Full Professor at the Department of Cognitive Robotics, Faculty 3mE, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.
I am a professor in Haptic Human-Robot Interaction, in the Human-Robot Interaction group of the Cognitive Robotics Department at TU Delft, and since November 2023 at Industrial Design Engineering. My main research interest is the understanding of adaptations in human behavior when interacting with vehicles or tools, especially when these have some level of autonomy (i.e., become robotic systems). Since starting my PhD in 2002 I learned much about designing and evaluating human-robot interaction, founded the Delft Haptics Lab and published over a hundred scientific articles on human-robot interaction, haptics, shared control, tele-operation, design and evaluation of driver support systems, modeling of drivers and pilots, sensorimotor control, system identification, and much more. I work with a diverse group of inspiring scientists and students, on theories and models of human adaptation, on design of human-automation interaction and robotic interaction devices, and on human-in-the-loop experiments in labs or in the real world when possible. My research programmes have receiving funding by industry (Nissan, Boeing, Renault), by RVO (Brightsky project 2022-2026), and by the Dutch Science Foundation NWO through personal grants (VENI 2010-2014, VIDI 2015-2019) and a “Perspectief” grant (H-Haptics, 2011-2017). An accessible overview of my disciplinary research approach and vision can be viewed in my inaugural address as full professor in 2019.
Human-Robot Interaction group In 2017, I co-founded the Cognitive Robotics Department, in which I established the Human-Robot Interaction group. During my leadership the HRI group grew from 1 to 8 staff in five years, after which Laura Marchal-Crespo took over the leadership in Oct 2022.
Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research Since 2020, together with RoboHouse, I have been laying the foundations for the new transdisciplinary research and innovation centre FRAIM. This centre aims to responsibly shape worker-robot relations with and for the people on the workfloor, to make the workfloor more attractive and ensure that work is not only more productive but also empowering for workers.
In 2021 I have also become scientific director of TU Delft’s interdisciplinary research institute AiTech.
Education Teaching is something I very much enjoy, and students seem to enjoy this as well: they’ve voted me as best teacher of the BioMechanical Engineering department for seven consecutive years. I was selected best teacher of the faculty in 2013 and 2014, and my course The Human Controller received an international award for outstanding Open CourseWare. With the HRI group we contributed to the launch of the MSc Robotics at TU Delft in 2020, new courses in Human-Robot Interaction, Control for Human-Robot Interaction, and Applied Experimental Methods for Human Factors experiments. In total I have supervised over 110 MSc students and 10 PhD students towards their graduation.
Outreach I also enjoy outreach and presenting to different audiences about how humans and technology interact: at internationally renowned venues like The Royal Institution, and also at Dutch venues like Lowlands Festival, Gala van de Wetenschap, Universiteit van Nederland, or at theatre performances. I am regularly interviewed on national TV (e.g., “Nieuwsuur”, “Witteman Ontdekt“, “De Volmaakte Mens“, and “Kennis van Nu“) and by major newspapers (e.g., NRC, Volkskrant, Trouw) or other media (Vrij Nederland, Financieel Dagblad, Nemo KennisLink, KIJK). I think it is important to engage directly in societal debates (e.g. through Studium Generale) or policy makers (e.g., at Dutch Binnenhof Colleges, at EU conferences or information events, or at USA workshops). Finally, I engage with children around robotics and even contributed for a year to a photo-comic for Zo Zit Dat. For commercial presentations I am represented by Bukman Management.
I have always worked 4 days a week, to ensure time for the other pleasures in life. Apart from being a scientist, I have a not-so-secret alter ego as a drummer. In the period of 1999-2014 I’ve recorded four albums, twelve video clips and have played over 400 shows in three different continents. Other things I love to do include traveling, philosophy, mythology, cooking, art in many of its forms and – since 2017 – being a dad.