Topics for Theses
Our professorship awards Bachelor's and Master's theses on various topics in the field of applied cognitive research. If you are interested, please get in touch with the relevant contact person.
Please note that the topics listed below are only a selection. For further topics, please contact our employees directly! You can find completed theses here.
Fatigue Under Review: Assessment Practices Across Aviation Occupations
Mental fatigue is increasingly recognized as a critical safety concern in aviation, where high cognitive demands and operational constraints come together. Cognitive performance impairments due to fatigue are well-documented, and both scientific and regulatory bodies emphasize the need for effective fatigue risk management (FRM). The central element of such management is the accurate assessment of fatigue using valid and appropriate measurement methods. However, the aviation field employs a wide range of tools, ranging from self-report scales to physiological and behavioural indicators. Each method features specific advantages and limitations. Moreover, the choice of method may depend on the intended purpose, such as real-time monitoring,
risk prediction, or long-term fatigue research.
Currently, there is a lack of publications examining which fatigue assessment methods are used for which purposes across different aviation professions. This thesis aims to address that gap by analysing current practices and performing a scoping review. It is intended to provide an overview of commonly applied fatigue assessment methods in aviation. Professional groups covered include air traffic controllers (ATCOs) and air traffic control
assistants (ATCAs), cabin crew and commercial pilots. Two main research questions remain:
I. Which method (measurement) is applied for which purpose in at least three different occupational groups in aviation?
II. Are there any differences in the application based on occupational group?
You are expected to complete the tasks as part of your bachelor's degree programme. The start date is flexible. The thesis project will be conducted under professional and scientific supervision, ensuring continuous guidance throughout the research process. Moreover, you will be embedded in a broad network of aviation professionals, providing valuable opportunities for exchange and practical insights. Depending on the project’s progress and results, there is also the possibility of co-authoring a scientific manuscript.
Contact: Maximilian Peukert Michaela Schwarz
Augmented Perception in Human-Machine Interaction: The Effect of Delayed Multisensory Feedback
The ongoing digitalization and increasing interaction between humans and machines open up new opportunities for equal participation in social life, where the interaction between both is crucial for usability and user experience.
A study will analyze how temporal and contextual factors, particularly feedback delays, influence sensory perception and motor learning in human-machine interaction. Additionally, the role of different feedback modalities in human-machine interaction will be examined. Using the Wire Loop Game, the impact of visual, auditory, and haptic delays on performance will be investigated.
As part of this study, an empirical master's thesis is available (completion by 12/2025). The study is part of the Excellence Cluster CeTI (Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop; www.ceti.one).
Contact: Corinna Kührt
Learning to Juggle in a Natural Environment versus Mixed Reality
Mixed reality (MR) offers an innovative and immersive learning environment that makes juggling accessible in a new way. In a study, we want to evaluate an MR application for learning to juggle. We are interested in the extent to which the haptic feedback supports the user in the task, to what extent the tutorial supports learning and what advantages the MR environment offers compared to conventional juggling.
As part of this study, an empirical master's thesis is available (completion by 12/2025). The study is part of the Excellence Cluster CeTI (Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop; www.ceti.one).
Contact: Corinna Kührt
Human Factors Engineering: Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Design of New Technologies
Interdisciplinary collaboration is critical to solving complex problems because it brings together different perspectives and enables innovative solutions that individuals could not achieve alone. People pursue specific goals, follow specific processes and use different methods and ways of thinking within their discipline. Understanding these disciplinary characteristics can greatly facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration.
The aim of this project is to identify and contrast these particularities and provide support for interdisciplinary collaboration.
In this context, a theses is available (completion by 12/2025). The study is part of the Excellence Cluster CeTI (Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop; www.ceti.one).
Contact: Corinna Kührt
Attentional Shifts in Film Viewing: Ambient and Focal Visual Processing
Analyzing the time course of eye movements during free exploration of real-world scenes often reveals a systematic increase in fixation durations and a decrease in saccade amplitudes, which is explained as a shift from ambient (bottom-up spatial orientation) to focal (top-down object-related) visual processing. Previous studies suggest that the ambient-to-focal strategy responds to environmental changes, such as the onset of various visual stimuli and scene cuts in dynamic contexts, thereby enhancing the encoding of visual information.
In everyday life, we perceive the world as a seamless flow of linked images. However, Hollywood-style films create the impression of a continuous narrative by presenting discontinuous visual information in a way that is easy to comprehend, requires no specific cognitive skills, and may even be understood by viewers without prior film experience. During film viewing, each frame displaces the previous one. In a continuous shot, the spatial and temporal displacement from frame to frame is small enough for the viewer to see it as motion within the same context rather than as different contexts. On the other hand, when the visual displacement is significant (e.g., the abrupt onset of the new visual environment caused by a cut), viewers are forced to re-evaluate the new image as a different context.
This raises an important question: How do films maintain the expectation of narrative continuity during spatiotemporally discontinuous motion? Does the ambient-to-focal strategy play a role in film viewing, facilitating the re-evaluation of new images (visual displacement at the moment of the cut) as different contexts, thereby advancing our comprehension of the current film narrative?
This master’s thesis utilizes eye-tracking technology combined with a film-quiz experiment to investigate how the human visual system is sensitive to varying degrees of discontinuity and employs certain visual processing strategies to manage these visual changes. Programming skills are advantageous, as is an interest in working with data. Details and requirements will be further discussed if interested.