The IDP-X archive
Every semester begins with an open challenge. Interdisciplinary teams turn it into products, services and experiences grounded in real human needs.
Explore the questions that shaped each semester and the prototypes that emerged from them.
Summer Semester 2026
How can we develop systems or tools that increase people’s appropriate sense of perceived safety in everyday life?
Team SAFETY SAMURAI
An integrated crowd-management and emergency-response ecosystem centered around a smart wearable. Equipped with a Medical Alarm button for immediate distress signaling and a Safety Alarm button for discreet alerts to guide users safely using visual LED indicators and haptics.
Team: Cristoph Höfle, Friederike Hemesath, Johannes Kuhn, Niko Srdic and Yannik Struss.
Team IMPACT
An interactive Impact wall installation that connects global challenges with local action. A digital platform, combined with an illuminated interactive city map, showcases community engagement across districts, making the collective impact visible.
Team: Aditi Satish, Christina Hildner, Luisa Schaub, Mina Jiménez and Till Meinköhn.
Team AMANA
An interactive board puzzle teaching children how to stay safe at home when alone. Children complete puzzles that teach them real-world scenarios and receive interactive audio feedback from the game board.
Team: Mattias Albeck, Nadejda Babina, Alessia Bögel, Antonia Werner and Ann-Sophie Wunderlich.
Team SAFETY SEALS
A wearable reflective visibility band addressing cyclists’ limited visibility, especially in low-light conditions. Worn diagonally across the upper body, it emphasizes the human silhouette in traffic.
Team: Mikolas Schmitt, Rada Barašin, René Insam, Sumit Mohanty and Victor Cheng.
Team 404 NOT FOUND
A smart cycling safety system combines ESP32 hardware with a mobile application. Riders report hazards using a tactile handlebar button, while the app offers route comparisons, adaptive voice alerts and crowd-verified hazard updates.
Team: Hao Kan, Hanyeol Kim, Ninan Luo and Wenxin Shi.
Team BACHELORS
A product supporting urban cyclists by improving their perceived sense of safety in traffic. It detects cyclists’ touch on the handlebar and provides haptic feedback through vibration patterns that communicate different levels of urgency.
Team: Anja Gutmann, Julian Kühne, Yue Qiu, Kevin Dankanych and Florian Pescollderungg.
Winter Semester 2025
Six teams explored calmer, healthier transitions between focused work, recovery and private life.
Team AYLO
A dynamic cushion uses pressure sensors to detect static sitting and provides gentle vibrations that encourage desk workers to move. The subtle haptic feedback supports healthier routines without interrupting concentration.
Team: Arkaprabha Gupta, Lukas Hennecke, Omar Bahaji and Yan-Tung Poon.
Team LITTLE SIGNALS
A tangible cube enables simple, symbol-based communication between children and parents working from home. Children can express basic needs while parents respond asynchronously without breaking their workflow.
Team: Lisa-Maria Fellinger, Audrey Hartmann, Teodora Petrovic, Paulina Seidl and Mario Weigl.
Team SHERLOOK
SENSA is an ambient device that responds to rising stress with rhythmic light and gentle haptic breathing cues. A companion app is reserved for personalisation, keeping deep-work sessions free from digital distractions.
Team: Antonia Fruth, Mertkan Kaça, Christopher Schonert and Lisa Seidel.
Team FLOW MAKERS
A mobile application brings physical activity into desk-based routines. Object scanning and computer vision are used to suggest exercises adapted to the objects and space available around the user.
Team: Nico Daffner, Hawbir Kwekha Mohammed, Lukas Preuß and Matthias Reiter.
Team MAVY
CubeWorks guides users through short, structured micro-breaks using light, haptic feedback and voice cues. The tangible device encourages psychological detachment from work and supports active recovery.
Team: Veronica Hartl, Abdulrahman Hassan, Marsida Topuzi and Yaru Wang.
Team SHIFT HAPPENS
A hybrid system combines a digital application with a physical companion to support structure, boundary-setting and information management during the transition into professional life.
Team: Julia Wärle, Cecilia Born, Linda Pähland, Victoria Rein and Gerard Lilipaly.
Summer Semester 2025
How can smart solutions help integrate work and private life without unnecessary friction?
Team Tea Before Deadline
Remote workers often struggle to separate work from personal life and carry stress beyond the end of the day. Guided by the principle “out of sight, out of mind”, The Balance Desk is a ceiling-mounted, height-adjustable mini-office that lowers when needed and retracts afterwards.
Its foldable monitor, desk surface and extendable dividers create a clear spatial transition between work and home.
Team: Clara Herrmann, Keanu König, Sarah Fatima Atabani and Teodora Petrova.
Team Pitch Perfect Life
A mobile-office concept reframes commuting and business travel by train as productive working time. Comfort, connectivity and spatial design help employees perform their usual tasks with minimal disruption while travelling.
Team: Hongwei Qiao, Nicole Fritsch, Niharika Math and Prabhat Kumar Mahesh.
Team TATE AI
An AI-supported solution reduces the effort required for lesson documentation and substitution coordination. Voice input is transformed into structured records, enabling smoother handovers and saving teachers valuable time.
Team: Atahan Kılıç, Lucca Leon Kühnel, Michael Launer and Moritz Nicklisch.
Team Wolf
Cobold addresses stress among healthcare workers by introducing a restorative commute routine. Human–AI interaction, an interactive stress ball and voice-supported rituals help professionals let go of difficult work experiences after a shift.
The concept also fosters peer support and can be integrated into occupational health management.
Team: Adrian Verdejo, Linus Hofacker, Niklas Melzer and Robert Przybylla.
Winter Semester 2024
How can older people benefit more easily and confidently from what technology has to offer?
Confidence, made easy
A hands-free reminder system helps older adults manage daily routines with confidence. A visual frame interface, voice alerts and remote caregiver support provide personalised notifications, medication tracking and appointment reminders without complex controls.
Team: Andrea Galliano, Dan Bachar, Hajjay Thilluck, Musa Berkay Kocabasoglu and Victoria Nathaniel Shamaki.
Accessible everyday interaction
Tactile and visually distinct stickers make buttons and controls on modern household appliances easier to recognise and operate. Research, prototyping and testing with users refined the idea into a practical accessibility aid.
Team: Nicolas Arteaga Garcia, Yahya Abdul Rahman, Katarína Bulková, Mukundhan Sakthivel and Selen Çiğdem.
Summer Semester 2024
How can we design systems that empower people to actively close material and energy loops in everyday life?
Always ready, never full
A compact bathroom waste-bin concept uses a simple mechanical press to maximise capacity and encourage correct disposal. The low-cost mechanism saves space while supporting cleaner bathroom routines and preventing unsuitable waste from entering the sewage system.
Team: Haolin Feng, Lena Leisering, Egor Zyrianov and Nerea Urresti Gandiaga.
One loop, endless impact
An eco-friendly refill and delivery service uses reusable containers to reduce single-use grocery packaging. A closed-loop system connects doorstep delivery with local vendors, making lower-waste shopping more convenient and accessible.
Team: Onur Isler, Seyma Cakir, Sulejman Biscevic and Yassine Haouas.
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