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Distributed & Interactive Systems Group

Our research group focuses on facilitating and improving the way people use interactive systems and how people communicate with each other. We combine data science with a strong human-centric, empirical approach to understand the experience of users. This enables us to design and develop next generation intelligent and empathic systems. We base our results on realistic testing grounds and data sets, and embrace areas such as ubiquitous computing, human-centered multimedia systems, and languages.

The group addresses key problems for society and science, following a multi-disciplinary approach. This results in a full-stack methodology that enables us to bridge socio-technical gaps in society and science by instrumenting the appropriate infrastructures and communication protocols using realistic testing grounds.

Distributed and Interactive Systems is an outward-looking research group, that enjoys a number of fruitful partnerships with companies and organizations in the areas of creative industries, smart cities, automotive industry and wellbeing. Our group transfers knowledge through scientific publications, standards bodies, open-source implementations and consultancy. We pride ourselves on pushing boundaries, leading the way for others to follow.


Pinned Items

DIS Group Awarded 2023 IEEE Multimedia Best Paper Award

Publication date: 2024-12-17

On December 13th, 2024, the paper “VR2Gather: A Collaborative, Social Virtual Reality System for Adaptive, Multiparty Real-Time Communication” has been selected, by the IEEE Computer Society Publications Board, to receive the 2023 from IEEE MultiMedia Best Paper Award.

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New EU-funded Project AMPLIFY Joins the Revolution of the Cultural and Creative Industries

Publication date: 2024-12-02

The project will run for the next 36 months and aims to empower artists, technologists, and communities by driving innovation in the Cultural and Creative Industries.

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From "One Size Fits All" to Design for Social Inclusion

Publication date: 2024-12-02

CWI’s DIS group takes part in TU Delft led TACIT research project that aims to break down barriers for the 1 in 4 Dutch affected by disabilities

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"Fashion Beneath the Skin" - Unique Collaborative Social Virtual Reality Installation

Publication date: 2024-06-18

Thanks to the volumetric video setup by CWI’s DIS group, two remote visitors can simultaneously explore the virtual exhibition.

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Latest News

DIS at CHI 2025

Publication date: 2025-04-23

Research carried out by the Distributed and Interactive Systems (DIS) group from Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) has resulted in contributions to this year’s ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025), to be held in Yokohama, Japan.

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DIS Organizes 3rd Edition of Spring School on Social XR

Publication date: 2025-04-17

The Distributed and Interactive Systems group (DIS) organized the third edition of the Spring School on Social XR. The event took place from 7 to 10 April 2025 and attracted 30 students from various disciplines, including technology, the social sciences, and the humanities.

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New IPN Special Interest Group on Human-Computer Interaction

Publication date: 2025-04-17

The ICT Research Platform Nederland (IPN), has recently approved a new Special Interest Group (SIG) on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). This group will be led by Prof. Alessandro Bozzon (TU Delft), Prof. Pablo Cesar (CWI and TU Delft), and Prof. Judith Masthoff (University of Utrecht)

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DIS Group at IEEE VR 2025

Publication date: 2025-04-12

Research carried out by the Distributed and Interactive Systems (DIS) group from Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) has resulted in several contributions to IEEE VR 2025. The 32nd IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (March 8–12, 2025).

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