AU Connect provides support for researchers at Aarhus University who aim to develop collaborations with private or public sector partners.

Seeing and feeling mathematics

Between 3 and 6 percent of school-aged children are affected by dyscalculia, a learning difficulty that makes understanding numbers and basic mathematics challenging. Learning may be improved with the use of augmented reality, which can overlay digital information onto the real world through, for example, a smartphone or specialized glasses.

Research Assistant Vittoria Frau, together with Eva Eriksson and Germán Leiva, is investigating this potential in the project Seeing and Feeling Mathematics: Augmented Reality as Support for Learning Mathematical Concepts. The project involves collaboration with the educational publisher Forlaget Pind and Bjerre, which develops mathematics materials for children with learning difficulties.

The aim is to design AR prototypes that support exercises in which children can interact with digital objects in the physical environment, use gestures, and receive immediate feedback.

The project has been awarded DKK 150,000 from AU Connect.

Digital product passport as a catalyst

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is an initiative that assigns a standardized digital file to every product sold within the EU, providing detailed information about its materials, origin, reparability, and environmental footprint.

With an upcoming EU regulation, the DPP will become a mandatory requirement. While the intention is to increase transparency regarding product life cycles, such requirements are often criticized for potentially stifling innovation. Associate Professor Jonas Frich will challenge this critique in a case study entitled End Users’ Experience of the Digital Product Passport.

In this project, researchers at Aarhus University collaborate with Impact Commerce, a company specializing in e-commerce and digital transformation. Together, they will explore the potential for the DPP to become more than a legal formality, creating real value for users while promoting more sustainable products across the EU.

The project focuses on understanding end users’ experiences with the DPP and developing user-friendly solutions that encourage sustainable consumer choices. Through empirical user testing, the study aims to generate new insights into how companies can respond creatively to EU sustainability policies such as the DPP.

The project has been awarded DKK 140,880 from AU Connect.

Contact

Jonas Frich
Associate Professor, Department of Digital Design and Information Studies
School of Communication and Culture
E-mail: frich@cc.au.dk

Vittoria Frau
Research Assistant, Department of Digital Design and Information Studies
School of Communication and Culture
E-mail: vittoria.frau@cc.au.dk