Theses and media projects

In this thesis gamification elements are being implemented into an existing task, where users will annotate Japanese characters and classify their appearance compared to characters used in the English alphabet. The gamification elements being utilized include progress bars, scoreboards, and achievements. The objective is to investigate the impact of these elements on user motivation. The task will be distributed to users via crowdsourcing, and the difference in user motivation with and without the gamification elements will be measured through a survey at the end of the task.

Supervisors: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Matthias Hirth; Edwin Gamboa M. Eng.; Jose Alejandro Libreros, M. Eng.

This thesis aims to evaluate the usability of a piloting robot named LOTSY, which will guide patients and visitors in hospitals. The thesis employs a mixed-method approach, combining the concepts of usability and requirements engineering. To achieve the goal, best practices for designing effective user interfaces will be identified via a study of existing research on HMI (Human-Machine Interaction), usability, and requirements engineering. The process includes the identification of stakeholders, creating user personas, designing questionnaires, and conducting interviews with potential stakeholders and end-users to define and refine technical requirements. Based on those requirements, prototypes will be created and used to develop LOTSY's user interface. Finally, the usability of the user interface will be tested by end-users. This project is developed in collaboration with TEDIRO GmbH.

Supervisor: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Matthias Hirth; Edwin Gamboa M. Eng.; Prof. Dr. Horst-Michael Groß (FG Neuroinformatik und Kognitive Robot), Benjamin Schütz M.Sc. (FG Neuroinformatik und Kognitive Robot), Sebastian Blumenthal (TEDIRO GmbH)

Crowdsourced microtasking includes various types of tasks, e.g., media product ratings, platforms, content comments, and survey completion. These tasks are completed online via a network of globally distributed online-workers. Despite the widespread use of mobile devices, crowdsourced microtasking still tends to be more desktop-oriented. However, facilitating well-supported mobile microtasking could enhance the experience of crowdworkers, attract new worker groups, and potentially support new types of tasks. 
Therefore, this thesis aims to examine the current demand and acceptance of crowdworkers for mobile microtasking. For this, a survey will allow identifying the willingness and requirements of crowdworkers to perform mobile microtasks. Based on this, a common desktop microtask will be selected and adapted for mobile devices. Subsequently, a crowdsourcing user study will be conducted to test both the desktop and mobile versions of the microtask. Finally, the results will be compared to evaluate the overall acceptance and user groups observed in each implementation.

Supervisors: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Matthias Hirth; Edwin Gamboa M. Eng.

The analysis of user behavior is a crucial aspect of crowdsourcing tasks as it provides valuable insights into individuals' decision-making processes and thoughts. Such insights can be used to improve the functionality of crowdsourcing tasks and enhance the efficiency with which tasks are completed. The dataset for this study comprises a series of videos that document crowdworkers carrying out a crowdsourcing task using the thinking-aloud protocol. To analyze the videos, a video annotation tool is developed to monitor user behavior patterns over time. The tool also includes a user journey map that illustrates the different steps users take at various stages of the task, providing a better understanding of user behavior. The ultimate goal of this research is to establish user behavior patterns that can be used to enhance the development of crowdsourcing projects and platforms. By learning more about how users engage with these tasks, researchers can design and execute them more effectively.

Supervisors: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Matthias Hirth, Edwin Gamboa M. Eng.