Chair

The ergonomic design of products and work processes is crucial for us to live our daily lives, leisure activities, and work lives safely, efficiently, and fulfillingly. We often only become aware of this when we are frustrated by poorly designed devices or machines, or annoyed by carelessly designed software. The well-known phenomenon of "human error" is usually just a symptom of inadequate ergonomic design, which can mislead the user.

The discernible upheavals in society, the world of work, and technology raise many new research questions. Examples include, among other factors, the changing demographic conditions in industrialized nations and the enormous potential offered by innovative interaction technologies. Technical systems will increasingly assist us and operate automatically, including, among many others, the automobile.

At the Chair of Ergonomics, we conduct research on these questions, addressing both anthropometric and cognitive science issues in collaboration with partners from academia and industry within international networks. For ergonomic questions, we offer consultation and support through the Ergonomics Competence Network (http://www.e-c-n.de). The goal of our research is to develop methods for evaluating ergonomic work practices and to create tangible representations of future interaction.