Valentin Heun

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About

Valentin Heun is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of human-computer interaction, augmented reality, and robotics. His work fundamentally reimagines how people intuitively control and collaborate with smart machines. Heun is best known for developing "exTouch" (2013, 57 citations), a groundbreaking universal interface that allows users to directly manipulate domestic robots and smart appliances through simple touch gestures, effectively turning any surface into a control panel. This work laid the foundation for more accessible human-robot interaction. Building on this, Heun created the "Kinetic AR" framework (2020, 17+ citations), a revolutionary system that uses augmented reality to visually program and control robotic motion systems. Kinetic AR enables co-located human-robot collaboration by making motion paths and tasks for collaborative robots (co-bots) visible and interactive in AR, as demonstrated with the MIR100 Automated Guided Vehicle. By merging spatial computing with robotic control, Heun has established a new paradigm for intuitive, visual programming in manufacturing and domestic settings, making complex robotic systems accessible to non-experts.