Medical Assistance Systems

TRR 318 Research Presented at the “Eingeloggt!” Week at Wissenswerkstadt Bielefeld

2026-03-20T18:57:23+01:00

On March 16, Prof. Dr. Britta Wrede, head of the Medical Assistive Systems research group and principal investigator in the Collaborative Research Centre (TRR) 318 “Constructing Explainability”, contributed to the theme week “Eingeloggt!” at the Wissenswerkstadt Bielefeld.
Together with Prof. Dr. Katharina Rohlfing, psycholinguist at Paderborn University and spokesperson of TRR 318, she gave a talk titled “It Takes at Least Two to Explain – Why AI Needs You to Explain!”

The two researchers provided insights into current research on explainable AI. They demonstrated that successful explanations require an interplay between humans and machines. Their presentation was based on findings from Projects A01 “Adaptive Explaining” and A05 “Contextualized Scaffolding in Human–Robot Explanatory Dialogue.” They illustrated how explanations can be adapted to users and how robots can support learning through tailored assistance strategies that respond to individual needs.

The event was part of the digital theme week “Eingeloggt!”, which was primarily aimed at people over 50 and sought to facilitate access to digital technologies and AI through workshops and talks.

TRR 318 entered its second funding phase!

2026-03-16T13:52:29+01:00

With a kick-off event on March 3 at the CITEC building of Bielefeld University, the Collaborative Research Center / Transregio TRR 318 “Constructing Explainability” officially entered its second funding phase. The next phase of joint research was launched with presentations as well as several exchange formats for members and associates.

During the first funding phase, the researchers demonstrated that explanations are only effective when the perspective of those receiving the explanation is taken into account.
Building on these insights, the second funding phase will focus in particular on the context of explanations – including different situations, settings, individuals, and the shared knowledge that emerges through dialogue.

The aim of the upcoming research phase is to investigate how explanations need to adapt to these contextual conditions and how AI systems can respond to them. In the future, AI systems should be able to generate explanations more flexibly and continue the dialogue with users in a way that is appropriate to the situation.

More than 60 researchers from seven disciplines are involved in TRR 318 across a total of 20 subprojects.
The Medical Assistance Systems group participates in three of these projects: A03, A05, and WIKO.

New Team Member at AG Medical Assistance Systems

2026-03-16T13:13:26+01:00

Since March 1, Carolin Klute has joined the Medical Assistance Systems group as a research associate.

She is pursuing her PhD in project A03 of the TRR 318 “Constructing Explainability.”
In her doctoral research, she investigates the influence of emotions on explanation processes in human–AI interaction, particularly how emotional arousal affects the way people process AI explanations.

Within project A03, she works on the development of an interactive system that supports users in understanding recommendations and their explanations even in emotionally charged situations. The goal is to make visible how emotional states influence the reception of AI explanations and how systems can respond to this in order to improve understanding and support informed decision-making

Deep Dive into Multimodal HRI at SoRAIM 2026!

2026-02-20T15:01:42+01:00

Last week, Julian Leichert and Manuel Scheibl had the pleasure of attending the SoRAIM 2026 Winterschool in the beautiful snowy setting of Autrans, France.

It was an intensive week filled with insightful sessions on multimodality in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). A particular highlight was the talk by Dr. Maribel Pino, who shared perspectives on the real-world applications and hurdles of deploying robotics in healthcare.

A huge thank you to Thomas Hueber and Xavier Alameda-Pineda for the seamless organization of this event!
We also want to give a special shoutout to Lorenzo Ferrini from PAL Robotics for an ambitious and hands-on workshop with the TIAGo Robot!

Kick-off of Project A05: Launching the New Research Phase

2026-02-19T12:18:54+01:00

On Tuesday, 10 February 2026, the kick-off meeting of Project A05 within the Collaborative Research Center TRR 318 “Constructing Explainability” took place. The project “Contextualized and online parametrization of scaffolding in human–robot explanatory dialog” is jointly conducted by Bielefeld University and Paderborn University.

Researchers from both sites met to coordinate the next steps and to develop initial conceptual ideas for the new funding phase.
In addition to planning the research activities, the meeting provided an opportunity for personal exchange and for strengthening the collaboration between the two partner universities.

Participants of the kick-off included Prof. Dr.-Ing. Britta Wrede and Sinem Görmez of Bielefeld University as well as Prof. Dr. Katharina Rohlfing and Amit Singh of Paderborn University. Together, they defined key objectives and milestones for the coming months.

The team looks forward to continuing this successful collaboration in the second funding phase.
The successful start of the project concluded with a joint dinner.

01.02.26 New Team Member In Our Research Group

2026-02-09T19:51:42+01:00

We are delighted to welcome Sinem Görmez to the Medical Assistance Systems (MAS) research group as of February!

Sinem is pursuing her PhD in Project A05 of the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio 318 “Constructing Explainability”, supervised by Prof. Dr. Britta Wrede.

She completed her dual bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics/Automation at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (HSBI) in cooperation with Schüco International KG, and earned her master’s degree in Information Technology from OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts (TH OWL) in Lemgo. Prior to joining MAS, Sinem worked as a Research Manager in the SAIL Research Network.

In her doctoral research, she investigates— from a practice-oriented research perspective—how explainability is constructed in real interactions and how different forms of explanations influence understanding, trust, and decision-making.
Within TRR 318, she works on advancing interactive explanatory systems, such as the NAO robot, which aim to make AI-based decisions and processes transparent and comprehensible. A particular focus lies on the use of negation and contrast (e.g., “what it is / what it is not” or “why option A instead of B”) to foster understanding and support informed decisions.

Interview on the AI*IM Focus Area Published in BI.research

2026-02-09T19:29:28+01:00

The newly released BI.research magazine of Bielefeld University (Issue 55/2026) features an interview with Anna-Lisa Vollmer, head of the Interactive Robotics research group, and Britta Wrede, head of the Medical Assistive Systems research group.
The interview focuses on the AI*IM focus area. They discuss the goals and perspectives of AI*IM and illustrate how interdisciplinary research at Bielefeld University contributes to the development of human-centered, interactive AI.

The AI*IM (Artificial Intelligence and Inclusive Medicine) focus area brings together researchers from nine faculties with the shared goal of sustainably improving health, participation, and self-determination for people with cognitive impairments through inclusive assistive technologies and artificial intelligence.

The interview offers insightful perspectives on approaches to medical inclusion within the AI*IM focus area and highlights why research must be conceived and conducted collaboratively across disciplines.

👉 The full interview is available online in the current issue of BI.research: https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/uni/presse-medien/publikationen/bi-research/BI.research_55_2026.pdf (pp. 14–17)

01.02.26 Two Years Anniversary of our Showroom „Interactive technology for medical assistance in medicine and care"

2026-02-03T12:43:00+01:00

Our showroom can look back on two years of intensive use and development.

As a place for teaching, research and dialogue, it brings assistance systems from medicine and care to life - from commercial products to research prototypes - and offers space for testing, discussion and classification.

To mark the anniversary, the content focus has been reorganised: The areas of "Teaching & Training" and "Diagnosis" complement the existing focal points of "Co-Design" and "Therapy and Rehabilitation", while "Prevention" and "Everyday Assistance" have been merged. The exhibition of systems from partner working groups emphasises the cooperative nature of the showroom. With a view to the Science Year "Medicine of the Future" and GENIALE 2026 ("How are we doing"), the showroom remains a space for thinking ahead together.

Many thanks to all those who have shaped this place over the past two years.

06.01.26 Showroom Demo with Health Sciences Students

2026-01-27T12:45:05+01:00

On January 6, 2026, we were once again pleased to welcome Ms. Düvel and her students from the Bachelor’s program in Health Sciences (B.Sc. Health Communication) to our showroom.

As part of the module Introduction to E-Health and the Digitalization of Healthcare, they were once again interested in learning about various assistive systems used in medicine and care.

In the showroom, we presented our well-established exhibits, including RoboCamp, the attention training system for people with ADHD, and assistive systems designed for people with dementia. A new addition this time was the robot Blossom from the Research Group Interactive Robotics in Medicine and Care:

👉 https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/fakultaeten/medizin/fakultaet/arbeitsgruppen/robotics/forschung/plattformen/blossom/

We hope that the visit provided the students with a valuable opportunity to connect theoretical content from their studies with concrete applications from research and practice. We would like to thank everyone for the engaging exchange and look forward to future visits!

11.12.2025 HSBI Students Visit the Showroom

2026-01-27T12:33:28+01:00

On December 11, we were pleased to welcome Professor Klemme, Professor of Physiotherapy, together with students from Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (HSBI) to our showroom.

The group consisted of therapists with completed vocational training and practical experience in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or speech and language therapy, who are currently enrolled in the Bachelor’s program in Health or the Master’s program in Vocational Education at HSBI.

During the visit, the students gained insights into various technical assistive systems and their research- and practice-oriented applications in therapy, diagnostics, and care. Two research projects were presented: the attention training system with the virtual agent Flobi, and the mobile robot Nao, designed to promote sports and physical activity among children and adolescents. In addition, the Ichó Ball and the robotic seal Paro were showcased as commercial products already in use for motor, linguistic, and cognitive support in care facilities.

We would like to thank everyone for the great interest and the open exchange, and we hope that the showroom visit provided an inspiring and valuable addition to the study programs.

New article published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI

2026-01-19T13:01:38+01:00

We are delighted to announce that the article "Everything robots need to know about cooking actions: creating actionable knowledge graphs to support robotic meal preparation" has been published in “Frontiers in Robotics and AI”!

The article explores the extent to which an AI-supported knowledge graph is sufficient to enable a robot to understand online recipes. To this end, millions of recipes are analyzed and the cooking activities mentioned in them are clustered.

The work was carried out in collaboration with Bremen University and the Faculty of Technology at Bielefeld University.

M. Kümpel, M. Scheibl, J. Töberg, V. Hassouna, P. Cimiano, B. Wrede, M. Beetz, "Everything robots need to know about cooking actions: creating actionable knowledge graphs to support robotic meal preparation", Front. Robot. AI, Volume 12, 29th October 2025

Link to the article: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1682031/full

19.11.25 Seminar Visit: Educational Sciences Students Explore the Showroom

2026-01-14T13:55:03+01:00

On November 19, Claudia Mertens visited our showroom together with a group of students of educational sciences as part of the seminar “AI and Social Inequality.”

A lively exchange developed around the exhibited demonstrators—the Nao robot, which motivates physical activity; the attention training with the virtual agent Flobi; as well as the robot seal and the ichó ball, both designed to support motor and cognitive stimulation in care facilities.

We would like to thank everyone for their interest and the engaging discussions, and we hope that the impressions gained in the showroom provided a valuable and enriching complement to the seminar.

New article published in the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics

2026-01-14T13:36:00+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the article “Application of Graph Neural Networks on ECG data: A Systematic Literature Review” will be published in the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics!

In the article, our former colleague Alissa Müller presents her systematic review of geometric deep learning approaches to cardiac diagnostics. She highlights the potential of these approaches, but also emphasizes the urgent need for uniform standards and physiologically sound models.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11339912

A. Müller, M. Scheibl, T. Uhe, W. Schäbitz, B. Wrede, "Application of Graph Neural Networks on ECG data: A Systematic Literature Review", IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics

Year in Review 2025

2026-01-14T13:23:10+01:00

The Year 2025 was an intense and successful year for our team, marked by strong contributions at the intersection of co-constructive Social XAI, HRI, attention and emotion monitoring, and participatory design for inclusive intelligent medical assistance systems.

📚Research:

Multiple journal and conference publications (including ICDL and RO-MAN) addressing understanding and trust in XAI, robot architecture transparency, emotion and attention, and cognitive architectures.

🎤 Visibility & Exchange:

Participation in international computer science conferences (ICDL, RO-MAN, MAI-XAI,...), medical conferences (MZEB Congress, EAMHID), and local research events (Medical Day Bielefeld, Bi:Research Conference). We also co-organized the Workshop on Interactive Task Learning in Human-Robot Co-Construction (ITL4HRI) @ RO-MAN.

🚀 Projects & Focus Areas:

New projects (MECSKol, AMF XDeePedMYO, AMF GAZE-AID) were launched. The TRR 318 Constructing Explainability successfully entered its second funding phase, with the MAS group involved in the projects A03, A05, and Ö. In addition, we co-initiated a new focus area at Universität Bielefeld, AI*IM – Interactive Inclusive AI for People with Cognitive Disabilities, and are involved in the focus area Foundations and Implications of Human–AI Teamwork (FAITH).

🎓 Teaching & Early Career Research:

Interdisciplinary teaching in medicine and computer science, supervision of bachelor and master theses, and the successful completion of the dissertation “Negation in Adaptive Robotic Scaffolding: Monitoring Human Understanding and Attention in Human-Robot Explanatory Tasks”.

🙏 Thank you to all collaborators and partners for the excellent cooperation—we are looking forward to 2026!

Warm regards and best wishes for a successful year 2026.

01.01.2016 New team member joins our working group!

2026-01-06T21:08:29+01:00

Dr. Evgenii Pustozerov has recently joined the Working Group Medical Assistance Systems at Bielefeld University, Faculty of Medicine OWL.

Since January 2026, he is working on the FIND-AF2 project, which aims to improve the early detection of hidden atrial fibrillation in patients with sinus rhythm ECGs using AI-based approaches. His research interests include medical signal processing, medical artificial intelligence, mobile health technologies, and wearable-based monitoring. Within the project, large-scale ECG recording datasets will be analyzed using advanced deep learning methods, including convolutional neural networks and graph neural networks, with the expectation of developing robust and clinically relevant models to support stroke prevention.

New Publication: Contribution from the TRR 318 Project Ö in Edited Volume on Science Communication

2025-12-17T19:40:29+01:00

A contribution from Project Ö of the Collaborative Research Centre TRR 318, authored by Britta Wrede and Linda Thomßen from the MAS research group, has been published in the newly released edited volume “Practices of Science Communication in Research Consortia: Formats, Publics, and Sustainability.”

Edited by Marina Böddeker and Britta Hochkirchen, the volume examines practices, goals, and challenges of science communication in interdisciplinary research consortia. The contributions reflect on various communication formats and address questions of publics, implicit understandings, and sustainable communication strategies.

The TRR 318 contribution is titled “The Concept of Co-Construction in Relation to Science Communication” (Ilona Horwath, Nils Klowait, Michael Lenke, Tim Rittig, Carsten Schulte, Linda Thomßen, Britta Wrede). It explains the core concept of co-construction within TRR 318, where explaining is understood as a reciprocal practice in which interlocutors jointly create meaning. The Project Ö team uses this concept to engage with relevant public groups—including school students, medical students, decision-makers, and groups often considered “distant from science.” The chapter presents target-group-specific co-construction workshops as well as additional formats of co-constructive public engagement.

Bibliographic Information

Publisher: Bielefeld University Press

Publication date: December 5, 2025

ISBN: 978-3-69129-006-6

DOI: 10.64136/saro4372

New SFB/TRR 318 Article on “Understanding” Published

2025-12-17T18:43:37+01:00

The Collaborative Research Centre SFB/TRR 318 is pleased to announce the publication of a new research article in the journal Cognitive Systems Research. The paper, titled “Forms of Understanding for XAI Explanations,” was co-authored by Britta Wrede and André Groß from the MAS research group.

The article addresses the fundamental question of what “understanding” means in the context of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). The interdisciplinary team of authors develops a model of different forms of understanding and demonstrates how these forms evolve during explanatory processes. In doing so, both enabledness (knowing how) and comprehension (knowing that) are considered central outcomes of explanations, each at varying levels of depth.

This publication makes an important contribution to the theoretical foundations of XAI and highlights key challenges involved in evaluating and fostering understanding in AI-generated explanations.

Two AG MAS Publications Featured in the New Frontiers eBook

2025-12-17T18:14:43+01:00

Two contributions from the MAS research group are included in the newly published Frontiers eBook on the Research Topic “Dialogue with Robots: Constructive Approaches for Understanding Communication.”

The following publications are featured:

RISE: An Open-Source Architecture for Interdisciplinary and Reproducible Human–Robot Interaction Research (A. Groß, C. Schütze, M. Brandt, B. Wrede, B. Richter)
→ Presentation of an open and reproducible architecture designed to support interdisciplinary HRI research.
Scaffolding the Human Partner by Contrastive Guidance in an Explanatory Human–Robot Dialogue (A. Groß, A. Singh, N. C. Banh, B. Richter, I. Scharlau, K. J. Rohlfing, B. Wrede)
→ Joint publication with collaboration partners from TRR 318 Project A05, investigating how contrastive cues can be used in explanatory human–robot dialogues to specifically support human understanding.

The complete eBook and all individual articles are now available online via the Frontiers website and the Research Topic homepage.

We are delighted about this double contribution and the visibility of our research in the field of explainable human–robot interaction.

Invited Talk by Claudia Weymann

2025-12-17T16:53:29+01:00

We had the pleasure of welcoming sociologist Claudia Weymann for an invited talk.

In her presentation, she shared insights into her research on disruptions in human–robot interaction, with a particular focus on social action and the importance of mutual perception—a topic that is central to the real-world deployment of social and assistive robotics. During the subsequent discussion, we identified numerous points of connection to the research questions and ongoing work of the MAS research group.

Thank you very much for the valuable input and the inspiring impulses!

TRR 318 Enters Its Second Funding Phase

2025-12-17T16:23:58+01:00

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved the continuation of the Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio 318 “Constructing Explainability”, jointly conducted by Paderborn University and Bielefeld University. The interdisciplinary research consortium on social artificial intelligence will enter its second funding phase of three and a half years, starting in January 2026.

The upcoming research phase will focus on the theme of “context” — a crucial aspect for making explainability in AI systems realistic, usable, and human-centered. Our Medical Assistance Systems research group will once again be involved with three projects:

A03 – Co-constructing explanations with emotional alignment between AI explainer and human explainer
A05 – Contextualized and online parametrization of attention in human–robot explanatory dialogue
Project Ö – Questions about explainable technology (Science Communication / WiKom)

We are very pleased about the DFG’s continued trust and look forward to starting the next phase of our joint research with great motivation!

Invited Talk at the Annual Cooperative Meeting of Freie Scholle: Britta Wrede on AI and Smart Homes

2025-12-17T15:46:51+01:00

At this year’s annual cooperative meeting of Freie Scholle, Prof. Dr. Britta Wrede was invited as a guest speaker.

In her talk, she provided an accessible overview of the current state of artificial intelligence in the smart home domain—ranging from new assistive systems and intelligent everyday support to future developments in human–technology interaction.

She was accompanied by Marian Heger, a doctoral researcher at CITEC (Center for Cognitive Interaction Technology), who contributed valuable insights from hands-on research and ongoing projects in the smart home field. Together, they demonstrated how AI-based technologies are already making everyday living easier and highlighted the potential of future innovations.

We would like to thank Freie Scholle for the invitation and for the engaging and successful exchange!

Britta Wrede at the „Wissenshappen“ GENIALE 2025

2025-12-03T12:46:40+01:00

On Saturday, 22 November, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Britta Wrede contributed to the event format “Wissenshappen – When the Right Words Matter” at the Wissenswerkstadt Bielefeld as part of the Science Festival GENIALE 2025. In an impulse lecture, she presented key aspects of her research in the A03 project of the Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio 318 “Constructing Explainability” (TRR 318).

The TRR examines how explanations generated by AI systems can become more understandable when they are developed collaboratively and dialogically with humans. In conversations with visitors, Britta Wrede explained how explanatory processes change when emotions are taken into account. Dr. Angela Grimminger and Prof. Dr. Heike Buhl from TRR 318 introduced fundamental concepts of explanation and understanding processes and illustrated how these can be investigated scientifically. The open format offered guests the opportunity to ask questions and gain insights into current research approaches in the field of explainable AI (XAI).

05.11.25 Our Research Group Visited the Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology

2025-12-03T12:20:23+01:00

Birte and Julian visited the Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology in Leipzig to meet the partners involved in a planned collaboration, tour the clinic, and hold planning discussions with the clinic management and project participants. As part of the visit, Birte and Julian also presented the work of the research group, the RoboCamp project, and the planned collaboration in a talk delivered to the clinic’s staff.

Participants:

AG MAS: Julian Leichert, Birte Richter, Britta Wrede

Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology/ Max Planck Institut Leipzig: Moritz Borrmann, Dr. phil Dipl. Psych. Angelika Thöne-Otto, Prof. Dr. med. Hellmuth Obrig

Visiting the Werkstatt Bullerbach: Hands-On Interactive Technologies

2025-12-01T22:28:09+01:00

Mara Brandt and Birte Richter visited the Bullerbach workshop in Bielefeld-Eckardtsheim with Nao the robot and Paro the therapy seal from the "Interactive assistance technology in medicine and care" showroom.

The workshop provides a workplace for around 150 employees, who had requested Nao's visit after meeting him at the "Bethel athletics" sports festival. Two interactive stands were set up in the foyer with the therapy seal Paro and the robot Nao, who gave instructions on sports exercises. Many employees showed great interest even during the set-up, and Paro, the cuddly seal, was stroked enthusiastically and also left a lasting impression on employees with autism.

A big thank you to everyone involved for the invitation, the open dialogue and the great interest - an all-round enriching visit!

Interactive Assistive Technologies in Action: Trainees, Students, and Professionals visiting our Showroom

2025-12-01T22:04:40+01:00

In October, we welcomed three different groups of visitors to our "Interactive assistance technologies in medicine and care" showroom.

The first group was made up of social work students from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences on 15 October. They were particularly interested in therapeutic applications and the question of how interactive assistance systems can support people in their everyday social and healthcare lives.

On 21 October, as in the previous year, the new trainees followed as part of their welcome days. The new trainees took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with technical support systems and try them out for themselves - there was particularly positive feedback on virtual training with VR glasses and the robot seal Paro.

The very next day, 22 October, a group of occupational therapists visited us and we introduced them to the NAO robot, among other things. The robot's tutorials (in connection with lecture/seminar) for robot-assisted sports therapy were developed together with physiotherapists, resulting in an exciting professional exchange about possible applications and therapeutic perspectives.

We were also able to present our showroom to our research guest Matthias Rehm at the end of October.

We are delighted with the continued interest and the stimulating discussions. A big thank you to everyone who visited us in October!