The flowAR research project aims to leverage the structures and advantages of existing online communities to actively engage citizens in discourse on socially relevant topics in the context of physical exhibitions.

At the heart of the project is the development of an innovative augmented reality authoring tool that enables users to design digital content themselves. Due to its immersive properties, this content is transferred to physical art installations and presented in collaborative exhibitions.
Accompanying this is a hybrid community management approach that combines methods for motivating, moderating, and connecting digital and physical communities. This approach is intended to facilitate the transition between virtual collaboration and real-world participation.

This innovative hybrid community approach is being piloted as part of a road show through 53 municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia and at exhibitions at the International Garden Exhibition (IGA) 2027 in six future gardens. The aim is to make regional structural change in the Ruhr area visible. The content developed by citizens is presented publicly using digital projectors and a WebAR application. The project results enable companies to actively involve citizens in shaping social issues. 

The Interactive Systems working group is making a central contribution to the scientific support and design of collaborative communities in the flowAR project. The chair analyzes the dynamic behavior of the participating communities, examines their motivation and commitment, and develops a hybrid community management concept based on this. At the same time, the working group is significantly involved in the conceptual and technical development of the augmented reality authoring tool. The focus is on user-centered interaction paradigms, a modular toolkit for different user groups, and clear community guidelines for self-organization. Methodologically, the Interactive Systems working group draws on design thinking and action design research.​