Job, Netherlands (Twente): PhD position on Improvising Robots for Careful interaction: shaping HRI design through theatre, clos 20 Jan 2024

A nice example of interdisciplinarity, mixing performing art (theatre / dance) and robotics to find ways of improving social robots’ interactions with people. ‘Dramaturgy for Devices’ is a new project in the Netherlands. See ‘Funding of 2 million to develop social skills for robots’ about the grant (September 2023).

For an example of another project which uses similar skills and topics to this role, have a look at the AMPER project.

AMPER: AI helping future you remember past you

This is one of four PhD job adverts.

• Human-Robot Interaction Design for service robots in hospitality settings (at TUDelft)
• Shaping a personalised child-robot learning experience through conversational interaction (at VU)
• Improvising Robots for Careful interaction: shaping HRI design through theatre (at UTwente) – this page
• Performing Arts and Robotics (at Utrecht University)

“The Dramaturgy for Devices project aims at designing sustained relationships with robots and other smart technologies. It will explore the value of the performing arts as a motor for innovation and reflection in a high-tech society and demonstrate how collaboration with the performing arts can be a game changer regarding the development of the behavior of and interaction with robots and other technological agents. Robots are increasingly part of our daily lives, yet they still lack many skills needed for social interaction and communication. Addressing this gap requires innovative approaches, tools and methods for developing interactions with robots in a diversity of social contexts.

This project is a collaboration between Utrecht University, TUDelft, VU and UTwente and a great number of other partners.”

University of Twente
PhD position on Improvising Robots for Careful interaction: shaping HRI design through theatre
https://utwentecareers.nl/en/vacancies/1589/phd-position-on-improvising-robots-for-careful-interaction-shaping-hri-design-through-theatre/
Salary: You will receive a salary ranging from €2.770,- gross per month at the start and up to €3.539,- in the fourth year.

We are offering a 4-year fulltime PhD position at the University of Twente (UT), jointly with the University of Utrecht, Technical University Delft and VU Amsterdam, on the development of robot technology and theatrical methods for the design of Human-Robot Interaction in healthcare.

The Dramaturgy for Devices project aims at crafting sustained relationships with robots and other smart technologies. It will explore the value of the performing arts as a motor for innovation and reflection in a high-tech society and demonstrate how collaboration with the performing arts can be a game changer regarding the development of the behaviour of and interaction with robots and other technological agents.

The objective of this PhD-project is to develop methods, tools and technology based on, inspired by and taken from the theatre ecosystem and theatre technology, and use this to set up experiments and simulation in HRI. We take several ‘wicked’ or complex problems from a developer of robots for healthcare (Heemskerk Innovation Technologies), related to social coordination such as hallway passing or handing over objects. During the experiments, we will initially work with ‘improvotypes’ of the intended hardware. As verification of our simulation results, we intend to apply the gained insights on a real platform and perform a study with real users in a realistic setting.

The main focal point for this study will be gaining insight into:

•   Embodiment – How does the embodiment of the robot (exterior design choices) influence perception, expectation and operation in social space? Where does ‘function defines form’ end and do we need to ‘dress to impress’? How can embodiment be made to change over time?

•   Motion – How is the motion of a robot interpreted (accurately) by users? Can the intentions or goal of a robot be judged well enough based on functional, task-oriented programming and where should we apply theatrical knowledge of motion (Laban efforts, etc.) to make motions comprehensible?

•   Interaction – What is the effect of a ‘daily’ routine, where are ‘hooks’ for sustainability and long-term interaction, when does the 1:1 interaction stop being a solo performance in front of a user, but does it become a ‘pas-de-deux’ instead?

The candidate will investigate technologies and methods to experiment and prototype human-robot interaction in the context of healthcare. The project will aim to develop:

a) a toolbox for improvotypes: technology, best practices and guiding principles for the use of adaptable robot technology in a theatrical context supporting live, real-time multimodal control (motion, sound, speech, dialogue)

b) the setup of a theatrical environment for interaction simulation: methods for staging, observing and validating staged interaction with robots.

c) user studies to validate and confirm theatrical simulation results. The gap analysis to find the connection and deviation between the proposed simulation and real-world.

Your profile

• Master degree in Interaction Design or Human-Robot Interaction or related field at least with a strong affinity for Robotics, HRI and social interaction combining a solid understanding of the underlying AI technology and human-centred approaches;
• Excellent skills in programming and (embedded) hardware design
• Willingness to step outside their own discipline to solve complex problems that cut across bodies of knowledge in different fields, and to cooperate with e.g. actors, dramaturgy experts and theatre directors
• A good team spirit and willingness to collaborate across institutions and be actively involved in the larger project consortium;

Information and application

Are you interested in this position? Please apply via the application button before 21 January 2024. Please include in your application:

• A short motivation letter
• Your resume
• A 1-page statement about your previous research.

Full details at the link above, while the vacancy is open.