is characterized by the exclusion of side-by-side work, we investigate possible substitutes that generate an awareness of the team’s task state. In the proposed project, we investigate the impact of a coordination artifact that builds on augmented reality (AR). The central research question is: Can AR technologies support temporal aspects of scripted coordination by increasing the task state awareness (TSA) of spatially dispersed teams in a production context, in combination with visual attention guidance including the individual task? By using a 2 x 2 experimental design (factor 1: 2D versus 3D superimposition, factor 2: static versus dynamic superimposition) with 110 two-person teams (220 subjects in total), each performing an individual task and a team task, we propose a main effect of the AR superimpositions of task states on temporal team coordination. Additionally, we wish to investigate the effects of 2D versus 3D static and dynamic superimposition. In H1, we assume that groups with AR superimposition of team task state will coordinate the team task in a more timely manner than the control group. In H2, we propose that groups with 3D superimpositions of process states of the team task will coordinate the team task in a more timely manner than the groups with 2D superimposition. Finally, the groups with superimpositions of dynamic information of process states will perform better in their individual task, as they require fewer attentional resources while waiting for their “entry” into the team task. Four work packages are defined to conduct the study with 220 persons.The results will contribute to a better understanding of the temporal coordination needs of spatially dispersed teams and provide work psychology-related and HCI-related guidelines for the development of AR-based coordination artifacts based on the combination of interdisciplinary research relevant for future use in “Industrie 4.0”.

Link: Gepris

Contact: 

• Benjamin Weyers
• Nico Feld

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Annette Kluge, Lisa Thomaschewski M.Sc. - Ruhr Universität Bochum

Funding:

• German Research Association

Funding Period: 2018 - 2022

This project focuses on forgetting of unwanted habits in the job context. We shall examine the circumstances that help employees to actually abandon habits that they regard as dysfunctional and they wish to get rid of, and if persuasive systems can support this process. In the second project phase we shall develop design guidelines for the design and development of persuasive systems that support the forgetting of dysfunctional habits. We shall develop a prototype for such a persuasive system and shall subsequently examine a generalization, both from a conceptual and an empirical perspective. In a sequence of (quasi-)experimental field studies we shall test if self-regulatory processes and the use of the persuasive system can contribute to a short-term as well a longer-term change of dysfunctional habitual behavior. We will examine organizational context factors that support the change of habitual behavior.

Link: Gepris

Contact: 

• Benjamin Weyers
• Nico Feld

Participating Project Partners:

• Prof. Dr. Sabine Sonnentag, Leon Többen M.Sc., Wilken Werth M.Sc. - University of Mannheim

Funding:

• German Research Foundation (DFG), SPP 1921: Intentional Forgetting, two funding phases

Funding Period: 2016 - 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare organizations and companies to flexibly adapt their work processes and teams to constantly changing conditions. Health authorities had to increase staffing for contact tracing, hospitals had to redistribute nursing staff, and companies had to redesign workflows for home office and disaster resilience. These adaptations are characterized by uncertainty and often require agile change of direction, balancing robustness, flexibility, and efficiency within teams. Decisions regarding reorganization are often made intuitively ("gut feeling") rather than data driven. By leveraging existing organizational data, combined with knowledge from occupational psychology and cognitive science, as well as experience from previous crises, new digital tools are to be developed that enable data- and AI-supported decision support. Methods such as machine learning, agent-based models, cognitive social simulation, and human-machine interaction (HCI) are being used. The goal is to create a new form of organizational and business intelligence that strengthens the resilience of organizations in crises.

Link: FlexiTeams

Contact:

• Moritz Gobbert
• Dominique Bohrmann
• Daniel Zielasko
• Benjamin Weyers

Participating Project Partners University of Trier:

• Prof. Dr. Thomas Ellwart
• Prof. Dr. Ralph Bergmann  
• Prof. Dr. Ingo Timm (Intelligent assistance systems and simulation)
• Jun. Prof. Dr. Benjamin Weyers (Human Computer Interaction)

Funding:

• Ministry of Science and Health (MWG) of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Special Fund “Sustainable Management of the Corona Pandemic” – Program to Strengthen Digitalization at Universities, Program Line 3: Digital Profiling in Research

Funding Period: 2022 - 2023