Julia HertelProjectsPublicationsTeachingExperienceContactDeutsch

Human-computer interaction researcher and developer

Task Assistance Beyond the Screen

I am interested in investigating how augmented reality (AR) supports infrastructure professionals in planning and maintenance. I work with industry partners, from the first workshop to the field test.

  • Extended Reality
  • Augmented Reality
  • User-centered Development
  • Field Studies
  • Visualization
  • Perception
Download CV (PDF)
Julia Hertel testing an AR headset on the bridge of a ship

About

I am a research associate in the Human-Computer Interaction group at the University of Hamburg. I have submitted my PhD thesis, and my defense is planned for November 2026. I am interested in exploring how technology can support us in interacting with the real world. In particular, my interest lies in AR and immersive technologies in general.

I design concepts together with the people who use them, develop applications to be deployed in the real world, and study their effectiveness and perceived usefulness in field studies.

Research Projects

During my PhD at the University of Hamburg, I was involved in several research projects, mostly third-party funded and one commissioned by industry, in close collaboration with industry and research partners.

2025 – 2026
Funded by EU Horizon

PRESENCE

A toolset for hyper-realistic and XR-based human-human and human-machine interactions

Development of technologies for more convincing presence in extended reality (XR), organized in three technical pillars with one SDK each: holoportation, haptics, and intelligent virtual humans.

An intelligent virtual human reacts to a user with an expression and an action.
System architecture: multi-modal prompting, structured output and the resulting behavior of an intelligent virtual human.
Role
  • Co-leading the technical committee
  • Co-leading the technical pillar on intelligent virtual humans, developing an open-source Unity SDK for creating them
  • Conducting the user-centered evaluation of all technical pillars
Main publications
2023 – 2025
Funded by BMV

HafenplanZen

Strategic port planning based on digital twins

Development of a port planning tool based on a digital twin that enables collaborative planning and simulation of traffic scenarios. As a technical platform, we explored a multi-touch table in combination with AR.

Screenshot of the 3D port planning tool with the building menu.
Simulation view of a container terminal from above, with traffic and playback controls.
Port model shown on the touch table.
Role
  • Developing the port planning tool (3D visualization and interaction)
  • Conducting the user-centered evaluation
Main publications
2023 – 2024
Funded by BMFTR

RESCUE-MATE

Dynamic situation creation and support for rescue forces in complex crisis situations

Creation of a dynamic situational picture of crisis and disaster situations from continuously integrated real-time data, giving rescue forces comprehensive orientation and situation assessment.

Rescue personnel using a touch table with a map.
Word cloud of key themes from the requirement analysis: situational picture, real-time data, collaboration, sensors, UAVs, social media, AI support and more.
Role
  • Contributing to the research grant proposal
  • Leading the requirement analysis for the situational picture
Main publications
2022 – 2025
Commissioned research for Hamburger Energienetze via HITeC Hamburg

AR Inspection Support for Gas Facilities

Investigation of how AR can support technicians in inspecting facilities of the local gas network operator. Together with stakeholders, especially technical staff, we identified requirements in a user-centered process and developed a prototype, with use cases such as 3D visualization of installed components, digital forms in AR, and the display of underground pipelines.

Exploded 3D view of a valve in AR, shown on the real gas installation.
AR hints on valves: a red cross marks the wrong valve, a green arrow points to the right pipe.
A technician with an AR headset next to a gas pressure regulator, with a digital inspection form floating in AR.
Underground pipelines shown in AR on a paved area, in green and red.
Role
  • Analyzing the requirements of technicians
  • Developing prototypes in an iterative process
  • Conducting a long-term field study to evaluate the final prototype
Main publications
2020 – 2023
Funded by BMBF

WizARd

Knowledge networking and collaboration through augmented reality in production-related services

Development of a digitalization assistant that makes AR/VR more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises by supporting the development of AR/VR applications with a no-code/low-code approach.

A skipper wearing an AR headset steers a ship along a virtual navigation path shown on the water.
AR navigation markers on the water, seen from the bridge of a boat.
Water depth visualization as a color-coded pattern on the water surface in AR.
Role
  • Exploring visualization and interaction paradigms
  • Developing and evaluating AR/VR prototypes
Main publications

Main Publications

An extract of my main publications. A full list of publications can be found on Google Scholar.

  • 2026

    Augmented Reality for In-Situ Soil Moisture Visualization to Support Irrigation of Sports Fields

    L. Flaig, J. Hertel, F. Steinicke

    IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct), in press

    Coming soon

    AR view of a sports field with color-coded soil moisture zones and markers, seen through an AR headset.
  • 2026

    Augmented Reality for Tabletop and In-Situ Visualization of Road Construction Drawings to Support Engineers

    J. Münster, J. Hertel, F. Steinicke

    Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA)

    Get Paper

    Road construction drawing visualized in AR on a street, with barriers and markings.
  • 2026

    Anthropomorphic AI: A Toolkit for Authoring and Interacting With Intelligent Virtual Agents for Extended Reality

    K. Li, F. Mostajeran, S. Rings, J. Hertel, S. Schmidt, M. Arz, F. Steinicke

    Frontiers in Virtual Reality

    Get Paper

    A realistic virtual human in a white blouse against a grey background.
  • 2025

    Development and Evaluation of a Collaborative Touch Table Port Planning Support System

    J. Hertel, F. Steinicke

    Research Data Repository, University of Hamburg

    Get Paper

    Port planning tool on a touch table with a 3D port model and a building menu.
  • 2025

    Investigating the Effects of Limited Field of View and Resolution in Optical See-Through Augmented Reality in the Context of Immersive Analytics

    J. Hertel, J. N. Synwoldt, F. Steinicke

    IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)

    Get Paper

    A cloud of small cubes in a virtual room with a coordinate axis, used to study visualization in AR.
  • 2024

    Adaptive Immersion: Mixed Reality Map Visualization With Gradual Transition

    J. Hertel, S. Goodarzi, F. Steinicke

    Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI)

    Get Paper

    Port model displayed on a touch table.
  • 2023

    Welcome AboARd! Evaluating Augmented Reality as a Skipper's Navigator

    J. Hertel, S. Schmidt, M. Briede, O. Anders, T. Thies, F. Steinicke

    IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR)

    Get Paper

    AR navigation path on the water, seen from the bridge of a ship.
  • 2022

    Co-Design of an Augmented Reality Maintenance Tool for Gas Pressure Regulation Stations

    J. Hertel, J. Gabel, L. Kruse, M. Wollborn, F. Steinicke

    IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct)

    Get Paper

    Virtual exploded view of a gas pressure regulation component in AR, with a hand holding a virtual part.
  • 2022

    Augmented Reality for Crewed Hydrographic Surveys

    J. Bräker, J. Hertel, M. Briede, T. Thies, M. Semmann

    The International Hydrographic Review

    Get Paper

    A person wearing an AR headset on the bridge of a survey vessel, looking at the water.
  • 2021

    A Taxonomy of Interaction Techniques for Immersive Augmented Reality Based on an Iterative Literature Review

    J. Hertel, S. Karaosmanoglu, S. Schmidt, J. Bräker, M. Semmann, F. Steinicke

    IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR)

    Get Paper

    Simplified overview of the taxonomy: tasks such as creation, selection and manipulation, and input modalities such as tactile interaction, gestures, voice, gaze and brain-computer interface.
  • 2021

    Augmented Reality for Maritime Navigation Assistance: Egocentric Depth Perception in Large Distance Outdoor Environments

    J. Hertel, F. Steinicke

    IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)

    Get Paper

    Two AR views on a paved area: a red ring and a blue cube at different distances, next to numbered markers.

Teaching

Alongside my research, I taught at the Human-Computer Interaction group of University of Hamburg and supervised student theses.

Summer 2025 – Winter 2025/26

Master Project

Project supervision

Winter 2024/25, Winter 2025/26, Winter 2026/27

3D Displays

Lecture and exercise in the lecture series “User Interface Software and Technology”

Summer 2024

Interaktive Multimediasysteme

Exercises

Winter 2022/23

Usability Engineering & User Experience Design

Exercises

Supervised theses (Bachelor and Master)
  • 2026
    From Planning to Reconciliation: Reducing Articulation Work in Shared Households through Contestable AI
  • 2026
    Progressive Disclosure of Concept Maps Beyond Conversational-Agent Guidance: A VR Instructional Approach for Cabin Safety and Emergency Procedures
  • 2026
    A Digital Companion for a Surf Competition: User-Centered Development of an Event App for the Adh Open
  • 2025
    User Interactions on Multi-Touch Surfaces: Effects of Adjustable Tilt and Height
  • 2025
    Comparing UX Design Trends (Flat Design vs. Skeuomorphism) and Interaction Methods (Natural vs. Universal) in Office-Themed Augmented Reality Environments
  • 2025
    Die Kunst der Platzierung: Evaluierung einer Taxonomie für die Anordnung von Benutzeroberflächen-Elementen in einem kombinierten Touchtisch-Augmented-Reality-Setting
  • 2025
    Potenzielle Einsetzbarkeit von Augmented Reality in der Straßen- und VerkehrsplanungPublished as a paper →
  • 2025
    Augmented Reality based Soil Moisture Visualization for Optimized Irrigation Decision on Sport FieldsPublished as a paper →
  • 2025
    Mold vs. Draw: Comparison and Evaluation of two Terrain Design Techniques in Augmented Reality
  • 2024
    Investigation of the Effects of Technical Parameters in Augmented Reality in the Context of Data VisualizationPublished as a paper →
  • 2024
    Evaluating the Effectiveness of Combined Nudging Techniques in E-Commerce: A Focus on Scarcity, Social Proof, and Salience Nudges
  • 2023
    Einfluss auf die wahrgenommene Selbstoffenbarung, Vertrauen und Sympathie in einer Video-CMC basierten Online-Dating Umgebung
  • 2023
    Der Einfluss der Art der sozialen Interaktion auf die Motivation unter Berücksichtigung des Geschlechts im Kontext einer gamifizierten Lernapp
  • 2023
    Nutzerzentrierte Entwicklung einer Augmented Reality Trainingsanwendung für den Fußballsport
  • 2022
    Die Relevanz von Design Guidelines auf die Usability von Theater- und Museumswebsites
  • 2022
    Skeuomorphismus vs. Flat Design vs. Neumorphismus. Ein Vergleich der User Experience hinsichtlich altersbedingter Unterschiede

Experience & Education

2020 – 2026
University of Hamburg, Human-Computer Interaction group

Research associate and PhD candidate

Dissertation: “Task Assistance Beyond the Screen – Investigating Augmented Reality to Support Infrastructure Professionals in Planning and Maintenance Contexts”.
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Frank Steinicke

2018 – 2020
Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services

Student research assistant

Development of an XR teleoperation interface for remote-controlling tugboats in the research project FernSAMS.

2017 – 2018
University of Hamburg

Student research assistant

Development of Augucation, a web-based platform for interactive applications that supplement lecture content.

2016 – 2020
University of Hamburg

M.Sc. Computer Science

2013 – 2016
University of Hamburg

B.Sc. Human-Computer Interaction

Contact

I am looking for applied research and R&D roles in human-computer interaction, XR, industrial and infrastructure XR, and visualization. The fastest way to reach me is email.

Email: mail@julia-hertel.de

Website: julia-hertel.de

Google Scholar · LinkedIn · CV (PDF)