Dr Tilman Dingler  a post-doctorial researcher in the field of HCI, will present the Department of Computer Science seminar with a talk entitled, "Cognition-Aware Systems to Support Information Intake and Learning".  

In today's information society, knowledge is created at an ever increasing pace. As a result, most of us face a constant pressure to consume information and acquire new knowledge. But information gain and learning require time and mental resources. In his research Tilman investigates how ubiquitous computing technologies can be used to help people deal with information intake and learning tasks through cognitive context-awareness. Such awareness can be created through explicit user assessments, but also implicitly by harvesting sensor and usage data from mobile devices. Systems equipped with an awareness of people’s levels of attentiveness, receptiveness, and cognitive performance can inform applications to help users process information more effectively. In his talk Tilman will describe approaches to detect moments of idleness and boredom, and also how to elicit general patterns of daily performance fluctuations, called circadian rhythms. Insights from a range of prototypes, lab studies, and field deployments inform the design of applications that support effective information processing throughout the day.