Third-party funded projectSEAWave
Scientific-based Exposure and risk Assessment of radiofrequency and mm-Wave systems from children to elderly (5G and Beyond)
Project description
Cellular technology enables us to make phone calls, send text messages, browse the Internet, or stream music and videos from anywhere. The 5G mobile communications standard and subsequent generations of mobile communications are expected to further increase data rates and reduce latency. This is of particular importance for applications in the areas of autonomous driving, big data or the Internet of Things.
When new technologies are rolled out, not only opportunities but also potential risks must be examined. Finding out how the technological innovations of the 5G standard will affect humans and animals is subject of SEAWave.
Within the SEAWave project, scientists of IU Internationale Hochschule are researching risk communication on 5G (work package 10). The scientists are concentrating on the following areas:
Exposure and risk perception: Qualitative and quantitative surveys will be used to investigate how 5G is perceived in society: In which situations do people feel particularly exposed and which ones do they consider specifically risky?
Precautionary communication: In a quantitative study, the scientists will investigate how the communication of precautionary measures influence citizens risk perception.
Serious Game: A game is being developed in which the player switches roles with a scientist communicating about 5G.
A citizen advisory board is currently being set up for the serious game, which will be involved in its development. You can find an invitation to participate here.
Third-party funders and funding line:
European Union
Call: HORIZON EUROPE, Environment and Health
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 101057622.

Duration of the project
01.06.2022 until 31.05.2025
Additional Information
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (Italy)
Schmid & Partner Engineering AG (Switzerland)
Foundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (Switzerland)
International Agency for Research on Cancer (France)
Institute for Non-Ionizing Radiation (Slovenia)
Greek Atomic Energy Commission (Greece)
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (Switzerland)
French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (France)
Interuniversity Microelectronic Center (Belgium)
Institute Mines-Telecom (France)
Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Germany)
National Frequency Agency (France)
Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (Germany)
Prof. Dr. Christoph Böhmert, project lead, christoph.boehmert@iu.org
Dr. Marie Böcker, project staff, assistant project lead, marie.boecker@iu.org
Sarah Link, M. Sc., project staff, sarah.link@iu.org
Ferdinand Abacioglu, M.Sc., project staff, ferdinand.abacioglu@iu.org
Link, S. C., Eggeling, M., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2024). Affective evaluation and exposure perception of everyday mobile phone usage situations. Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.17641
Link, S., Eggeling, M., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2023). Quantitative exposure perception studies. IU International University of Applied Sciences. SEAWave project deliverable. https://seawave-project.eu/seawave-project.eu/ftpuser/D36_WP10.pdf.
Link, S., Eggeling, M., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2023). Qualitative exposure perception studies. IU International University of Applied Sciences. SEAWave project deliverable. https://seawave-project.eu/seawave-project.eu/ftpuser/D35_WP10.pdf.
Eggeling, M., Link, S., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2024). Precautionary communication studies. IU International University of Applied Sciences. SEAWave project deliverable. https://seawaveproject.eu/seawave-dissemination/seawave-public-deliverables/
Abacioglu, F., Eggeling, M., Link, S., & Boehmert, C. (2024, June 20th). A Serious Game Approach to Increase the Public’s Understanding of Scientific Uncertainty in Risk Assessment and Communication [Poster Presentation]. BioEM, 16th – 21st June 2024, Crete, Greece.
Abacioglu, F., Eggeling, M., Link, S., & Boehmert, C. (2023, September 20th). Scientific Literacy durch Serious Games: Entwicklung und Evaluation eines Spiels zur Risikokommunikation von 5G-Technologien im Kontext von Wissenschaftskommunikation. [Dissertation workshop: Wissenschaftskommunikation]. Jahrestagung der DGPuK-Fachgruppe Wissenschaftskommunikation, 20th – 22nd September 2023, Passau, Germany.
Eggeling, M., Link, S., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2023, June 19th). The same but different? A qualitative study on public perceptions of the latest mobile communication standard 5G in Germany [Symposium presentation]. SRA-Europe, 18th – 21st June 2023, Lund, Sweden.
Eggeling, M., Link, S., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2024, June 3rd). Communicating precaution regarding electromagnetic fields in mobile communications: Influences of personal relevance, gender, and country [Oral presentation]. SRA-Europe, 2nd – 5th June 2024, Athens, Greece.
Eggeling, M., Link, S., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2024, June 20th). What is laypeople’s exposure perception? Results and experiences from SEAWave. [Workshop: From exposure to dose measure: what are suitable concepts for public communication and research?]. BioEM, 16th – 21st June 2024, Crete, Greece.
Link, S., Eggeling, M., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2024, June 3rd). Citizen’s location preferences for mobile phone base stations: More than just a question of distance? [Symposium presentation]. SRA-Europe, 2nd – 5th June 2024, Athens, Greece.
Link, S., Eggeling, M., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2024, June 3rd). Is 5G everywhere? Citizen’s situational exposure perceptions of EMF from mobile communication technology – a ten-country study. [Oral presentation]. SRA-Europe, 2nd – 5th June 2024, Athens, Greece.
Link, S., Eggeling, M., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2023, September 28th). Showing instead of telling: How visual stimuli can help to express hard-to-articulate assumptions. [Oral presentation]. SRA-E DACHL, 27th – 28th September 2023, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Link, S. (2023, September 20th). Expositionswahrnehmung von 5G. [Oral presentation]. Jahrestagung der DGPuK-Fachgruppe Wissenschaftskommunikation, 20th – 22nd September 2023, Passau, Germany.
Link, S., Eggeling, M., Abacioglu, F., & Boehmert, C. (2023, June 20th). How much am I exposed? Exploring public perceptions of EMF exposure from mobile communication technology and 5G. [Poster presentation]. BioEM, 18th – 23rd June 2023, Oxford, UK.
