On June 16, the research department IML attended the congress of economics and innovation (Wirtschafts- und Innovationskongress) with its focus area future and innovation (Zukunfts- und Innovationsmeile) in Hanover as an exhibitor. In the Convention Center, Omair Bhatti presented the demo “Visual Attention Detection” as an approach to eyetracking for industrial AI. In this demo, mobile eyetrackers and modern deep learning models are used to identify objects that are fixated by the user. Real-time signals are processed with a multisensor pipeline, i.e., a flexible framework for the development of multimodal multisensor interfaces. The video signal of the front camera, the gaze signal and the attention events are visualized with a real-time monitoring tool.

At the congress, various topic areas addressed the latest developments in information technology, energy, nutrition, mobility, etc. Among the guests were Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil and numerous others.

As part of the Innosys dialog event “Künstliche Intelligenz im Mittelstand” (AI in small and medium-sized enterprises) on May 23, Dr. Marc Herrlich of the research department IML gave a talk with the title “Human-centered Interactive Machine Learning”. Therein, he addressed the special approach of Interactive Machine Learning (IML) and the connection to Explainable AI (XAI). Particular attention was paid to interface design and the consideration of “Human Factors” to actually realize the potential of Active Learning and IML. The rather traditional approach (longer iteration cycles) was compared to the IML approach, and present and future example topics from the IML Oldenburg location were presented. Subsequently, a vivid and productive discussion with the audience emerged. More than 100 representatives of the local science and economic sector attended the well-frequented event. Two live VR demos that were supervised by Bengt Lüers and Dr. Marc Herrlich were enthusiastically received as well.