Project Details
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TRR 62:  Companion-Technology for Cognitive Technical Systems

Subject Area Computer Science, Systems and Electrical Engineering
Construction Engineering and Architecture
Medicine
Term from 2009 to 2017
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 54371073
 
Final Report Year 2018

Final Report Abstract

The Transregional Collaborative Research Centre CRC/TRR 62 was driven by the vision to create technical systems of any kind as Companion systems – cognitive-technical systems, which adapt their functionality to each user individually. A Companion system’s behavior is guided by the user’s abilities, preferences, demands, and current needs, adapts to the current situation, disposition, and emotional state, and is always available, cooperative, and trustworthy, and is a competent and collaborative service provider. The guiding idea was the Companion-ability of technical systems. It manifests itself in the traits competence, individuality, adaptivity, cooperativeness, and trustworthiness. These Companion traits have been the subject of interdisciplinary research aiming to provide a technology that allows to create technical systems of every kind as Companion systems. In doing so, two different perspectives were considered. The system’s point of view was concerned with developing comprehensive cognitive abilities for technical systems. A well-orchestrated and effective interoperation of perception-, interaction-, planning-, and reasoning-processes creates these Companion traits and elevate technical systems to Companion systems. The user’s point of view investigated human-computer interaction and Companion traits from a psychological and neuro-biological perspective. Psychological models of behavior, new experimental paradigms, and the analysis of brain activity provided information on the effect of system behavior and thus enabled the effective implementation and evaluation of Companion traits. The most important results of the CRC/TRR 62 are • an interdisciplinary theory of Companion-abilities of cognitive technical systems; • an operational concept of Companion traits; • methods, models, tools, and components for realizing Companion traits in technical systems; • reference architectures for Companion systems; • prototypical Companion systems in the application domains Assistance for Installing a Complex Home Theater System, Worker Assistance in Car Manufacturing, as well as Assistance for Home Improvement Projects. The synergistically achieved results of interdisciplinary fundamental research within the CRC/TRR 62 serve a pivotal societal concern. Demands on individuals rise due to increased digitalization – the ubiquitous use of complex and versatile hard- and software systems in all areas of life. Simultaneously, new opportunities for supportive technology and digital assistance arise due to technological development. In this area of conflict, Companion technology constitutes a pioneering advancement: it enables the development of flexible, individually adaptive, truly user-friendly and competent (inter-)acting technical systems. Researchers in the CRC/TRR 62 have published more than 800 peer-reviewed publications, which have been published predominantly in high-ranking journals and conferences. The CRC’s comprehensive and interdisciplinary research results have furthermore been published in a dedicated summarizing book. This book with the title Companion Technology – A Paradigm Shift in Human-Technology Interaction (editor S. Biundo and A. Wendemuth) comprises 25 papers on 500 pages. It has been published in the series Cognitive Technologies of Springer.

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