Problem Description

Instant Messaging for group conversations is one a major use-cases of concurrent communication via mobile and static devices. Collaboration tools like Slack, Telegramm and Whatsapp have become an integral part of everybody’s everyday life. Especially Slack has received a huge success in business contexts due to its additional functionality of coordination functions, Microsoft for example has recently started their Teams to keep up with this rise. Although providing a lot of opportunities by realizing communication via space and time, these technologies typically incorporate the characteristic lack of transferring social signals and cues prominent in face to face communication. While this is having impact on the communication of two people, its effects are even more unpredictable in the group context.

With the development of eye-tracking in webcams the technology makes its way out of the corner of a highly expensive tool into a commodity everywhere applicable, for example in webcams. This allows to use it in your mobile device, as implemented in the new Apple iPhone XS, or laptops. Eye-Tracking allows to measure several interesting variables like (focused) attention, a form of cognitive state. By applying the technology, we want to improve the Instant Messaging experience in group chats and the group’s performance with the application of eye-tracking technology by using the attention of the users.

Goal of the Thesis:

The goal of this master-thesis is to review the literature on communication technologies and the usage of eye-tracking or attention-tracking (1), develop a running prototype for improvement of attention and group performance (2) and evaluate this prototype (3).

Skills Required

• Experience with Eye-Tracking Technology or technological background and ability to work yourself into it
• Reading and text analysis skills
• Very good English skills
• General interest in human-computer interaction, collaboration technologies and future of work
• Very good time management and organizational skills