Birgit Brucker is deputy head of the Multimodal Interaction Lab and scientific coordinator of the Mixed Reality Lab and the Multi-Touch Lab in the Future Innovation Space of the IWM. Her research focuses on the design and use of innovative interaction media, such as virtual reality and multi-touch tables, to enhance understanding of various content domains, including scientific contexts, motion sequences, and artistic/musical subjects. A particular focus of her work is the study of embodied interactions, such as the influence of hand proximity (i.e. the distance between the user's hands and the information presented) and the role of hand gestures and the whole body in information processing and knowledge acquisition. She is also researching the potential and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in AI-assisted writing scenarios, such as the use of ChatGPT for creative and scientific writing.

Main research topics:

• Use of static and dynamic visualization to support knowledge acquisition
• Embodied learning (including gestures to support learning and proximity of hands to presented information)
• Use of virtual learning environments and innovative interaction media in education and training scenarios (e.g. virtual reality and multi-touch tables).