About the project
Objective
SambIoT provides strong solutions for secure and scalable 6G-enabled Ambient IoT, while being cognizant of sustainability. We pursue fundamental research on key enablers for scalable security for Ambient IoT. Our technical objectives are:
- System support and backscatter infrastructure for Ambient IoT devices
- Lightweight physical layer techniques for 6G network security
- Automated, large-scale deployment of Ambient IoT applications and data analysis via confidential computing in cloud-edge environments
- Scalable credential management as a service
Background
6G promises to revolutionize connectivity for billions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices with ultra-fast data, near-zero latency, far surpassing 5G. Ambient IoT, a central component of 6G, will enable a wide range of new IoT applications across industries; for smart cities, agricultural and environmental monitoring, smart and ubiquitous healthcare, environmental sustainability by advanced waste and resource management.
Scalability and security are the keys to the success of Ambient IoT. The promised vast device numbers and interconnectedness require efficient, reliable data processing solutions. Cloud and edge computing play a vital role in this context by handling computationally intensive tasks IoT devices cannot manage and enabling security-relevant tasks, from credential management support to secure data storage and processing.
Without security, many applications with high societal value (e.g., healthcare and smart grid) will not be deployed. Scaling applications with the number of devices increases measurement points, which, e.g., in smart buildings, leads to better control and hence larger energy savings. Moreover, devices themselves contribute to enhanced sustainability, running without batteries thereby reducing toxic waste, with more sustainable electronics and materials for future implementations.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
The project develops basic 6G security and privacy technologies, along with enhanced capabilities for AI, smart cities, and healthcare. Ambient IoT per se contributes to enhanced sustainability.
PIs of the project
Panos Papadimitratos, Professor, KTH, EECS
Thiemo Voigt, Professor, RISE Computer Science
Musard Balliu, Associate Professor, KTH, EECS
About the project
Objective
This project aims to develop and demonstrate AgentVision, a novel video–language model that combines video-based deep learning with multimodal large language model (mLLM) reasoning to enhance environmental perception for autonomous driving. Focusing on pedestrian crossing intention prediction, the project includes developing and training AgentVision using open datasets, deploying it on KTH’s Research Concept Vehicle (RCV-E) at ITRL, and testing it at the Arlanda track. Through integration of contextual reasoning and real-time perception, the project seeks to improve safety, robustness, and trust in autonomous vehicle systems, providing a blueprint for future intelligent and cooperative mobility solutions.
Background
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) depend on visual perception for situational awareness, yet existing systems face major challenges in complex real-world environments. Traditional vision models struggle with limited visibility, occlusions, and ambiguous interactions among multiple agents. Moreover, deep learning-based perception relies heavily on large, high-quality datasets, limiting robustness and generalization in diverse traffic conditions. These challenges hinder accurate understanding of pedestrian behaviors and other dynamic elements essential for safe navigation. Therefore, developing more adaptable and context-aware perception systems is crucial to enhance reliability, interpret complex scenes, and ensure safety in intelligent transportation and autonomous driving applications.
Crossdisciplinary collaboration
The project is an interdisciplinary collaboration among KTH’s ABE, SCI, EECS schools and a startup company FleetMQ, integrating transport science and causal AI expertise to advance intelligent mobility innovation.
PI: Zhenliang Ma
Co-PI: Mikael Nybacka
About the project
Objective
Goal of the project is to establish a cross-disciplinary research activity that brings together experts in privacy, wireless systems, and legal frameworks to explore and define future research directions. The research will be collaboratively done the strategic partner Ericsson so that the seed project will contribute towards shaping the future of privacy-aware 6G systems.
Background
This seed project addresses a strategically critical challenge for future wireless telecommunication systems: how to ensure strong privacy guarantees in location-based services and sensing applications in future telecommunication networks. Privacy concerns—particularly for time-series mobility data and joint communication and sensing (JCAS) systems—pose a serious risk to the deployment of emerging services and the legal compliance of new technologies.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
Experts from privacy, wireless systems, and legal domain are involved.
PI: Tobias Oechtering
Co-PIs: Mats Bengtsson, György Dan, Hongyu Jin, Panagiotis Papadimitratos, Henrik Sandberg and Mathias Ekstedt
About the project
Objective
- O1. Co-creation of a transformative user-centered design framework that integrates the lived experiences, preferences, and embodied interactions of older adults, paving the way for socially inclusive and empathetic SSRE designs that redefine mobility support.
- O2. Integration of biomechanical sensing, modeling, and control systems that seamlessly blend human intention, somatic feedback, and emotional cues, enabling SSREs to adapt dynamically and intuitively to the user’s physical and emotional states.
- O3. Development of human-SSRE interaction techniques through cutting-edge sensory-actuator designs, utilizing soft robotics, adaptive rhythms, and somatic alignment to create an unprecedented sense of trust, safety, and user empowerment in mobility.
- O4. Assess real-world adoption of SSREs by conducting studies that capture the full spectrum of their impact—mobility, trust, dignity, and quality of life—while providing actionable insights to drive societal integration.
Background
Exoskeletons are increasingly recognized as a potential mobility solution for older adults, aiming to support independence and health in aging populations. Studies show promising results, such as improved walking speed, endurance, and alleviation of gait issues in neurological conditions (Tricomi et al., 2024; Lakmazaheri et al., 2024; Kim et al., 2024). However, most devices are not explicitly designed for older adults or real-world settings, often tested on young, able-bodied males, overlooking motor decline and the complexities of aging user interactions. Few studies explore older adults’ experiences with exoskeletons in daily life (Shore et al., 2018, 2020), and participation in design or long-term evaluations is rare (Young et al., 2022). Trust, comfort, and safety are critical factors for acceptability but remain underexplored in user-centered design (Peng et al., 2022).
Theoretical frameworks highlight that trust in autonomous systems stems from sensory and embodied interactions (Pink, 2021), while emerging approaches, such as soma design have the capacity to place sustained focus on the sensory, embodied and experiential aspects of interaction with technology (Höök 2018). Soma design approaches as applied to autonomous systems can enhance feelings of trust and safety in other domains, such as in semi-autonomous vehicles (Balaam et al., 2024). However, the mechatronic systems essential for replicating nuanced sensory interactions are underdeveloped.
Though advancements in materials, human-in-the-loop control, and sensor technology provide insights into user movement and needs (Küçüktabak et al., 2023), real-world applications often fail to achieve the real-time adaptability required for intuitive use. This represents a significant limitation in achieving devices that “feel right” and foster trust in users. In addition, the capability to measure and predict human motion and intention has not yet been fully translated into real-world applications. While simulations of optimal external assistance can estimate user responses to some degree, the complexity of human movement and interaction limits their accuracy. Thus, current systems lack synchronization, crucial for aligning user actions with device responses (Wilkenfeld et al., 2023). Addressing these gaps is key to fostering trust, comfort, and usability in exoskeleton design and achieving widespread adoption.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
This project brings together a Professor in Biomechanics, alongside a Professor in Interaction Design and an Assistant Professor in Mechatronics, representing the KTH school of Engineering Science, the KTH School of Electrical Engineering and Computing Science and the KTH School of Industrial Engineering and Management. This cross disciplinary expertise will allow us to develop new exoskeleton interaction technologies will provide new ways for users and exoskeletons to cooperate, improving user experiences of safety, efficiency, and pleasure of moving with these assitive devices. By placing older adults at the centre of design and development processes towards exoskeleton we expect to redefine mobility for aging adults by combining physical functionality with psychological and emotional care.
About the project
Objective
Asreen Rostami joined RISE Cybersecurity as an ERCIM postdoctoral fellow. Her research was focused on “humanising” Internet of Things (IoT) security to provide an understanding of the technical, design, social and political issues that arise when considering IoT systems from a human-centred perspective. Her current research under the Digital Futures postdoctoral fellowship program is centred around bringing marginalised perspectives into cyber security, starting with looking at the deviant use of smart home devices.
She aims to develop gender-inclusive cyber security, a human-centred approach to security that encompasses feminist principles such as diversity, autonomy, respect, and consent and applies them in a digital context.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Asreen Rostami holds a PhD in the area of HCI from Stockholm University. Her doctoral research was focused on the incorporation of interactive technologies in designing and experiencing interactive and mixed-reality performances, during which she developed a design concept (frictions) used to create an immersive and engaging VR experience and co-designed and staged a mixed-reality performance (Frictional Realities, 2019) in collaboration with a group of Swedish artists.
Main supervisor
Barry Brown, Professor, Department of computer and systems sciences, Stockholm University.
Co-supervisor
Shahid Raza, Associate Professor, RISE Cybersecurity, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
About the project
Objective
The research aims to fill the gap in women’s health by designing and studying the use of digital health technologies for intimate care and the tacit interpersonal relationships associated with intimate care. At the personal level, the research aims to improve awareness of intimate care by co-designing and developing innovative interactions with the technology using innovative design methods such as Soma Design. At the interpersonal level, the research aims to study the shared and domestic use of intimate health technologies between partners, such as fertility tracking, and how better care structures can be developed outside the home, such as in the workplace. The research aims to understand the trust factors in using algorithmic services for intimate health at the system level.
Background
Despite making important progress in women’s health, severe gaps prevail in how women’s health is understood and represented. Social and cultural taboos associated with the female body have long affected education, treatment, and access to healthcare. Digital approaches to women’s health similarly have been limited in their focus such that they fail to respond to the broad, bodily, and taboo challenges that women’s health brings.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Deepika Yadav is a postdoctoral research fellow in Stockholm Technology & Interaction Research (STIR) group. Her research lies at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction and global development with specific interests in working for underrepresented groups in resource-constrained settings, women’s health, and well-being. Her latest research studies sociological contexts of interpersonal relationships of care in the workplace setting for lactating mothers.
Main supervisor
Airi Lampinen, Associate Professor, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Stockholm University.
Co-supervisor
Madeline Balaam, Associate Professor, Division of Media Technology and Interaction Designs, KTH.
Watch the recorded presentation at Digitalize in Stockholm 2022 event.
About the project
Objective
This research takes the experiential notion of being a foreigner as the starting point to represent how crises unfold in distant territories digitally. This ethnographic research utilises earthquakes as case studies to show how everyday experiences are shaped by how our bodies are connected to geographic singularities. By alluding to our human capacity for adaptability, this research aims to (a) generate novel interactive experiences to communicate the changing nature of the Anthropocene Era. Furthermore, (b) to generate design methods considering the global citizen’s perspective.
Background
Amidst the Anthropocene Era and the COVID pandemic, the resolution of traditionally ill-defined problems in design requires the recognition of non-dominant paradigms and cultural perspectives. Moreover, living in a world of shared uncertainties due to a series of political, environmental and social changes demands cultivating adaptability to face unexpected future scenarios.
From a methodological perspective, this research engages in first-person Soma Design research, which places the locus on the body and experience. This somatic epistemology is becoming increasingly influential in developing digital and interactive technologies in the last decade.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Claudia Núñez-Pacheco is an interaction design researcher and artist. She holds a PhD and a master’s degree from the Sydney School of Design at the University of Sydney in interaction design and electronic arts. Her research investigates how bodily ways of knowing can be used as crafting materials to design aesthetic experiences. In her research journey, Claudia has engaged in a multidisciplinary exploration that merges material thinking, wearable technology, human-computer interaction (HCI) and design methods with tools from experiential psychology. Claudia has been awarded twice by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research Scholarship (Chile), in addition to disseminating her research through various international HCI and design academic fora.
Main supervisor
Kia Höök, Professor, Division of Media Technology and Interaction design, KTH.
Co-supervisor
Thiemo Voigt, Professor, RISE Computer Science.