Name: Csaba Kertész
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title:Community Driven Artificial Intelligence Development for Robotics
Summary: Explore the ways to develop an artificial intelligence for a robot with the help of on-line robot owner community where many members are non-technical people.

Name: Zhenxing Li
Supervisor: Roope Raisamo
Title: Efficient and accurate haptic interaction with soft objects
Summary: The Research focuses on building up haptic rendering systems for deformable soft objects, and simultaneously developing new interaction methods to improve both efficiency and accuracy of this haptic interaction.

Name: Deepa Vasara
Supervisor: Veikko Surakka
Title: Haptic Responses to Emotional Stimulation
Summary: The aim of the thesis is to further investigate the dynamics of haptic responses to emotional stimulation (such as; facial, auditory, visual, and audio-visual) to provide profound understanding on how emotions and haptics do interact with carefully controlled laboratory experimentations.

Name: Matti Luhtala
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: SmartLab Muotoilulaboratorio – Ihmiskeskeinen näkökulma digitaalisten kuntapalveluiden yhteiskehittämiseen
Summary: Tässä tapaustutkimuksessa tutkitaan, millaisia sosio-materiaalisia-teknisiä -käytäntöjä sisältyy kokeilukulttuuria edistävän muotoilulaboratorio SmartLabin kehittämiseen. Monografia-muotoinen väitöskirja koostuu kuudesta kokeiluprojektista, joissa osalliset ovat luoneet onnistuneita ratkaisuehdotuksia monimutkaisiin julkisen sektorin sosio-teknisiin suunnitteluhaasteisiin.

Name: Hanna Venesvirta
Supervisor: Veikko Surakka
Title: Face area behaviour for human-technology interaction
Summary: In this work, capacitively measured facial behaviours are used as inputs in socio-emotional interaction situations, and simple, abstract facial behaviour representations are used to represent socio-emotionally important information. Capacitive measurement is also technically tested, and representations’ power to convey emotional information is tested.

Name: Santeri Saarinen
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: Use of iODV applications to assist with learning
Summary: Researching how the use of interactive omnidirectional video applications can assist with learning in different contexts. Concentrating in user experience of iODVs and effects (objective and subjective) on learning processes.

Name: Biju Thankachan
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: Text-Free User Interfaces in Mobile Devices for Low-literate Rural Community Health Volunteers
Summary: The healthcare workers in working in rural India belong to low-literate to semi-literate user groups. Traditional use of ICT based interventions loaded with texts prove unusable for these users. My research focuses on designing and developing text-free user interfaces for low-literate users.

Name: Antti Sand
Supervisor: Ismo Rakkolainen
Title: Novel Spatial User Interfaces Employing Mid-Air Tactile Feedback
Summary: In my research I will develop and evaluate novel spatial user interfaces focusing on immaterial displays, such as FogScreen and the prototype hand-held FogScreen as well as virtual and augmented reality eyewear, such as Oculus Rift, HTC VIVE and devices based on Microsoft AR platform.These user interfaces will aim at multimodal interaction, such as hand and gesture tracking and haptic feedback.

Name: Toni Pakkanen
Supervisor: Roope Raisamo
Title: Supporting Distracted User Interaction with Tactile Haptification of User Interfaces
Summary: This thesis consists of three parts: How people perceive haptics while not seeing the information and while moving. How to design these haptic primitives for haptic user interface (HUI) for distracted users. And, how would distracted users benefit of such haptic user interfaces.

Name: Tero Avellan
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: Designing and Adopting Intelligent Interactive Systems to Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Summary: The aim of the research is to understand the challenges and opportunities in designing and adopting interaction systems to AAC, and also focus on to provide guidelines and recommendations for adopting intelligent interactive systems to AAC.

Name: Ekaterina Olshannikova
Supervisor: Thomas Olsson & Harri Siirtola
Title: Visualizing and making sense of Big Social Data
Summary: The overall goal of this research is to explore new approaches of revolutionizing the way Information and Communication Technology influences knowledge workers’ networking and collaboration activities. The primary objective is to utilize Big Social Data through Interactive Information Visualization, thus enhancing and facilitating professional matchmaking.

Name: Lauri Immonen
Supervisor: Aulikki Hyrskykari
Title: Using new technology to improve computer-assisted learning
Summary: Estimating the effect of individual abilities and the characteristics of input devices and software, for developing a versatile universal controller for educational software for children with disabilities.

Name: Vera Remizova
Title: Touchless gestural interfaces for co-located multi-user interaction with large and walk-through displays
Supervisor: Veikko Surakka
Summary: This thesis aims at developing touchless gestural interfaces and applications for communication with large and walk-through displays (e.g., fog screens and holographic projections) where traditional (i.e., mouse- or touch/pen-based) interaction is undesirable or even impossible. The thesis will analyze how mid-air hand gestures can fit optimally to the demands of co-located multi-user interaction in a number of specific tasks, such as selecting or translating 2D and 3D objects. Gestural performances and subjective experiences of users will be analyzed to produce implications and guidelines for better utilization of gestures in future cooperative and collaborative environments.

Name: Juhani Linna
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: Socio-Technical Issues of Novel User Interfaces in Industrial Environments
Summary: My thesis focuses on the organizational, social and environmental aspects of NUIs in industrial environments.

Name: Arttu Viljakainen
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: Improving the usability of map based command and control systems
Summary: The aim of the research is to study the current state of the usability in map based command and control systems being used in the Finnish Air Force, and to provide new ways of interaction and data visualization to improve efficiency and safety in “heavy” situations.

Name: Joel Kiskola
Supervisor: Thomas Olsson & Heli Väätäjä
Title: Applying Critical Design Methods to Enhance Online Discussion Quality
Summary: This research aims to increase the understanding of how critical design approach can be used effectively in the context of designing computer-mediated communication mechanisms and to solve a problem – the discussion quality online. Critical design refers to designing artefacts that spark debate or change perspectives by going against design tradition.

Name: Hanna Heinonen
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: X Reality in Technical Communication
Summary: This research examines the challenges and opportunities of XR technologies in the field of technical communication, specifically looking into how technical information should be designed and what kind of authoring and delivery formats support the delivery of technical information to XR applications and devices.

Name: Sami Koivunen
Supervisor: Thomas Olsson
Title: Opportunities and Requirements for Information Technology to Support Decision-Making in Recruitment and Team Formation
Summary: The goal of my research is to identify opportunities and requirements for information technology to support recruitment and team formation in organizations. I focus on matchmakers’ subjective experiences, practices and expectations. The research aims to create new models and conceptual structures about decision-making processes and the related factors. In addition, the research aims to produce design implications for digital matchmaking tools and offer guidance on how to appropriately utilize such in organizational decision-making.

Name: Georgina Guillen
Supervisor: Juho Hamari
Title: Gamification as an enabler of sustainable consumption
Summary: As the evidence about how gamification motivates people to shift particular practices related to their lifestyles (i.e. e-health, mobility, energy use), keeps growing, there is very little information about what the impacts are in the mid- and long terms; particularly after the gamified interventions stop, people lose interest or when applying non-reward based schemes. This research looks into bridging these gaps by exploring gamification factors that help consumers go beyond awareness-raising to actually drive shifts in their everyday lives towards living more sustainably.

Name: Johanna Peltola
Supervisors: Markku Turunen, Kirsikka Kaipainen, Kaija Puura
Title: Finding the Right Words: An Exploration of Natural Language in Conversational Agents for Adolescent Mental Health Support
Summary: The aim of the research is to explore verbal and nonverbal elements of language in conversational agents, with a focus on chatbots supporting adolescents with mental health concerns.

Name: Saara Ala-Luopa
Supervisors: Thomas Olsson, Tarja Tianen
Title: Trust in AI technology in expert decision-making
Summary: AI technology is expanding its role in traditionally human-based decision-making and social processes, such as recruiting and healthcare. This research aims to understand what is trust towards AI technology in expert work by empirically studying professionals’ experiences and expectations. With a qualitative approach, the study provides insight into human-AI collaboration and the impact of emerging AI technology on work-life and the notion of expertise.

Name: Rucha Tulaskar
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title: Tackling Social anxiety in the world’s happiest country: Study of an accessible Massive Open Online Course using Virtual Reality for young adults in Finland
Summary: The research focuses on improving virtual learning experience of Finnish students with social anxiety by finding way to design and develop a MOOC course using social Virtual Reality technology.

Name: Patrick Coe
Supervisor: Grigori Evreinov
Title: Exploration of High Definition and Volumetric Haptics
Summary: Development and exploration of High definition haptic feedback that can be felt accurately across the surface of a volumetric display. The goal is to induce complex haptic sensations for developing haptic imagination in both healthy individuals and those with perceptual disabilities.

Name: Alisa Burova
Supervisor: Markku Turunen
Title:  An Exploration of Virtual Environments to Enable Efficient Industrial Collaboration: Digital Content Evaluation and Development
Summary: This study investigates how to design virtual professional social environments to enhance existing work methods and facilitate service-related work collaboration (with a case study on elevator maintenance). The focus is on exploring how virtual environments may be used collaboratively to produce and evaluate the elements of technical documentation – digital content, such as text, images, and video.