Philipp Wintersberger

Johannes Kepler University of Linz, TU Wien, Intelligent Systems Research (United States)

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About

Philipp Wintersberger is a leading researcher at the intersection of human-computer interaction, automated driving, and human-robot collaboration. His work fundamentally explores how humans perceive, trust, and interact with autonomous systems, particularly when those systems must make ethical or safety-critical decisions. Wintersberger’s most influential research challenges the validity of simulated driving studies; his highly cited paper "The Real T(h)OR" (2019, 9 citations) critically examines whether take-over request findings from simulators translate to real-world driving, a cornerstone question for the field. He has also made significant contributions to understanding human-robot teaming, investigating how audio and visual cues affect intent communication in collaboration. A notable achievement is his early work on moral machines, where he probed public attitudes toward ethical decisions made by automated systems like vehicles and drones. More recently, Wintersberger has pioneered the use of reinforcement learning for attention management systems to support multitasking operators. With a growing citation impact, his research is essential for designing trustworthy, transparent, and effective autonomous technologies that work seamlessly with people.