HELLO

my name is Martin Ecker. As Creative Technologist I love to design and prototype interactive things which are easy to use. Programming (QT, HTML5, Python, Java, Processing, C, Arduino) and solid UX skills help me to realize crazy ideas in no time. I am expert in hardware prototyping (Arduino, Raspberry PI + sensors and actuators) and software prototyping. I really like experiments with new technologies.

EDUCATION

I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in the course Information Design from Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien). Also I am technican in Information Technology (it.schule Stuttgart). I am working at UID / UIDlabs in Ludwigsburg.

EXPERIMENTS

Alex, the bear

M. Uhlig, M. Ecker | UID GmbH,
External: T. Hausmann, S. Zeitoun (2018)

Alex the bear is a voice-based assistant attached to rental bicycles. He accompanies and informs tourists on different routes through the city. The IOT device, which is based on a Raspberry PI is using for voice interaction the Google Assistant SDK. The device has a camera eye that uses the Google Vision API. Alex the bear can therefore be asked, "What is that?" and provides information on recognized objects by the camera via speech output. The project was created on the hackathon "TALK TO ME, BERLIN!" and was awarded with the prize for best persona in VUI.

Rainminder

Dr. Peter Klein, Anze Li, Henrik Rieß (PL), Martina Uhlig, M. Ecker | UID GmbH (2015)

Rainminder gets the weatherforecast for today from the internet. When rain is expected and a person walks over the mat, he will get an acoustic reminder which sounds like stepping into a puddle. Multiple pressure sensors are detecting the taps and triggering the sounds. This reminds the user to take an umbrella, when he leaves the house.

Exhibition: BOSCH HMI Tech Days 2015 and World Usability Day, 2015

Spirit Guide

Dr. Peter Klein, H. Rieß, M. Ecker | UID GmbH (2014)

This jacket provides haptic feedback to enable hands free navigation for eldery people to reach comfortable places of daily living. Tiny NFC location badges with GPS coordinates can be sticked on the jacket to choose the destination. More context is displayed on a smartwatch. Building the prototype of the jacket was my job.

BACHELOR THESIS

Interactive prototype of a sensor controlled seat using Microsoft Kinect (R) and Arduino (2012)

Much of the German population spends many hours a day sitting at a workstation. In this thesis, I first intend to observe the way people sit in front of a a screen in the workplace. Using the results of the observations, I developed a concept which should improve the user's sitting experience. The concept will be experienced with an interactive prototype of a sensor-controlled seat using Microsoft Kinect and Arduino.

YouAreClang

M.Ecker, J. Henschel (2011, 2012)

Multiple persons can act as clang objects in a room. The properties of a clang object (eg. tone color) are depending on the position of the object in the room. Clang objects are visual (floor projection) and acoustically (loudspeaker) perceivable. The interaction is based on the gestic input device Microsoft Kinect (R) and was developed by using open source libraries.

Heavy days

M. Ecker, R. Stuhler (2010)

How many things are eating two students in one week? Concrete in combination with RFID tags is used to make the quantity tangible. The RFID tags attached to the concrete columns are evaluated to control an the interactive data visualization.

A LITTLE SHOEGAME

M. Ecker (2010)

The idea of the game is to control a curve on the screen. The goal is not to touch your own curve, the other player's curve or the borders. The players are using controller plates, which are equipped with pressure sensors for each foot. Every player moves the curve in the right or left direction by putting pressure on the foot. Depending on how much pressure the player performs, the radius of the curve changes.

PAPER

  • “Journey” – guided, non-linear story-telling supported by eye tracking
    Ecker, M., Rieß, H., Schuster, M., Uhlig, M. & Klein, P., (2018). “Journey” – guided, non-linear storytelling supported by eye tracking. In: Dachselt, R. & Weber, G. (Hrsg.), Mensch und Computer 2018 - Tagungsband. Bonn: Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.

  • Prototyping tangible interfaces for people with dementia
    Uhlig, M., Klein, P., Hintz, S., Schröder, Schäl, Ina, Will, H. (2018). Prototyping tangible interfaces for people with dementia. 1. Clusterkonferenz: Zukunft der Pflege – Innovative Technologien für die Praxis At: Oldenburg, Germany

  • Angemessenheit haptischer Prototypen in unterschiedlichen Fidelity-Graden bei Zielgruppen mit Einschränkungen
    Uhlig, M., Klein, P., Ecker, M. & Hintz, S., (2017). Angemessenheit haptischer Prototypen in unterschiedlichen Fidelity-Graden bei Zielgruppen mit Einschränkungen. In: Burghardt, M., Wimmer, R., Wolff, C. & Womser-Hacker, C. (Hrsg.), Mensch und Computer 2017 - Workshopband. Regensburg: Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V..

  • Reminder Objects: Greifbare Interaktion im alltäglichen Leben
    Rieß, H., Klein, P., Ecker, M. & Hintz, S., (2015). Reminder Objects: Greifbare Interaktion im alltäglichen Leben. In: Endmann, A., Fischer, H. & Krökel, M. (Hrsg.), Mensch und Computer 2015 – Usability Professionals. Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg. (S. 252-260).

  • YouAreClang
    Ecker, M., Henschel, J. & Tille, R., (2012). YouAreClang. In: Reiterer, H. & Deussen, O. (Hrsg.), Mensch & Computer 2012 – Workshopband: interaktiv informiert – allgegenwärtig und allumfassend!?. München: Oldenbourg Verlag. (S. 545-548).

HACKATHON

  • Makeathon, Smart Home Robotics, Fraunhofer IAO, 2019
    „Mark and grip“, (first prize) Team: L. Nitsche-Pflumm, M. Ecker, UID GmbH, external F. Hick

  • talktome.berlin, 2018
    "Alex, the bear" a Voice User Interface (prize for best persona)
    Team: M. Uhlig, M. Ecker UID GmbH, external: T. Hausmann and S. Zeitoun

  • „My pure air“, 2017
    Team: L. Reimer, M. Bottesch, A. Niedel, J. Lassahn, M. Ecker UID GmbH

  • Hack 4 Ageing well, 2017
    „Non linear stortytelling“ (first prize)
    Team: H. Rieß, M. Schuster, M. Ecker UID GmbH

  • Hack 4 Ageing well, 2016
    „Social Data“. (second prize) Team: H. Rieß, S. Hintz, M. Ecker, UID GmbH