Engineering

Computer Science and 
Applied Cognitive Science

The Department of Computer Science and Applied Cognitive Science (INKO) consists of two teaching units, which analyse computer systems from different perspectives and with different methods. While the focus in Computer Science is on technology, in Applied Cognitive Science it is on humans. As computers become omnipresent and network almost invisibly with their environment, this dual perspective of technology and its human users is very important: Modern technical systems must not only function properly, they must also find social acceptance.

INKO has been able to gain new researchers for its work. Prof. Torsten Zesch represents the field of Language Technology. Language is an important input medium, especially for mobile devices, but language technology is also important in understanding and automatic analysis of text. The new professorship in this field will strengthen the research priority of interactive systems and media. The appointment of Prof. Gregor Schiele meanwhile strengthens the focus on embedded systems. He conducts research relating to the ­Internet of Things. Everyday objects are already smart, in other words they contain miniature computers and are usually networkable. This means that their inbuilt sensors collect a large amount of live data. Prof. Schiele researches how these data flows can be controlled and merged.