Maurice Rekrut

Dr. Maurice Rekrut is an Associated Member at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Saarbrücken, Germany, and part of the Ubiquitous Media Technology Lab (UMTL) at Saarland University. Based at the Saarland Informatics Campus, he conducts cutting-edge research at the intersection of neural engineering and interactive systems, with a focus on translating EEG-based discoveries into practical human-machine interfaces across diverse domains including autonomous vehicles and medical technology.

His research centers on Human-Computer Interaction, Brain-Computer Interfaces, Neural Engineering, and Applied Machine Learning, with specialized expertise in silent speech recognition, intent detection, and adaptive interface design. He pioneers techniques for electrode reduction in EEG systems, transfer learning from overt to silent speech, and multimodal integration of physiological signals to overcome current BCI limitations. His work bridges theoretical neuroscience with real-world applications in neurosurgery, virtual reality, and public transport accessibility, emphasizing user-centered design to enhance system robustness and usability.

Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2020-2024) reveals a strategic shift toward deployable BCI solutions, characterized by three key trends: optimization of silent speech recognition through gamified training and transfer learning, hardware constraint reduction via electrode minimization, and multimodal data fusion (EEG/eye-tracking) for context-aware interaction. This trajectory demonstrates increasing focus on practical implementation challenges across autonomous driving, surgical robotics, and VR environments, moving beyond proof-of-concept toward clinically and industrially viable systems.

Dr. Rekrut has mentored 14 graduate students through thesis supervision, guiding research on silent speech BCIs, EEG-based intent recognition, and VR neurofeedback applications. His advisees have produced significant work including automated BCI training frameworks, electrode reduction methodologies, and surgical microscope control systems. While specific grant details aren't provided, his research is institutionally supported by DFKI and Saarland University, with notable contributions to the Mobia project for inclusive public transport and collaborations on autonomous systems development.

As a core member of the Ubiquitous Media Technology Lab within DFKI's Cognitive Assistants department, he collaborates in a multidisciplinary team exploring human factors in interactive systems. The lab's research ecosystem spans virtual reality illusions, haptic feedback systems, and sports technology, with recent achievements including IEEE VR best paper awards and novel toolkits for psychophysical experimentation. Current initiatives focus on perceptual detection thresholds for VR hand redirection and GPU-accelerated reinforcement learning frameworks.