Date and time: Wednesday 7 October 2026, 09:00 – 14:00 CEST
Title: Nobel Calling 2026: Discover how AI and digital technologies are shaping the society of the future at Digital Futures
Where: Digital Futures hub, Osquars Backe 5, floor 2 at KTH main campus
Directions: https://www.digitalfutures.kth.se/contact/how-to-get-here/
At Digital Futures, you will encounter research that is shaping the society of tomorrow. Here, researchers from many different fields come together to explore how digital technologies and AI can help address some of our greatest societal challenges — in health, education, sustainability, mobility, cybersecurity, and smart cities.
As AI rapidly transforms the way we live and work, new opportunities emerge alongside important questions about ethics, trust, inclusion, and resilience. At Digital Futures, technology meets humanity in an interdisciplinary research environment where ideas become solutions for a sustainable and equitable future.
Welcome to explore how cutting-edge research, innovation, and collaboration are contributing to the digital society of the future. The program is part of Nobel Calling Stockholm.
Free admission – a maximum of 50 participants will be accepted.
Please take the spiral concrete staircase one floor up to Digital Futures. Coffee and cake will be served.
PROGRAM
Welcome & Introduction followed by EXPO Show & Tell
- 09:00–10:15 – Reserved for Teacher/School Group Visit #1
- 10:45–12:00 – Reserved for Teacher/School Group Visit #2
- 13:00–14:00 – Open program for the General Public – Everyone is Welcome
Free admission, no pre-registration needed. 50 spots available.
End of Day
Smarter homes that adapt to your needs!
Expert: Parag Khanna
Adaptive Intelligent Homes (AIH) is a research project that explores how smart robots and AI assistants can better support people in their everyday lives at home. Building on advanced research in speech, gesture, and user recognition, the project develops intelligent kitchen assistants that can help with daily tasks like cooking, while adapting to different users’ needs, preferences, and abilities. Unlike traditional systems that work in isolated lab settings, AIH focuses on making these assistants practical for real homes, where multiple people interact at the same time.
By working with community and societal partners, the project emphasizes inclusivity and accessibility—designing systems that are useful and welcoming for people of all ages and backgrounds, including older adults who may benefit from support in maintaining healthy, independent lifestyles. The result is not just smarter homes, but more supportive and caring environments where technology works alongside people to improve quality of life.
Wearable robotics for movement, strength, and independence!
Expert: Floor Janssen and Tyler Witzig
Advancing Real-Time Exoskeleton Control is a project that develops the next generation of wearable robotic exoskeletons — devices that can support movement and strength for people with physical disabilities or mobility challenges.
The team is building a prototype of a modular lower-limb exoskeleton equipped with smart motors and a digital control system. This setup allows the exoskeleton to adapt in real time to different users and situations, helping researchers find the best way to provide personalized support.
With ageing populations and musculoskeletal disorders being a major cause of long-term disability, this technology could play an important role in improving independence, comfort, and quality of life. By combining engineering, design, and human-centered optimization, the project moves us closer to making robotic exoskeletons more practical, effective, and widely available outside the lab.
Can AI Make Stockholm Quieter and Cleaner?
Expert: Sacha Baclet and Romain Rumpler
What if a city could listen to itself? Every day, thousands of cars, buses, cyclists and pedestrians move through Stockholm. Traffic gets us where we need to go, but it also creates noise and air pollution that can affect people’s health and the environment.
SENZ-Lab is exploring how AI, sensors and digital maps can help us understand what is happening on the city’s streets in real time. Tiny sensors can listen to traffic and detect patterns in the sounds around us. Combined with traffic and environmental data, this can create a digital twin of Stockholm – a computer-based model that shows how traffic, noise and pollution change over time.
The goal? To help cities make smarter decisions about traffic and urban planning – and create streets that are cleaner, quieter and healthier for everyone. Could the city learn to listen? And could AI help us build a better Stockholm?
Exploring new relationships between people and drones!
The project will be shared through a video demonstration.
Digital Futures Drone Gymnasium explores new ways for people to interact with drones — not just through screens and joysticks, but with their whole bodies. By creating special training tools, the project helps people better understand and control drones, making the interaction more natural, intuitive, and engaging.
This work combines robotics, machine learning, and design to imagine how drones could safely and effectively be used in everyday spaces — from homes to workplaces. Instead of focusing only on technical precision, the project also looks at the human experience: how drones can be operated in ways that reduce mental strain and allow smoother collaboration between humans and machines.
With support from drone manufacturer Bitcraze and experts in robotics, design, and ethics, the Drone Gymnasium brings together technology and creativity. Through workshops and exhibitions, the project will not only test new ideas for drone training but also open up discussions about the role of autonomous systems in our future lives.
