Zentrale Anlaufstelle Barrierefrei

We are offering the opportunity to interested students to write their Bachelor/ Master thesis with us. We have set out some suggestions for topics. Each of the following can be written as a Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis, as appropriate to functional scope. The theses can also be completed as a project within the framework of the Intelligent Systems degree programme.

Please direct any enquiries by email to unimaps@uni-bielefeld.de

 

1. Evaluation of a navigation app with particular focus on accessibility

The app "UniMaps" enables accessible navigation within Bielefeld University. Particular attention is paid to the accessibility standards as defined in BITV 2.0 and the Android standards. In the course of the bachelor's/master's thesis, a user study is to be conducted to evaluate the user-friendliness and accessibility.

2. Map building by means of machine learning

The app "UniMaps" facilitates accessible navigation within Bielefeld University. The map data of the University was provided in dxf format and must be converted into osm format. Currently, a semi-automatic approach is used for this, which correctly converts the majority of the rooms but still requires a great deal of manual reworking. To minimise the manual input, it is your task to devise a machine learning approach.

3. 3D map visualization

Currently, the UniMaps map view displays only one floor at a time against a background map. The display is two-dimensional and when a floor is changed, the floor maps are exchanged. However, the map library used also offers the possibility to display buildings three-dimensionally. Within the scope of this work, a 3D visualization of the maps is to be developed and integrated into the app. On the one hand, this should enable a 3D visualization of the entire building, but also visualize the individual floors in the building.

4. Map creation using ray casting

The app "UniMaps" enables barrier-free navigation within the University of Bielefeld. The map data of the university was provided in dxf format and has to be converted into osm format. Currently, a semi-automatic approach is used for this, which correctly transfers most of the spaces, but still requires too much manual rework. This algorithm is to be rewritten and further improved. The goal is to generalize the algorithm to different dxf maps and to solve previous problems with the algorithm.

5. Graph generation from CAD data

For navigation, the UniMaps app uses a graph that is traversed for wayfinding. This graph is currently generated automatically from CAD data using a script. Within the scope of this work, the algorithm will be rewritten and existing problems will be solved. A current problem is that in long corridors short instructions are displayed because the angle between nodes is too large and the navigation interprets this as a turn. A smoothing could be implemented to correct this.

Completed works