About the project
Objective
This project has two parts – the feminist design part is about reflecting on how feminist ideas can influence social robot design, firstly ensuring that robots do not propagate harmful norms, e.g. about women, but then actually going beyond that to see if we can actively challenge such norms with the design decisions we make. The part on working with children is about exploring how children can be invited to co-design robots designed for their use, and particularly whether we can use human-in-the-loop automation approaches to have them ‘teach’ robots how to support them best.
Background
Involvement in robotics research and development is typically limited to a privileged few who generally lack diversity with regards to, e.g. gender, cultural background, etc., yet are expected to develop systems that work for all. These projects are both fundamentally concerned with trying to bring different perspectives into robotics, motivated by a desire to avoid some of the harms we already see in technology development (biased systems, inappropriate use of gender cues) but also build better systems from the beginning – who better craft robot behaviours than those who are ultimately supposed to benefit from that robot’s deployment?
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Katie Winkle, after originally studying to be a mechanical engineer, undertook a PhD in social robotics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the UK. She also undertook work on responsible robotics with partners from the University of Oxford. She defended her thesis ‘Expert-Informed Design and Automation of Persuasive, Socially Assistive Robots’ in Summer 2020. Now, Katie is a Digital Futures Postdoctoral Research Fellow at KTH, based in the Social Robotics group at the Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning. Her research is hugely interdisciplinary, drawing on psychology and the social sciences and the latest in robotics and AI to engineer effective, meaningful, impactful human-robot interactions.
Main supervisor
Iolanda Leite, Associate professor, Department of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH.
Co-supervisor
Donald McMillan, Associate professor, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University.
About the project
Objective
Arzu’s future research focus is co-designing and developing gamified robot-enhanced interventions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). The research will be based on an iterative design approach to develop interventions for and with the target user groups tailored to the individual to enhance the functional recovery of sensorimotor, social, or cognitive functions in children with NDDs. She aims to investigate what the best roles for robots are in different inclusive practices, including neurodivergent and neurotypical groups where they play and learn together, how to involve children in the design process of robot-mediated activities, and how to design inclusive gamified practices to enhance social interaction between the neurotypical and neurodivergent children as well as their families.
Background
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) result in different degrees of emotional, physical, social, academic and economic consequences for individuals and in turn, families and society [1, 2]. Upon diagnosis, families report significant delays in treatment initiation and unsatisfactory levels of treatment monitoring. [2, 3].There is a need to establish effective easy-to-access strategies for assessing, treating and monitoring NDD.
Rapid progress in the area of robotics offers excellent chances for innovation in the treatment of children with NDDs, thanks to robots allowing the execution of specific and repetitive tasks which can be tailored according to the particular needs of the individuals. Robots thus offer the opportunity to deliver automated and independent interventions that enable therapy to be delivered over a distance in inclusive and collaborative education environments [4,5] and personalise treatment procedures [6,7]. Combined with gamification, which improves the learning rate and ensures effective improvement in the pedagogical, social and behavioural sense [8,9], robot-enabled therapy becomes a highly promising avenue for research.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Arzu Guneysu Ozgur is a Postdoctoral researcher at Digital Futures. Arzu got a PhD in Robotics on “Designing Gamified Activities with Haptic-Enabled Tangible Robots for Therapy and Assistance” from EPFL in 2021. Her research interests include various topics in Human-Robot Interaction, Adaptive Robot-Enhanced Therapy, Iterative Design, Participatory Design, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Gamified Therapeutic Technologies, Healthy Aging, Intergenerational Practices for Elderly and Children, and Special Education.
Main supervisor
Iolanda Leite, Associate professor, Department of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH.
Co-supervisor
Ali Reza Majlesi, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Stockholm University.
Watch the recorded presentation at Digitalize in Stockholm 2022 event.
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 research aims to develop data-driven models for gait biomechanics to improve precision rehabilitation. By integrating statistical shape modeling, musculoskeletal simulations, and deep reinforcement learning, the project enables personalized gait impairment assessments and optimizes rehabilitation interventions for individuals with neurological and musculoskeletal disorders.
Background
Human gait is a complex biomechanical process influenced by neuromuscular control, skeletal structure, and external factors. Understanding gait abnormalities is essential for designing effective rehabilitation strategies. Traditional gait analysis, relying on motion capture and inverse dynamics, has limitations in scalability, personalization, and real-time applicability.
Recent advancements in artificial intelligence, musculoskeletal modeling, and wearable technology offer new opportunities for precision rehabilitation. Statistical shape modeling enables personalized bone and muscle geometry reconstruction, while deep reinforcement learning facilitates adaptive gait retraining strategies. This research integrates these approaches to develop predictive models that bridge the gap between clinical gait analysis and real-world rehabilitation applications.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Liangliang Xiang is a researcher in biomechanics and computational modeling. He holds a PhD in Bioengineering from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland. His research focuses on gait biomechanics, musculoskeletal modeling, and explainable AI for movement analysis. He has developed predictive models for bone stress in running, integrated wearable sensors into biomechanical simulations, and applied deep learning for human movement analysis. He focuses on translating computational biomechanics into practical applications for gait rehabilitation.
Main supervisor
Elena Gutierrez Farewik, Professor, Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH.
Co-supervisor
Ruoli Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH.
About the project
Objective
The aim of this project is to explore and assess the potential of novel shape-changing wearables to improve body-based communication. These technologies hold promise because they can be worn on the body and provide tangible, haptic actuation that can emulate qualities of collocated physical interaction, as well as open up novel interactive qualities altogether.
A key concept that the project addresses is that of connecting bodies. I will explore how the interactive qualities of shape-changing wearables can be designed and used to foster a somatic connection between bodies, e.g., bridging together actions, perceptions and emotions from one body to another in a way that they are felt by the person, rather than just narrated. I envision that fostering this felt connection can, in turn, create richer, more effective and affective body-based communication.
Background
The digitalization of society, as well as recent global health developments (i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic), have fostered a shift from face-to-face, collocated interactions to remote communications. Communicating over video-mediated online platforms and conferencing software is becoming pervasive, shaping our everyday lives, practices, and how we interact with each other. Yet, these solutions do not adequately support settings where body-based interaction and physical contact are critical for effective, affective and rich communication, for example, remote health practices (e.g. remote physiotherapy) or affective well-being settings (e.g. long-distance relationships).
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Laia Turmo Vidal is an interaction design researcher. Her research focuses on the design, development and evaluation of multi-sensory technologies that enrich the aesthetic perception of the body as a way to promote rich physical, emotional, and social experiences. Her research targets domains of health and wellbeing such as sports, fitness, rehabilitation and dance. Her research interests include wearable technology, material explorations, social cooperation and design methods development.
Laia holds a PhD and an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction from Uppsala University (Sweden) and a BDes in Multimedia Technologies from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain). Prior to KTH, she was a postdoctoral researcher at i_mBODY Lab at the University Carlos III de Madrid (Spain). She has also been a research intern at UCL Interaction Center (UK) and a research visitor at the University of California, Santa Cruz (USA).
Main supervisor
Kristina Höök, Professor, Division of Media Technology and Interaction Design, KTH
Co-supervisor
Georgios Andrikopoulos, Assistant Professor at the School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH
Watch the recorded presentation at the Digitalize in Stockholm 2023 event.
About the project
Objective
In this project, we shall develop, implement, and evaluate a mobile health (mHealth) platform for educating patients about cancer and mental illnesses in Uganda, linkage of patients to peer support workers (“expert patients” and survivors), and collecting patient-reported outcomes (e.g. self symptom assessment and quality of life surveys). We shall follow a design science research approach and principles of user-centred design. We shall use familiar and feasible technologies such as SMS, USSD and IVR. The health information content and communication flows shall also be developed and iteratively evaluated with the target users of the system to ensure it is contextually appropriate and correctly translated. Evaluation of the project will be qualitative and quantitative, including assessment of usability, fidelity, and the clinical impact, such as the impact of the intervention on patient self-efficacy, loss to follow-up, quality of life, and satisfaction with care.
Background
The health and economic development challenges of infectious diseases in Africa and other LMICs are well recognized. Controlling these infectious diseases (especially HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis) in Africa has thus been the priority for many national and global players, such as the US CDC and PEPFAR, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Global Fund. Consequently, significant progress has been made in the past decades in controlling infectious diseases in Africa. In contrast, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer and mental illnesses have remained under-prioritized.
Today, cancer kills approximately 10 million people per year globally. This is more than deaths from HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and COVID-19 combined. In Africa, the ongoing socio-economic transitions (urbanization, ageing population, and westernization of lifestyles) are escalating the cancer burden (incidence predicted to rise 38% over the next decade) faster than in any other part of the world. Similarly, approximately one out of every four persons globally has a mental disorder, leading to over 8 million deaths and about 2.5 trillion US dollars lost in the loss of productivity. In Africa, 85% of people with mental illnesses do not have access to the necessary healthcare. Disruptions in healthcare, e.g. due to COVID-19, as well as social inequalities and marginalization, further exacerbate the problem.
Mobile phones are ubiquitous in Africa and have allowed leapfrogging of technological limitations. Mobile solutions are accelerating finance (mobile money), the energy sector (pay-as-you-go solar mobile solutions), and agriculture (access to market prices, micro-insurance), among others. Mobile technologies in healthcare (mHealth) are also gaining traction in Africa with a demonstrated positive impact on patient treatment adherence, provision of health education and awareness to the general public, data collection and reporting, drug supply chain and stock management, and disease surveillance. However, most implementations have been isolated pilots, focused on infectious diseases, and lacked robust evaluation methods. Most evaluations have focused on feasibility, usability and acceptability, with limited focus and evidence on clinical outcomes.
About the Digital Futures Postdoc Fellow
Johnblack K. Kabukye is a medical doctor and health informatics specialist at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala, Uganda. He did a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery from Makerere University, a Master of Science in Health informatics from Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University, and a PhD in medical informatics from the University of Amsterdam.
His research interests are designing, implementing and evaluating digital health solutions for healthcare providers and patients in developing countries, including electronic medical records, patient advice telephone lines, and telehealth and artificial intelligence-enabled apps to support cervical cancer screening.
Main supervisor
John Owuor, PhD, Director, SPIDER Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) Stockholm University.
Co-supervisor
Susanne Nilsson, Researcher, Integrated product development and design, Machine design, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH.
Watch the recorded presentation at the Digitalize in Stockholm 2023 event.
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