Interaction Intelligence Lab

The Interaction Intelligence (I&I) lab, led by Prof. Denis Lalanne, is a new research group within the Human-IST Institute, an independent interdisciplinary institute under the University of Fribourg’s rectorate. Prof. Lalanne is also formally affiliated with the Department of Informatics at the University of Fribourg.

I&I conducts interdisciplinary research on the design, analysis, and evaluation of interactive systems that integrate artificial intelligence, multimodal interfaces, and smart environments. The group’s activities include human–AI teaming, human–building interaction (in collaboration with the Smart Living Lab), accessibility, information visualization, and human-centered data analysis. I&I investigates how people perceive, understand, and act with or through intelligent and interactive technologies, whether AI is involved or not, developing methods, tools, and prototypes that support effective, useful, sustainable, and responsible human–technology interaction.

The group advances both foundational theoretical research and applied solutions to understand humans’ interactions with interactive systems and to enhance human experience in complex digital and physical environments.

Historical context: Prof. Lalanne founded the Human-IST Institute in 2015 as its sole director and principal investigator. When Prof. Portmann joined in 2017, the institute continued as a single joint entity without creating sub-groups. With the recent growth to three professors and the launch of two master curricula, it was decided to establish research groups under the common Human-IST umbrella, and Prof. Lalanne’s team was formally named the Interaction Intelligence (I&I) lab.