Gudrun J. Klinker facts for kids

Gudrun Johanna Klinker (born February 15, 1958) is a German computer scientist. She is famous for her important work in augmented reality. Augmented reality, or AR, is a technology that adds computer-generated images or information to the real world around you. Think of games like Pokémon Go, where digital creatures appear in your real-life surroundings!

What is Augmented Reality?

Gudrun Klinker is a leading expert in augmented reality (AR). AR lets you see the real world, but with extra digital information layered on top. For example, imagine looking at a building through your phone. The phone could show you information about its history or what shops are inside. This is different from virtual reality (VR), which completely replaces your view with a digital world.

Gudrun's Journey in Computer Science

Gudrun Klinker studied computer science (which is called "informatics" in some countries) at Hamburg University in Germany. She finished her first degree in 1982. From 1983 to 1988, she worked at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States. There, she earned her Ph.D. (a high-level university degree) in 1988.

After her Ph.D., Gudrun worked at several important research centers. These included the DEC Research Lab and the European Computer-Industry Research Center (ECRC). She also worked at the Fraunhofer Society, which is a big research organization in Germany. She spent time in both Munich and Darmstadt.

Becoming a Professor

After working as a freelance expert for two years, Gudrun became a full professor in May 2000. She joined the faculty of the Technical University of Munich. Here, she teaches and researches augmented reality.

Her Research and Impact

Gudrun Klinker's main research goal is to make augmented reality useful in everyday life. She wants to combine AR with ideas from mobile computing and ubiquitous computing. Mobile computing means using computers that you can carry, like smartphones. Ubiquitous computing means technology is everywhere around us, often hidden.

Her research includes many exciting areas:

• Sensing and Tracking: This involves using sensors to understand the real world. She works on "ubiquitous tracking," which means knowing where things are all the time. This often uses "sensor fusion," combining information from different sensors.
• Information Presentation: How can we show digital information in a 3D way that makes sense in the real world?
• Interaction: How do people interact with AR? This includes "human-computer interaction" in cars and using "multi-touch displays" (like touchscreens).
• System Design: She also works on the "systems architectures" needed for AR to work everywhere.
• Industrial AR: This focuses on using AR in factories and other industries.

Gudrun Klinker is also one of the people who helped start the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR). This is a very important conference where scientists share their new AR ideas. She has written or co-written over 100 scientific papers. These papers share her discoveries with other researchers around the world.