Welcome!

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Hello, I am an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Patras, where I also earned my BSc (integrated MSc) and PhD degrees. I am a member of the Interactive Technologies Laboratory - IT Lab. My research is related to the design, development and evaluation of information systems with an emphasis in human-computer interaction.

Published papers in top-ranked scientific venues, which received awards, and (co-) supervised Ph.D. and M.Sc. students. Long-standing professional experience as a project coordinator and principal investigator in EU-funded and National research projects. Fluent in German, English and Greek.

Find me also at

Project Coordinator in EU and National Research Projects

I am the Project Coordinator of the following European and National research projects.

EU Project CREAMS :: #mixedreality #augmentedreality #virtualreality #artstudents #exhibitions
Scaffolding Creativity of Arts Students: Framework, Toolchain, and Educational Material on how to Create their Own Virtual Exhibitions (€382,644, 2022-2025, Project Coordinator & Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: European Commission. More info: CREAMS Project Website

National Project CogniX :: #electroencephalography #eyetracking #cognition
Electroencephalography and Eye Gaze-driven Framework for Intelligent and Real-Time Human Cognitive Modelling (€194,295, 2022-2024, Project Coordinator & Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.). More info: COGNIX Project Website

EU Project TRUSTID :: #cybersecurity #userauthentication #biometrics
Intelligent and Continuous Online Student Identity Management for Improving Security and Trust in European Higher Education Institutions (€291,310, 2021-2023, Project Coordinator & Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: European Commission. More info: TRUSTID Project Website

National Project DeAR Museum :: #mixedreality #virtualreality #culturalheritage
Development and production of augmented and virtual reality applications supporting narrative tours at the Tomato Industrial Museum in order to convey a personalized experience to the visitors of an old factory (€300,000, 2021-2023, Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: Research-Create-Innovate. More info: DeAR Museum Project Website

Highlights

[Workshop Chair - April 2023] I am delighted to announce that I will be serving as the Workshop Chair for the 1st International Workshop on Accessibility and Multimodal Interaction Design Approaches in Museums for People with Impairments, which is set to take place alongside the MobileHCI 2023 conference.

Workshop Abstract: This workshop focuses on methods, tools, and techniques to design and develop mobile museum applications for people with impairments. More specifically, the research that will be presented will relate to technological solutions that support museum visitors with visual, motor, dexterity, hearing, and cognitive impairments. The rationale for the workshop is premised on the significance of providing meaningful and engaging museum experiences to visitors through mobile applications with customized interfaces adapted to the characteristics of various groups of people with special needs. Furthermore, the use of Mixed Reality, i.e., the combination of real and virtual worlds, will be addressed in connection with the quest to foster access and inclusion with regard to museums, and empowerment of people with impairments. The workshop's primary goal is to bring together leading experts to discuss the field's challenges and propose solutions concerning methods, tools, and techniques in HCI, present their research on user requirements, and system design to advance knowledge with the view to optimizing uses of emerging technologies for enhancing cultural inclusion. [More info]

[Opening to Society Activity - March 2023] We are happy to share that the we hosted a group of 29 third-grade students from the High School - L.T. Farron , providing them with a unique opportunity to learn about our research in Brain Computer Interaction. As part of the visit, we demonstrated our state-of-the-art Mixed Reality apparatus, which received great interest and engagement from the young students.

[Publication - February 2023] We are excited to announce the publication of our research paper, A Review of EEG-Based User Authentication: Trends and Future Research Directions, in IEEE ACCESS. To learn more, please check out the full article https://10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3253026.

Abstract: Recently, the use of Electroencephalography (EEG) in scientific research on User Authentication (UA) has led to cutting-edge experiments that seek to identify and authenticate individuals based on their brain activity in particular usage scenarios. Utilizing EEG signals, derived from brain activity, might provide innovative solutions to contemporary security issues in traditional knowledge-based user authentication, including the threat of shoulder surfing. In this review paper, we analyze 108 different EEG-based user authentication experiments based on the following perspectives: a) the user experimental setup, with an emphasis on the applied EEG- protocols; b) the artificial intelligence techniques employed and finally c) the security and privacy preservation aspects. The reviewed papers cover a broad time frame from 1998 to 2022 and include various experimental protocols and algorithms used for classifying EEG signals. Additionally, the majority of the referenced works report findings from multiple experiments that incorporate distinct approaches and configurations. This leads to a discussion on best practices for EEG-based User Authentication and conclusions suggesting future research directions that consists, among others, of considering homomorphically encrypted biometric templates for information leakage prevention through federated learning approaches in decentralized architectures. We anticipate that the present literature review will provide a roadmap for future research by considering efficiently and effective EEG-based User Authentication methods while at the same time preserving privacy.

[Keynote Speech - November 2022] Happy to share my Keynote Speech at the 17th IEEE International Workshop on Semantic and Social Media Adaptation & Personalization.

Summary: Scientific evidence underpins that humans differentiate in their inherent way to perceive and process visual information and that these differences in visual information processing immensely affect user experience and task execution in various application domains. This becomes even more relevant within virtual or mixed interaction contexts and applications which by definition necessitate from end-users to perform advanced visual information processing tasks that entails visual attention, search, processing and comprehension. In this talk we will present our recent research efforts which are focused on understanding the interplay among human cognition, visual behaviour and user experience within virtual and mixed reality interaction contexts. By doing this, we aim at building human cognition-centered user models based on users visual behaviour patterns that can serve as a basis for personalizing user interaction aiming to improve user experience within virtual or mixed reality applications.

[Publication - August 2022] We are delighted that our longitudinal research that spanned over two years and embraced three public European healthcare organizations, with 169 participants, will be published at ACM Transactions on Computing for Healthcare. Title: "Security and Usability of a Personalized User Authentication Paradigm: Insights from a Longitudinal Study with Three Healthcare Organizations" DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3564610

Abstract: This paper proposes a user-adaptable and personalized authentication paradigm for healthcare organizations, which anticipates to seamlessly reflect patients episodic and autobiographical memories to graphical and textual passwords aiming to improve the security strength of user-selected passwords and provide a positive user experience. We report on a longitudinal study that spanned over two years in which three public European healthcare organizations participated in order to design and evaluate the aforementioned paradigm. Three studies were conducted (N=169) with different stakeholders: i) a verification study aiming to identify existing authentication practices of the three healthcare organizations with diverse stakeholders (N=9); ii) a patient-centric feasibility study during which users interacted with the proposed authentication system (N=68); and iii) a human guessing attack study focusing on vulnerabilities among people sharing common experiences within location-aware images used for graphical passwords (N=92). Results revealed that the suggested paradigm scored high with regards to users' likeability, perceived security, usability and trust, but more importantly it assists the creation of more secure passwords. On the downside, the suggested paradigm introduces password guessing vulnerabilities from individuals sharing common experiences with the end-users. Findings are expected to scaffold the design of more patient-centric knowledge-based authentication mechanisms within nowadays dynamic computation realms.

[Publication - July 2022] We are happy that our paper "Supporting People with Visual Impairments in Cultural Heritage: Survey and Future Research Directions" has been accepted at the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 2022. - Impact Factor: 4.920
Authors: Sylaiou S., Fidas C. (2022)- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2022.2098930

Abstract: This literature review surveys published research that aims to foster blind and visually impaired (VI) people's engagement with cultural heritage. Fifty (50) papers are included in this survey, published between 2008 and 2021. They mostly focus on multisensory, multimodal, and interdisciplinary, ICT-based assistive human- centered computing approaches. These methods often optimize the user experience of VI-user's through an effort to gain an in-depth understanding of this special group's needs and accordingly design adaptive and adaptable interaction workflows. Moreover, several publications include user evaluations and empirical studies. Findings suggest that approaches tend to become more complex, multimodal, and multidisciplinary as time progresses. This leads to a discussion and conclusions suggesting future research directions in this domain. The proposed way forward relates to a synthesis of methodologies, scientific domains, and approaches into a more holistic, comprehensive, and synergetic model.

[Research Equipment - May 2022] We are happy to announce further extension of our laboratory research infrastructure by acquiring cutting-edge equipment with a total amount >50K. Among others, we obtained a state-of-the-art 41-channel Electroencephalography (EEG) device, a mixed-reality hands-free controllable headset and couple of eye-tracking lens. We aspire to design and conduct EEG multi-modal experiments to measure cognitive traits within innovative breakthrough interaction realms like MR/AR and VR and gesture control along with visual and/or acoustic stimuli. Moreover, we aim to develop and evaluate an electroencephalography based framework for intelligent real-time modeling of user cognitive intentions, thus laying the ground for ground-breaking advancements in various Brain Computer Interaction research fields. More info: COGNIX Project Website

[EU Project - December 2021] Happy to act as a Project Coordinator and Principal Investigator of the EU project CREAMS - Scaffolding Creativity of Arts Students: Framework, Toolchain, and Educational Material on how to Create their Own Virtual Exhibitions. The proposal was submitted in collaboration with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), Cognitive UX GmbH (Germany), the Cyprus University of Technology (Cyprus), the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art (Israel), and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway).

[Research Project - July 2021] Excited to receive a research grant of €194,295.00, from the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.), to Support Faculty Members & Researchers in the field of Engineering Sciences and Technology.

[Publications - June 2021] Happy about our three new paper publication at the 18th IFIP TC.13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT 2021), entitled "A Field Dependence-Independence Perspective on Eye Gaze Behavior within Affective Activities", "An Empirical Study of Picture Password Composition on Smartwatches" and "Understanding Insider Attacks in Personalized Picture Password Schemes".

[EU Project - March 2021] I am honored to act as a Project Coordinator and Principal Investigator of the EU project TRUSTID that has been approved by the European Commission with a total funding of €291,310. The proposal was submitted in collaboration with the University of Cyprus (Cyprus), the Institute of Systems and Robotics - University of Coimbra (Portugal) and Cognitive UX GmbH (Germany).

[Workshop at ACM UMAP 2021 - January 2021] I am looking forward to running the 3rd edition of our workshop APPS 2021 - Adaptive and Personalized Privacy and Security, in conjunction with ACM UMAP 2021. Our special focus in 2021 will be on challenges and opportunities related to the Covid-19 outbreak on ensuring security and privacy of sensitive data and secure user interactions in online systems such as challenges for online distance learning, the need for touchless authentication, e-Government, e-Commerce, etc.

[Publication - January 2021] Our paper entitled "From hot-spots towards experience-spots: Leveraging on users' sociocultural experiences to enhance security in cued-recall graphical authentication" has been accepted at the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies.

[New Position - November 2020] I am thankful for spending the last years at the Department of Cutlural Heritage Management and New Technologies of the University of Patras. Many thanks to all my colleagues and supporting staff for a fruitful and joyful collaboration. I am very happy to join the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the University of Patras. I look forward to work with my new colleagues and students.

[Guest Editor of Special Issue - November 2020] I am the Guest Editor, together with Dr. Stella Sylaiou and Dr. George Pavlidis, of the Special Issue "Mixed Reality in Culture and Heritage" at the Heritage Journal. Please download the Call for Papers (.pdf)

[Best Paper Award - October 2020] We received the prestigious UMUAI James Chen award for best paper of 2019, for our paper entitled "A cognition-centered personalization framework for cultural heritage content". The User Modeling and User Adapted Interaction (UMUAI) James Chen Award is bestowed annually to the author(s) of the best paper of the year. The award has been donated by the Chen family in commemoration of James R. Chen.

Patents

• German Patent & Trade Mark Office (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt): Method and apparatus for flexible user authentication based on individual human cognitive characteristics (Methode und vorrichtung zur flexiblen benutzerauthentifizierung basierend auf individuellen menschlichen kognitiven eigenschaften)- patent pending
• Greek Industrial Property Organisation (OVI): Methods and tools to support and monitor in real time visitors of the World Wide Web (N. Patent No. 1004805.OVI, INT. CL G06F 17/60, g06f 15/163)

Honors and Awards

• UMUAI James Chen Award for Best Paper of 2019 (November 2020)
  Research paper entitled "A Cognition-centered Personalization Framework for Cultural Heritage Content"
• Seal of Excellence - Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions call H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
  For a high-quality project proposal in a highly competitive evaluation process, namely CogniPass - Cognition - based Personalised Authentication SchemeS [Seal of Excellence]
• Best Paper Nomination Award and Honourable Mention at UMAP 2014 Conference (July 2014)
  Research paper entitled "A Personalisation Method based on Human Factors for Improving Usability of User Authentication Tasks"
• Best Paper Award at SouthCHI 2013 Conference (July 2013)
  Research paper entitled "Towards the Personalization of CAPTCHA Mechanisms based on Individual Differences in Cognitive Processing"

Publications

Journals (Selected Publications). Please see a full list of publications in Google Scholar

IEEE ACCESS
A Review of EEG-Based User Authentication: Trends and Future Research Directions

Fidas, C., Lyras, D.
IEEE ACCESS, 2023 - Impact Factor: 3.476
DOI: https://10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3253026

ACM Transactions on Computing for Healthcare
Security and Usability of a Personalized User Authentication Paradigm: Insights from a Longitudinal Study with Three Healthcare Organizations

Constantinides, A., Belk, M., Fidas, C., et al.
ACM Transactions on Computing for Healthcare, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3564610

T&F IJHCI
Supporting People with Visual Impairments in Cultural Heritage: Survey and Future Research Directions

Sylaiou, S., Fidas, C.
International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 2022, Taylor & Francis, 2022 - Impact Factor: 4.920
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2022.2098930

Elsevier IJHCS
From hot-spots towards experience-spots: Leveraging on users' sociocultural experiences to enhance security in cued-recall graphical authentication

Constantinides, A., Fidas, C., Belk, M., Pietron, A., Han, T., Pitsillides, A.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 149, Elsevier, 2021 - Impact Factor: 3.16
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102602

Springer UMUAI
A cognition-centered personalization framework for cultural heritage content

Raptis, G., Fidas, C., Katsini, C., Avouris, N.
User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction (UMUAI). The Journal of Personalization Research, 29(1), 9-65, Springer, 2019 - Impact Factor: 4.68, James Chen Award for best paper of 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11257-019-09226-7

ACM JOCCH
Do game designers' decisions related to visual activities affect knowledge acquisition in cultural heritage games? An evaluation from a human cognitive processing perspective

Raptis, G., Fidas, C., Avouris, N.
ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage 12, 1, Article 4, ACM Press, 2019 - Impact Factor: 1.72
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3292057

T&F IJHCI
A human-cognitive perspective of users' password choices in recognition-based graphical authentication

Katsini, C., Fidas, C., Belk, M., Samaras, G., Avouris, N.
International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 35(19), 1800-1812, 2019, Taylor & Francis, 2019 - Impact Factor: 1.71
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2019.1574057

Elsevier IJHCS
Effects of mixed-reality on players' behaviour and immersion in a cultural tourism game: A cognitive processing perspective

Raptis, G., Fidas, C.A., Avouris, N.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 69-79, Elsevier, 2018 - Impact Factor: 3.16
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.02.003

Elsevier CHB
The interplay between humans, technology and user authentication: a cognitive processing perspective

Belk M., Fidas C., Germanakos P., Samaras G.
Computers in Human Behavior, 76, 184-200, Elsevier, 2017 - Impact Factor: 5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.042

Elsevier IJHCS
Do human cognitive differences in information processing affect preference and performance of captcha?

Belk M., Fidas C., Germanakos P., Samaras G.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 84, 1-18, Elsevier, 2015 - Impact Factor: 3.16
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.07.002

Oxford Uni. Press
A personalized user authentication approach based on individual differences in information processing

Belk M., Fidas C., Germanakos P., Samaras G.
Interacting with Computers, 27(6), Oxford University Press, 2015 - Impact Factor: 1.03
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwu033

Elsevier Comp. Ed.
Heterogeneity of learning material in synchronous computer-supported collaborative modelling

Fidas, C.A., Komis, V., Tzanavaris, S., Avouris, N.
Computers and Education, 44(2), 135-154, Elsevier, 2005 - Impact Factor: 5.29
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2004.02.001

Education and Information Technologies
Computer-supported collaborative concept mapping: Study of synchronous peer interaction

Komis, V., Avouris, N., Fidas, C.
Education and Information Technologies, 7(2), 169-188, Springer, 2002
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A%3A1020309927987

Projects

Project Coordinator and Principal Investigator

• EU Project CREAMS: Scaffolding Creativity of Arts Students: Framework, Toolchain, and Educational Material on how to Create their Own Virtual Exhibitions (€382,644, 2022-2025, Project Coordinator, Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: European Commission, Greek State Scholarships Foundation
• National Research Project CogniX: Electroencephalography and Eye Gaze-driven Framework for Intelligent and Real-Time Human Cognitive Modelling (€194,295, 2022-2024, Project Coordinator, Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.)
• EU Research Project TRUSTID: Intelligent and Continuous Online Student Identity Management for Improving Security and Trust in European Higher Education Institutions (€291,310, 2021-2023, Project Coordinator, Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: European Commission, Greek State Scholarships Foundation. Call: Strategic Partnerships in Response to the COVID-19 Situation: Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness in the field of Higher Education (KA226)
• National Research Project DeAR Museum: Development and production of augmented and virtual reality applications supporting narrative tours at the Tomato Industrial Museum (€300,000, 2021-2023, Principal Investigator). Funding Agency: Research-Create-Innovate

Work Package Leader and Researcher, and Project Manager

• H2020-SERUMS: Securing Medical Data in Smart Patient-Centric Healthcare Systems (2019-2021, WP5 - User Authentication and Trust) - http://serums-smartpatient.com/
• FP7-CR-PLAY: Capture Reconstruct Play (2013-2016, WP5 Leader - Formative and Summative Evaluation) - http://www.cr-play.eu
• FP7-SERIES: Seismic Engineering Research Infrastructures for European Synergies (2009-2013, Lead of Information Systems Architecture Design and Implementation) - http://www.series.upatras.gr
• FP6-QALIBRA: Quality of life-integrated benefit and risk analysis web-based tool for assessing food safety and health benefits (2006-2010, Lead of Evaluation) - http://www.qalibra.eu
• FP6 e-Ten-COMMODE: Collaborative modeling environment (2005-2006, Lead of Evaluation and Pilot Studies)
• IST-MODELLINGSPACE: Space of ideas expression modeling and collaboration (2001-2004, Software Engineer)

Prototypes

CogniKit: An Extensible Tool for Human Cognitive Modeling based on Eye Gaze Analysis

HoloPass: Picture Passwords in Mixed Reality

Security through Play: A Playful Interaction Design in Mixed Reality for Improving Graphical Password Security

Teaching

Academic Service

Advising

Scientific Community Service

Review Service in International Journals and Conferences