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.
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Master's Thesis Topics at CWI DIS
Publication date: 2025-05-06
The Distributed & Interactive Systems group at CWI has new open positions for motivated students who would like to work on their Master’s thesis as an internship in the group. Topics include human computer interaction, artificial intelligence, cognitive (neuro-)science and/or interaction design. Keep reading for more information about research topics, requirements and contact information.
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Spring School on Social XR Designated for the First Time as an ACM Seasonal School
Publication date: 2025-07-22
The Spring School on Social XR achieved a significant milestone: for the very first time, it has been officially recognized as an ACM Europe Seasonal School.
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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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4th Edition of Spring School on Social XR, ACM Seasonal School
Publication date: 2026-05-07
More than thirty students from various disciplines, including technology, the social sciences, and the humanities participated the fourth edition of the Spring School on Social XR. The event took place from 20 to 23 April 2026 and was organized by the Distributed and Interactive Systems group (DIS)
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CWI’s DIS Group Showcases Human-Computer Interaction Research at CHI 2026
Publication date: 2026-04-13
The Distributed and Interactive Systems (DIS) group at CWI has multiple contributions at the ACM CHI 2026 conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2026) in Barcelona. The conference, recognized as the premier international forum for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), takes place from 13 to 17 April in Barcelona, Spain. With a full paper, two posters, and three specialized meetups, the group actively contributes to the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research.
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Human-Centric Modeling of 3D Data: the Future of 3D Video Compression?
Publication date: 2026-02-26
How we can model the quality of 3D content from a user viewpoint, so it can be compressed and streamed without noticeable impact? This question is at the core of Xuemei Zhou PhD thesis which she will defend on Wednesday, March 4th.
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Dutch Consortium Stage IX Awarded Grant to Transform Immersive Art
Publication date: 2026-02-03
A grant of €1.3M has been awarded to Stage IX: a consortium in which the Distributed and Interactive Systems (DIS) group at CWI collaborates with Ruimtetijd, 4DSOUND, Amsterdam University of the Arts, Nxt Museum, and POPKRAFT.
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