10+ years leadership (principal engineer, team lead, product owner)
20+ publications & patents, 1000+ citations
International working experience (Japan, USA, Sweden, Germany)
Professional Experience
2024 - present
MicrosoftPrincipal Software Architect
2016 - 2024
Tobii ABPrincipal Engineer
2013 - 2016
Tobii DynavoxSenior Engineer
2011 - 2012
University of California, BerkeleyVisiting Scholar
2009 - 2012
German Research Center for Artificial IntelligenceResearcher
2006 - 2007
RICOH JapanIntern
2000 - 2008
FreelancerSoftware Developer
Education
2013
Dr. rer. nat. (PhD), TU Kaiserslautern - Magna Cum Laude (1.0)
2008
Diplom Informatik (M.Sc. CS), TU Kaiserslautern - Very Good (1.1)
Technology I used professionally
8+ years
Full time since 2016
ML
Networking
Game Engines
Reached 1M+ readers
8+ years
Lead engineer
3 products
5 major demos
XR SDK
Work Featured in News
15+ years
Invented Text 2.0
Dozen papers
100's citations
15+ years
Integrated ML into 3D, Video, HCI
Authored FFSVM
PhD at DFKI
15+ years
Gaze
Speech
Touch
Gestures
Work Featured in News
5+ years
Headed Tobii's Unity Team
Did high-performance C#–Rust interop
20+ years
Frontend
Backend
TypeScript
Node
HTML
CSS
WASM
Did it all …
5+ years
Wrote Linux drivers
GSM-R middlewares
Some trains run my code
5+ years
Cloud backends for 100k's devices
AWS used weekly
Security research at UC Berkeley
10+ years
Extensively used PyTorch
Matplotlib
NumPy
Processing.py
5+ years
Wrote multiple Android Apps
Used 1.4 to SE 7
2024
Microsoft
I joined the Substrate App Platform group as a Principal Software Architect, helping to bring Rust to more users and developers.
Rust
2023
Foveated Rendering
For desktop-based eye tracking systems I researched the reduction of artifacting and signal latencies around VRS-based foveated rendering in UE5.
Unreal EngineDirectXC
Video Intelligence
Kickstarting a new project, I was responsible for R&D around online deployment of ML models, with special focus on high throughput, low latency systems.
RustMachine LearningPyTorchVulkan
2022
Ocumen Studio
I was responsible for Ocumen Studio, a scientific XR viewer for interactive real time data (think VLC for XR), and authored most high-performance code.
XRRustCPythonUnityCUDANVENC
2021
Foveated Transports
I coordinated and led our foveation projects, investigating how real time gaze data
can lead to better video compression, giving a 30%+ compression advantage over static foveation, low obtrusiveness and realistic implementations. (Download Paper)
VRCodecsEye TrackingOpenGLDirectX
Ocumen I/O
For our VR products I architected and led the implementation of Ocumen I/O, a high performance, cross platform video and data streaming format written in Rust with bindings for C# and Python
(think MKV for multimodal interaction data).
VRCodecsRustCC#Python
Various Projects
Interoptopus, polyglot interop between Rust and C, C#, Python, ...
I was responsible for our XR SDK, a set of cross-device APIs and components, integrating low-level libraries,
tooling, samples, demos, documentation and marketing material.
XRUnity
Watch Dogs: Legion
I co-authored a Rust-based DLL that improved eye tracking gameplay in the game Watch Dogs: Legion. This may be have been one of the first uses of Rust in a AAA title.
RustMachine Learning
2019
Object Mapping
I headed the training and productification of a low-latency machine-learned object mapping technology,
giving a significantly better XR developer experience and interaction performance, and became the foundation of Tobii's XR SDK.
Machine LearningEye TrackingRustCXR
Various
I acted as interim Product Manager for XR SW, doing profitability planning and strategic roadmaps for various XR products and activities.
2018
Rust Language Cheat Sheet
I authored cheats.rs, a 50+ pages (when printed) Rust learning resource for experienced programmers with 1M+ readers and 1k+ GitHub stars one year after release.
RustHTML / CSS
The Hub
I was responsible for The Hub, an acclaimed VR demo exhibited at CES. The demo contrasts various
interaction paradigms to pinpoint how eye tracking can augment both VR and AR user interfaces.
I led the development of Mirrors, X-Team's 'game changing' GDC debut, highly praised by the 1000's of developers,
journalists and visitors who tried it at countless events over the following years.
I implemented an allocation-free SIMD-based libSVM-compatible library in Rust for use in game engines and XR, that can evaluate small, dense models 10x faster per core and easily supports embarrassingly parallel operation, and
even made it into a real game.
Machine LearningRust
2016
X-Team
I started as Principal Engineer at Tobii AB, tasked with creating X-Team. Originally a VR / AR
research team, we continued to produce 100's of demos, numerous inventions; supplied software to major studios and XR companies over the following years.
LeadershipXR
2015
Statistics Infrastructure
I architected and rolled out a privacy-aware big data statistics infrastructure based on heuristic sampling,
capable of ingesting, processing and visualizing billions of data points for custom HCI studies with real-world data.
TypeScriptHTML / CSSAWS
Vapor
I created Vapor, an in-house application showcase ('Vapor is not Steam') to facilitate innovation sharing, allowing
employees to publish their experiments, and comment, rate and download them.
TypeScriptHTML / CSSAWS
2014
ERGO
I led and architected ERGO, Tobii Dynavox's first general-market ergonomics software for users with RSI or carpal tunnel
that could effectively reduce the number and duration of key strokes, pointer movement and keyboard-mouse transitions.
WPFC#Ergonomics
2013
Tobii Dynavox
🇸🇪 I joined Tobii Dynavox R&D, researching and prototyping various assistive technologies for upcoming products.
ResearchAssisstive
2012
Touchalytics
As part of my research at UC Berkeley I co-authored Touchalytics, classifying
unique swipe patterns on smart phones to continuously authenticate users, stop imposters, and improve
device UX. The paper subsequently got over 500 citations.
SecurityBiometricsMachine LearningJavaPython
Finished PhD
I submitted my PhD thesis (formally a German Dr. rer. nat.) and received a magna cum laude (1.0).
I also started to sleep much better.
Research
2011
University of California, Berkeley
🇺🇸 I was a visiting scholar in Dawn Song's lab where I did biometric security research together
with Ivan Martinovic and Mario Frank, and gave a guest lecture.
ResearchSecurityBiometrics
2010
Text 2.0
I published the Text 2.0 paper, basically asking: What if text knew that it is being read? On an
individual level this could mean smarter reading aids on the fly; on an aggregate level better texts.
Mitlesender Text - Lesegerät liefert Zusatzinformationen ... (Deutschlandfunk)
Eye TrackingMachine LearningReadingHCI
Google Zeitgeist
As part of our outreach, our research team was invited to Google Zeitgeist, showcasing Text 2.0 and discussing its potential.
Outreach
2009
German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence
I joined DFKI (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) under Andreas Dengel for my PhD.
Machine LearningHCI
2008
Context Sensitive Dashboard (Diplom)
Under supervision of Sven Schwarz I created a context-sensitive dashboard, taking into account
user activity, to present the most useful information sources for the current task; finishing
my Diplom (BSc + MSc) with a final grade of 1.1 (very good).
Machine LearningJava
2007
RICOH, Tokyo
🇯🇵 I did an internship at RICOH, Tokyo, using computer vision and machine learning to
design gesture- and attention-based user interfaces for office equipment.
Computer VisionOpenCVC++Python
2000 - 2008
Freelancer
As a freelancer I worked with customers in the railway industry.
I wrote software, drivers and GSM-R communications used on the locomotives BR 145, Bombardier TRAXX, did defensive network security,
and ported code between operating systems.
C++Security
1990's
Charity Work
Using assembly and SoftICE I made sure my friends at school could play games if they lost their CDROMs — free of charge.
Assembly
More information some might find useful:
Press — Interviews I have given, or articles about work I was directly responsible for.
Students — Internships, Bachelor's or Master's I supervised.
Papers — Publications I (co-)authored.
FAQ — Questions that come up once in a while.
Interviews I have given, or press reports about work I was chiefly responsible for.
Germán Leiva - Gaze-supported pointing input devices for day-to-day computer interaction
Simon Cicek - Gaze Assisted Ergonomics
Pelle Axelsson - Text input rate enhancement for Tobii AAC products
Arthur Onoszko - Text input rate enhancement for Tobii AAC products
University of California, Berkeley
Eugene Ma - Development & Evaluation
Arman Boehm - Development & Evaluation
German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence
Mostafa El Hosseiny
Mahmoud Sakr
Christoph Käding
Robin Arnold
Lucal Lötterle
Florian Pelz
Thomas Litzel
André Hoffmann
Arman Vartan
Farida Ismail
Mohamed Sharaf-El-Deen
Nikhil Kapur
Paritosh Aggarwal
Parth M. Saxena
Oxana Isaeva
Thomas Lottermann
Julian Kallenborn
Nathaniel Egwu
Eugen Massini
Roya Parvizi
Johannes Korz
2021
Alexey Bezugly, Dennis Rådell and Ralf BiedertA Lightweight Foveation Codec for VRTobii White Paper 20211201-FOV (PDF, feel free to give this a read, it's not as bad as white paper sounds, pinky promise).
2014
Ralf BiedertGaze-Based Human-Text Interaction — Text 2.0Doctoral thesis, TU Kaiserslautern. Published with Verlag Dr. Hut.
2013
Jörn Hees, Mohamed Khamis, Ralf Biedert, Slim Abdennadher and Andreas DengelCollecting Links between Entities Ranked by Human Association StrengthsIn 10th Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC 2013)
Mario Frank, Ralf Biedert, Eugene Ma, Ivan Martinovic and Dawn SongTouchalytics: On the Applicability of Touchscreen Input as a Behavioral Biometric for Continuous AuthenticationIEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (2013). Also best poster award at the Intel SCRUB retreat
2012
Ralf Biedert, Mario Frank, Ivan Martinovic, Dawn SongStimuli for Gaze Based Intrusion Detection6th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Information Security (DFIS 2012)
Ralf Biedert, Georg Buscher, Andreas DengelGazing the Text for Fun and ProfitGaze Tracking in HCI, Y. Nakano (Ed.), Springer
Jörn Hees, Thomas Roth-Berghofer, Ralf Biedert, Benjamin Adrian, Andreas DengelBetterRelations: Collecting Association Strengths for Linked Data Triples with a GameSearch Computing 2012, Springer
Ralf Biedert, Christoph Käding, Andreas DengelUniversal Eye-Tracking Based Text Cursor WarpingSeventh ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA 2012)
Ralf Biedert, Georg Buscher, Arman Vartan, Andreas DengelReading and Estimating Gaze on Smart PhonesSeventh ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA 2012)
Ralf Biedert, Mostafa El Hosseiny, Georg Buscher, Andreas DengelTowards Robust Gaze-Based Objective Quality Measures for TextSeventh ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA 2012)
Ralf Biedert, Georg Buscher, Jörn Hees, Andreas DengelA Robust Realtime Reading-Skimming ClassifierSeventh ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA 2012)
2011
Georg Buscher, Andreas Dengel, Ralf Biedert, Ludger van ElstAttentive Documents: Eye Tracking as Implicit Feedback for Information Retrieval and Beyond.Journal ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems (ACM-TiiS), special issue on Eye Gaze in Intelligent Human Machine Interaction
Jörn Hees, Thomas Roth-Berghofer, Ralf Biedert, Benjamin Adrian, and Andreas DengelBetterRelations: Detailed Evaluation of a Game to Rate Linked Data TriplesIn First International Workshop on Ordering and Reasoning held in conjunction with ISWC'11, 10th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2011)
Farida Ismail, Ralf Biedert, Andreas Dengel, Georg BuscherEmotional text taggingProceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Eye Gaze in Intelligent Human Machine Interaction held in conjunction with IUI 2011
Mostafa El Hosseiny, Ralf Biedert, Andreas Dengel, Georg BuscherThe eyePad - Tom Riddle in the 21st centuryProceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Eye Gaze in Intelligent Human Machine Interaction held in conjunction with IUI 2011
2010
Georg Buscher, Ralf Biedert, Daniel Heinesch, Andreas DengelEye Tracking Analysis of Preferred Reading Regions on the ScreenIn CHI '10 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. Atlanta, USA
Georg Buscher, Ralf BiedertUsability testing: affective interfacesIn journal "Informatik-Spektrum"
Manuel Möller, Patrick Ernst, Michael Sintek, Ralf Biedert, Andreas Dengel and Daniel SonntagRepresenting the International Classification of Diseases Version 10 in OWLIn Proceedings of the International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Ontology Development (KEOD), 25 – 28 October 2010, Valencia, Spain.
Ralf Biedert, Georg Buscher, Sven Schwarz, Manuel Möller, Andreas Dengel, Thomas LottermannThe Text 2.0 Framework - Writing Web-Based Gaze-Controlled Realtime Applications Quickly and EasilyIn proceedings of the International Workshop on Eye Gaze in Intelligent Human Machine Interaction (EGIHMI) held in conjunction with IUI 2010
Ralf Biedert, Georg Buscher, Sven Schwarz, Jörn Hees, Andreas DengelText 2.0In CHI '10 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems. Atlanta, USA
Ralf Biedert, Georg Buscher, Andreas DengelThe EyeBook - Using Eye Tracking to Enhance the Reading ExperienceIn journal "Informatik-Spektrum"
2008
Ralf Biedert, Sven SchwarzDesigning a Context-Sensitive Dashboard for an Adaptive Knowledge Worker AssistantIn Fifth International Workshop on Modelling and Reasoning in Context, Delft. Netherlands
CommonCan I buy your domain?No.Can I call you?Yes, but I prefer Signal. Just send an intro mail and include your (Signal) number, I'll get back to you.WorkDo you still do consulting?Not right now.Could I ask you about X ...?
Generally yes, however, please do not send me support requests about my job, use the official channels instead.Can you (co-)supervise my thesis or internship?It depends on how much time I have, send a short mail and include your CV. Note, I generally only supervise students who work full-time.Can you review my book / project plan / grant application?You can try, but if I need to sign an NDA the answer is probably no.SiteWhat is XR?These days Extended Reality, any wearable computing device that somehow meshes with your (3D) environment and provides you with additional information (Augmented Reality), or replaces 'your reality' altogether (Virtual Reality).How did you get that domain?Believe it or not, I got it before XR was a thing, or that I knew I'd be working on it. I just wanted a cool email address ...What framework do you use?The site is statically generated with Zola, but pretty much everything else is 'hand crafted' HTML or CSS.Where do you host?Self-hosted, behind Cloudflare CDN.I found a typo.Please tell me!