About the project
Objective
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based applications in higher education, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), have grown rapidly in recent years. Educators are on the front lines of this process. They are tasked with acquiring a sufficient understanding of AI to become proficient users and educators. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure they can utilize AI tools responsibly. This project addresses this topic by focusing on fairness in STEM education. We ask: how do STEM lecturers interpret algorithmic-generated recommendations, and how can they ensure they are trustworthy? More specifically, we examine under what conditions STEM lecturers are willing to use AI tools and whether cultural norms regarding algorithmic fairness shape their decisions.
Background
The rapid evolution of AI tools, especially with the emergence of generative AI, is revolutionizing education technology. While this transformation has the potential to enhance educational practices significantly, it also raises concerns about AI fairness and the risk of algorithmic bias that could harm disadvantaged students. Fairness in AI contexts means algorithmic decisions should not create discriminatory or unjust consequences. What is considered fair might also differ between contexts. For example, what is deemed fair in one culture may not be considered fair in another.
Within a common culture, focal points emerge, emphasizing values such as individualism, equality, and uncertainty avoidance. Therefore, perceptions of fairness can vary depending on cultural norms. Thus, it is crucial to consider these cultural nuances when developing AI systems, particularly those involving decision-making processes. There is a need to create AI tools that are not only innovative but also equitable, bridging rather than widening educational gaps.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Before joining KTH and Digital Future, Yael was a PhD student and a post-doctorate fellow in the Department of Science Teaching at the Weizmann Institute of Science. During that time, she also taught at the Open University of Israel. In her dissertation, conducted in the Chemistry Group, she examined the learning behaviours of students and teacher-learners in online, information-rich environments. In her post-doctorate, as part of the “Computational Approaches in Science Education (CASEd)” group, she studied integrating AI technologies in science education, mainly focusing on trust and explainability.
Yael Feldman-Maggor has expertise in advanced quantitative and qualitative methods. Her main research interests are: 1. Education technology 2. Self-regulated learning 3. Integrating artificial intelligence in science education, and 4. Learning analytics and their application to chemistry education. Before starting her academic career, Yael worked in the health sector, developing blended learning strategies for medical professionals. Yael is an editorial board member of the International Journal of Science Education.
Main supervisor
Olga Viberg, Associate Professor, EECS – School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Media Technology & Interaction Design, KTH.
Co-supervisor
Teresa Cerratto Pargman, Professor in HCI, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Stockholm University.
About the project
Objective
My research aims to examine how digitalising urban water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructures can enhance public wellbeing – acknowledging that secure and equitable access to critical WASH infrastructures and facilities is a core human right.
This project draws on the transdisciplinary intersection of architecture with human-computer interaction (HCI) and the shift to human-building interaction (HBI) in querying the ethical implications of spatiotemporally immersive urban spaces.
Background
The digitalisation of cities is a well-established concept; however, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need to optimise existing, Sustainable Smart City urban infrastructures to protect public health and well-being. As society negotiates the long-term threat of disease transmission, digital technologies offer the opportunity to transform human nature, human-built, and human-human relationships.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Stacy Vallis completed her doctoral studies in architecture at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her doctoral research responded to the risks to public urban safety posed by natural hazards. It explored the applications of geospatial and drone technologies for rapid assessment of contemporary and historic urban centres to inform the selection of retrofit solutions that generate safer streetscapes.
Stacy’s postdoctoral research will also be driven by overarching themes of public well-being, disaster response, and the integration of emerging technologies in urban centres. She will examine human-centred approaches for optimizing the development of digital technologies in post-pandemic Sustainable Smart Cities. Her work will provide insights into how digitalization is used to enhance public health and well-being by retrofitting the built environment.
Stacy is also passionate about using cultural heritage and intergenerational dialogue as tools for addressing many societal challenges.
Main supervisor
Andrew Karvonen, Researcher, Urban and Regional Studies, KTH.
Co-supervisor
Elina Eriksson, 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 project aims to develop efficient Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based approaches for solving inverse problems in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) by integrating physical principles into data-driven models. By embedding physics into the otherwise black-box neural network framework, the approach seeks to enhance both the accuracy and credibility of predictions while improving interpretability.
The study will focus on two key strategies: utilizing high-fidelity Finite Element (FE) simulations to establish correlations between realistic damage parameters and observable, damage-sensitive structural responses, and incorporating system physics to ensure practical and physically consistent outputs. By leveraging these techniques, the project aims to formulate a robust framework for near real-time monitoring and management of large-scale bridge networks, enabling proactive maintenance and improved infrastructure resilience.
Background
Aging and heavily loaded civil infrastructure, particularly bridges, demand proactive maintenance strategies to ensure structural safety and longevity. Catastrophic failures, such as the Genoa bridge collapse in 2018, emphasize the urgency of effective monitoring systems. These challenges are further pronounced by corrosive pollutants and climate change-induced extreme weather conditions, accelerating structural deterioration.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card reveals that the average age of bridges in the U.S. is 57 years, with 7.5% classified as structurally deficient. Similarly, the Trans-EU Transport Highway Network (TEN-T) faces mounting concerns, as numerous highway bridges in countries like France, the UK, and Germany exhibit significant structural vulnerabilities. The financial burden of maintenance, repair, and potential reconstruction, coupled with the risk of cascading failures, makes systematic bridge monitoring an urgent necessity .
Despite decades of research and substantial investments—such as the EU’s funding of FP7 and H2020 projects—industrial adoption of SHM remains limited. To effectively mitigate risks and optimize infrastructure management, the transition from periodic inspections to continuous, data-driven monitoring is essential.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Dr. Sharma is a dedicated researcher specializing in AI and ML/DL-based solutions for SHM bridges, buildings, and offshore structures. Her work focuses on addressing key challenges like data scarcity, rapid damage detection, and real-time frameworks for bridge infrastructure. Dr. Sharma has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Basque Centre for Applied Mathematics in Bilbao, Spain, where she contributed to assessing the condition of mooring lines in offshore wind turbines using deep learning techniques.
She was involved in the IA4TES (Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Energy Transition) project, which was part of a government-funded renewable energy initiative. Her expertise includes condition assessment and modeling using tools like CSi-Bridge, Ansys, SAP, and OpenFAST, along with developing AI/ML/DL algorithms in Matlab and Python. Dr. Sharma’s research achievements include many international publications and several well-received conference presentations.
Main supervisor
Raid Karoumi, Professor in Structural Engineering and Bridges, KTH.
Co-supervisor
John Leander, Professor in Structural Engineering and Bridges, KTH.
About the project
Objective
This project advocates a paradigm shift in the development of CPS by proposing a secure-by-construction controller synthesis scheme that considers security properties simultaneously with safety ones during the design phase. To successfully overcome the design challenges encountered in large-scale CPS under complex security requirements, we aim to develop a compositional and automated secure-by-construction design process based on a cross-disciplinary approach combining theoretical techniques from computer science (e.g. assume-guarantee rules) with those from control theory (e.g. small-gain theorems). This project aims to bring a potential solution to the fundamental security issue for the smart society vision by enabling cost-efficient and reliable design for CPS with formal security guarantees.
Background
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are the technological backbone of the increasingly interconnected and smart world where design faults or security vulnerabilities can be catastrophic. Self-driving cars, wearable and implantable medical devices, smart buildings, and critical infrastructure are some high-profile examples that underscore modern CPS’s security and safety concerns. In the last decades, safety concerns have received considerable attention in the design of CPS, while security analysis is left as an afterthought for later stages. This paradigm results in a costly and lengthy development process due to high-security validation costs. We believe that the security considerations should be elevated as primary design drivers and safety ones to tackle the design challenge of modern CPS.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Siyuan Liu is a Postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Decision and Control Systems at KTH. Before joining KTH, she worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Informatics at Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Germany, from 2019 to 2022. She received her B.E. degree in Automation Science in 2014 and her M.E. in Control Engineering in 2017 from Beihang University, China. She received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, in 2022. Her research interests include safety and security in cyber-physical systems, compositional analysis of large-scale hybrid systems, and automated verification and control of nonlinear control systems.
Main supervisor
Dimos Dimarogonas, KTH
Co-supervisor
Marco Molinari, KTH
Jana Tumova, KTH
Watch the recorded presentation at the Digitalize in Stockholm 2023 event.
About the project
Objective
My research investigates children and digitalization for more sustainable futures. It draws upon feminist ethics of care and more-than-human theories of collaborative survival to examine new technology roles in and for multi-species flourishing. This will be done through design-based activities (i.e., research-through-design) that will be situated around topics such as human-waste relations, local ecosystems, and nature appreciation.
Background
This research is motivated by a concern for a damaged environment and is oriented towards children as inhabitants and caretakers of its future. It is significant for the following reasons. Firstly, its focus on children is significant in considering new paradigms of digital tools and the long-term role of digitalization in everyday life. Secondly, its relational grounding within theories of care provides a lens to consider humans as interconnected with non-humans, which is important in developing an understanding of designing with distributed and networked digital materials.
Thirdly, its emphasis on nature as critical to the health and well-being of all species situates an important and often overlooked context for digitalization, which is significant in responsibly expanding digital interactions into the outdoors and nonurban environments.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Karey Helms is an interaction designer and design researcher at KTH. Her PhD research draws upon care ethics and posthuman feminism to investigate how interaction design might be otherwise amid a world in crisis. This includes ongoing interests in living materials, human bodily fluids, and ontological design. She implicates herself and unsettles bodily boundaries for a more careful technology design through autoethnographic and speculative design methods. Link to the website of Karey Helms
Main supervisor
Airi Lampinen, SU
Co-supervisor
Meike Schalk, KTH
Watch the recorded presentation at the Digitalize in Stockholm 2023 event.
About the project
Objective
This research aims to develop network monitoring technologies that provide deep, real-time insights into network activity. It focuses on designing in-hardware algorithms and tailored analysis tools to detect and analyze critical factors, including security intrusions, network anomalies, and root causes of failures.
Background
Computer networks are vital to the operation of modern industries and society. Failures and security breaches can range from costly inconveniences to catastrophes. For this reason, networks are continuously monitored to ensure reliability.
Unfortunately, the high speeds of modern networks make comprehensive monitoring difficult, leaving blind spots that hinder effective analysis. Achieving fine-grained, real-time traffic analysis could transform how intrusions are detected and failures are mitigated, enabling faster responses and enhancing network resilience.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Jonatan Langlet is a researcher with expertise in on-hardware monitoring algorithms and data structures. He earned his PhD in computer science from Queen Mary University of London, during which he focused on high-speed data collection, probabilistic streaming data analysis, and in-network artificial intelligence. His research interests span network programmability, systems, and algorithms, particularly on real-world deployability.
Main supervisor
Marco Chiesa, Associate Professor, Division of Software and Computer Systems, KTH.
Co-supervisor
Dejan Kostić, Professor, Division of Software and Computer Systems, KTH.
About the project
Objective
This project aims to produce the first set of design guidelines for developing digital social touch-haptic stimuli generated by technology that is capable of communicating social content. It aims to engage an experience-driven paradigm to study the building blocks of a digital social touch that is sensorially precise, socially recognisable and validated in a naturalistic environment, resulting in its intended social content being successfully recognised by the human recipient.
It will register social touch’s experiential and situational qualities in design terms and according to technical and numerical parameters that can be employed by the wider haptic design community, including computer scientists, roboticists and product designers. It will employ soft robotic actuators for their sensorially rich potential.
Background
Social touch is the most effective form of non-verbal communication, commonly used for greeting, reassurance, building a sense of togetherness, and conveying affection. The growing use of touch-enabled agents and robots for healthcare, teaching, and applications for telepresence calls for convincing digital touch that are capable of communicating social content. However, there are no existing guidelines for designing digital social touch. In real life, experiential factors such as the appearance and texture of the touch actuator material, contextual factors such as how and when the touch is introduced, where it is positioned on the body, and cultural and social backgrounds define how the human recipient perceives touch.
However, these factors have been mostly excluded when designing digital social touch within the technical community due to the limitation of a task-oriented design paradigm and the lack of access to tools and methods to engage the experiential qualities of social touch. This project will take several steps to address this gap and produce a design guide, a demonstratable prototype, and an open dataset.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Caroline Yan Zheng is a designer and researcher who works on creating embedded, tangible interfaces using soft robotics that enable emotionally rich experiences, with a PhD from the Royal College of Art UK. Her past work included developing an affect-, material-, and interaction-led (AMI-led) design framework to guide the form-giving process for affect-enabling interactive artefacts. Specifically, combining findings from neuroscience on comforting touch (CT-optimal touch) and the unique sensory qualities of tactile soft robotics, she developed and validated a wearable device (S-CAT) that simulates a gentle stroking touch.
She was an awardee of the MedTech SuperConnector programme in the UK for translating soft robotic haptic technology into healthcare applications and a co-investigator in the Cancer Research UK-funded project ‘Improving care through soft robotic tactile intervention – towards a smarter compassionate experience in cancer treatment (SOFTLI)’ (2019-2021). She believes that technologies that afford physical experience are the next wave of our digital futures. For this vision, she is also a passionate community builder. She has initiated and co-organised several international workshops on affective HRI and has guest edited a Special Issue on ‘Designing the robot body: critical perspectives on affective embodied interaction’, published in the Journal of Transactions in Human-Robot Interaction (THRI).
Main supervisor
Madeline Balaam, Professor, Division of Media Technology and Interaction Designs at KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Co-supervisor
Anna Ståhl, Senior Researcher, Digital Systems, RISE