Human-Centered Systems (HCS)

The Division of Human-Centered Systems is part of the Department of Computer and Information Science. Research and teaching at HCS is highly interdisciplinary.

A woman is walking in a corridor together with a service robot Photo credit Jonas JärmenResearch and Teaching

Human-Centered Computing

We do research and teaching on human-computer interaction, multimodal interfaces including natural language and augmented reality, interaction and service design, collaborative and social computing, as well as ubiquitous and mobile computing, and accessibility.

Cognitive Science

In this field, we do research and teaching on distributed and situated cognition, cognitive ethnography, learning technologies, and design cognition.

We also do research on artificial intelligence including knowledge representation, machine learning, and natural language processing.

In cognitive systems, we cover human factors, cognitive ergonomics, man-machine interaction as well as command and control, emergency and disaster management, safety management, and resilience engineering.

Information Systems

In this field, the research and teaching focuses on decision support systems, data mining, semantic web, and ontologies.

News at HCS

News and major articles

Server room and data on black background.

Machine Psychology – a bridge to general AI

AI that is as intelligent as humans may become possible thanks to psychological learning models, combined with certain types of AI. This is the conclusion of Robert Johansson, who in his dissertation has developed the concept of Machine Psychology.

Image of diploma

Best student paper award to Riley Capshaw

Riley Capshaw, PhD student at the Department of Computer and Information Science, has won the Best student paper award at EKAW-24, the 24th International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management.

Woman interacting with service robots

Robots are common in the care of older adults

More than half of Sweden’s municipalities have purchased companion robots in the form of dogs or cats for their dementia care homes. This is the conclusion of a doctoral thesis from Linköping University.

Research at HCS

A group of students are working sitting down by tables

Just Transitions Graduate School

The aim of Just Transitions graduate school is to build knowledge and competence around how to implement just climate transition in a local context. The graduate school is based on seven doctoral projects and a platform for knowledge exchange.

Semantic Web

The Semantic Web is an extension of the traditional Web in which interlinked data with well-described semantics has been added in a machine-processable form.

Gameboard with chips

Changing the game of consumption

The game is a research communication project that uses large-scale social simulations, megagames, to help groups explore different interests and ideas about transformations towards sustainable consumption related to food, vacations and furnishings.

Latest publications

2025

Anna Dobrosovestnova, Franziska Babel, Hannah Pelikan (2025) Beyond the User: Mapping Subject Positions for Robots in Public Spaces 2025 20th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), p. 163-173 (Conference paper) Continue to DOI
Emma Mainza Chilufya, Mattias Arvola, Susanne Severinsson, Anna Martín Bylund, Linnéa Stenliden, Arezou Mortazavi, Tom Ziemke (2025) The BookBot Project: Conceptual Design of a Social Robot Facilitating Reading Motivation Chatbots and Human-Centered AI: 8th International Workshop, CONVERSATIONS 2024, Thessaloniki, Greece, December 4–5, 2024, Revised Selected Papers, p. 132-149 (Conference paper) Continue to DOI
Lina Hertzberg, Elin Ejdetjärn, Fredrik Grén, Madelene Holm, Lucas Kronstad, Kalle Källman, Gustav Markholm, Birgitta Thorslund (2025) App to support learner drivers with ADHD Human Factors and Ergonomics Society European Chapter: Annual Meeting 2025, Bologna, 2025 (Conference paper)
Hilda Nääs, Sam Thellman, Tom Ziemke (2025) Human preferences for cognitive and emotional capabilities in robots across different application domains Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Vol. 12 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Birgitta Thorslund, Dora Krznaric, Sam Thellman (2025) The Impact of Weather Conditions on Performance and Perceived Risk in Simulated Driving Situations Human Factors and Ergonomics Society European Chapter: Annual Meeting 2025 (Conference paper)
Henrietta Palmer, Merritt Polk, Elena Raviola (2025) The situatedness of dilemmas in boundary spaces: uncovering paradoxical conditions for increasing effectiveness through transdisciplinary research approaches GLOBAL SOCIAL CHALLENGES JOURNAL, Vol. 4, p. 20-45 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Hilda Nääs, Sam Thellman, Tom Ziemke (2025) Human preferences for cognitive and emotional capabilities in robots across different application domains Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Vol. 12, Article 1511549 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Maria Andreassen, Nuria Santaularia, Aseel Berglund, Erik Berglund, Helena Orädd, Anna Strömberg, Tiny Jaarsma, Leonie Klompstra (2025) Feasibility of a Mobile Exergame for Patients with Heart Failure Games for Health Journal (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Wilhelm Brodin, Carl-Oscar Jonson, Mikael Johansson, Erik Prytz (2025) Exploring teamwork, trust, and emergency response competence in emergent ad-hoc immediate responder groups: an experimental simulation study Ergonomics (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Tomas Rosberg, Birgitta Thorslund (2025) Effects of European Rail Traffic Management System Onboard Version on Running Time, Driver Target Braking, and Driver Workload Transportation Research Record (Article in journal) Continue to DOI

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Staff at HCS

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About the department