Master´s thesis - Engineering Adaptive User Interfaces for Industrial Automation Systems

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This Position reports to:

R&D Team Lead

 

Your role and responsibilities
Industrial operators increasingly supervise highly automated systems through digital interfaces. While automation can reduce routine work, operators are often required to understand and respond to dynamically changing complex situations when they occur. Helping users access relevant information, understand context, and make informed decisions therefore remains an important challenge.

 

Recent advances in AI and interactive technologies create new opportunities for adaptive interfaces that dynamically support operators based on operational context. In this thesis, adaptation is scoped to two dimensions: task context (e.g., operational phase, alarm states) and information relevance (e.g., which data is pertinent to the current situation). Adaptations are realized through changes in visual presentation, such as layout and level of detail in process graphic maps, rather than personalization based on individual user profiles. This thesis explores how such concepts can be engineered into functional prototypes.

 

This Master’s thesis aims to explore how adaptive industrial interface concepts can be technically realized  with emerging new technologies.

 

Main research questions:

• What methods and technologies could be used to effectively engineer an interface that automatically change its visual presentations according to tasks and users’ current needs?
• How can we make process graphic maps more dynamic and adaptive, with emerging smart technologies?

Details:

• Spring 2027, commonly between Jan-June
• 30 ECTS/högskolepoäng (hp) 
• 1 - 2 students
• In Västerås, possibility for hybrid workplace

Your responsibilities

• State-of-the-art review: Investigate current research and solution in: Technical solutions to create adaptive and intelligent user interfaces, dynamic HMI, future industrial interaction paradigms
• Investigate key methods to implement adaptive interface and dynamic HMI and summarize pros and cons of them based on literature.
• Explore design and implementation challenges: Analyze existing adaptive interface solutions and identify challenges in moving from concepts to working systems.
• Experiment different tools
• Design and implement one or more functional prototype demo. Possible examples include: Intelligent process graphic maps; Context-aware alarm assistance; Intelligent information prioritization;.
• Evaluate prototype concepts (optional)
• Summarize findings: produce recommendations, design implications and future opportunities for adaptive industrial interfaces
  

Your background

We are looking for motivated master's students with a strong interest in human-centered design and automation.

Candidates could have: 

• Academic Background in one or more of the following fields:
  • Computer science
  • Software Engineering
  • Intelligent Systems
  • Information Technology
  • Human-Centred AI
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

More about us

Recruiting Manager Dawid Ziobro, [email protected], will answer your questions.

 

Apply with your CV, academic transcripts and a cover letter in English. 

We look forward to receiving your application!

A future opportunity

This role is part of our talent pipeline, which means it’s not currently open, but we’re always looking for curious minds, bold thinkers, and people who want to make an impact.

Click Apply to express your interest and be considered for future opportunities that match your experience and aspirations.

At ABB, we welcome people from all backgrounds and believe that diverse perspectives help us build a cleaner, smarter future.

Apply today or visit https://www.abb.com to learn more about how we help run what runs the world.