Scientific Career

• since 08/2021 Senior research fellow (Robot House manager)
  Adaptive Systems Research Group (University of Hertfordshire)

  Human-robot interaction research, facility management, and collaborator support

• 08/2021 - 10/2017 Research fellow (Robot House manager)
  Adaptive Systems Research Group (University of Hertfordshire),
  Permanent position involving EPSRC Strategic Equipment Grant Robot House 2.0 and other projects

  Human-robot interaction research, facility management, and collaborator support

• 09/2017 - 04/2015 Post-doctoral researcher
  Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) and Applied Informatics (Bielefeld University),
  Large-scale project Cognitive service robotics apartment

  Coordination and arbitration of interactive resources

• 12/2014 - 01/2009 Full-time researcher
  Applied Informatics (Bielefeld University) and Collaborative Research Cluster 673 Alignment in Communication,
  Project Interaction space

  Interaction space in applied social robotics

Part-time work

• since 10/2019 Visiting lecturer
  School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science (University of Hertfordshire)

  Guest lectures and tutorials in computer science, ethics

• 09/2008 - 10/2006 Research assistant
  Applied Informatics (Bielefeld University),
  Flobi - A reconfigurable, anthropomorphic robot head; Exploration of Robust Bi-Manual Interaction (ERBI); Deutsche Service-Robotik-Initiative (DESIRE)

  Programming human-robot interaction software and devices

• 03/2012 - 08/2004 Student tutor
  Faculty of Technology (Bielefeld University)

  Courses in algorithms and data structures, project development, computer vision, and pattern recognition

• 02/2015 - 01/2009 Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.)
  Bielefeld University, Faculty of Technology,
  Doctorate programme Intelligent systems

  Final grade very good

• 01/2009 - 10/2006 Master of Science (M.Sc.)
  Bielefeld University, Faculty of Technology,
  Masters programme Intelligent systems

  Final grade 1.1

• 09/2006 - 10/2003 Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)
  Bielefeld University, Faculty of Technology,
  Bachelors programme Bioinformatics and genome research

  Final grade 1.5

• 07/2003 - 08/1994 Abitur (3 A-Levels)
  Thomas-Morus Gymnasium, Oelde

  Final grade 1.8

• 12/2024 - 01/2022 EMERGENCE: Tackling Frailty - Facilitating the Emergence of Healthcare Robots from Labs into Service (Co-Investigator)
  Network+ project,
  EPSRC

• 08/2022 - 09/2019 EMBOA: Affective loop in Socially Assistive Robotics as an intervention tool for children with autism (Co-Investigator)
  Research and didactic project,
  ERASMUS+

• 06/2022 - 07/2021 Kaspar explains: the impact of explanation on human-robot trust using an educational platform (Co-Investigator)
  Foundational research project,
  UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub (TAS): Pump priming programme

• since 12/2020 HIRo: Human Interactive Robotics in Healthcare (Advisory board member)
  Innovasjonsprosjekt,
  Norwegian Research Council

• 06/2019 - 02/2019 Assuring safety and social credibility (Co-Investigator)
  Small feasibility project,
  Lloyd's Register Foundation, University of York: Assuring Autonomy International Programme (AAIP)

• 10/2017 - 02/2019 Robot House 2.0 (Postdoctoral Researcher)
  Strategic equipment grant,
  EPSRC

• 09/2017 - 04/2015 Cognitive service robotics apartment (Postdoctoral Researcher)
  Large scale project,
  German Research Foundation (DFG)

• 09/2022 - 06/2022 Charting the Current Limits and Developing Future Directions of Speech Interfaces in Robotics (Co-Investigator)
  Pump priming activity (workshop),
  EPSRC UK-RAS Network

• 06/2022 - 07/2021 Kaspar explains: the impact of explanation on human-robot trust using an educational platform (Co-Investigator)
  Foundational research project,
  UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub (TAS): Pump priming programme

• 06/2019 - 02/2019 Assuring safety and social credibility (Co-Investigator)
  Small feasibility project,
  Lloyd's Register Foundation, University of York: Assuring Autonomy International Programme (AAIP)

• 02/2021 Vice-Chancellors Award: Team of the year (3 x nominee)
  University of Hertfordshire

• 03/2019 Best paper award
  International Conference on Performance, Safety and Robustness in Complex Systems and Applications (PESARO),
  Valencia, Spain

• 11/2010 Best student paper award
  International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR),
  Singapore

• 12/2009 Best graduation degree (Intelligent systems)
  Faculty of Technology (Bielefeld University)

Event organisation

• 09/2022 Two-stage workshop co-organiser
  Working with Trouble and Failures in Conversation between Humans and Robots,
  Charting the Current Limits and Developing Future Directions of Speech Interfaces in Robotics (UK-RAS Pump Priming Activity)
  Online & Hatfield, UK

• 08/2022 Co-organizer and programme committee member
  UK-RAS Conference for PhD and Early-Career Researchers (UKRAS22)
  Aberystwyth, UK

• 08/2022 Special session organiser
  Theory of Mind for social HRI,
  International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)

• 08/2022 - 08/2018 Workshop series co-organiser (5 iterations)
  Trust, Acceptance and Social Cues in Human-Robot Interaction,
  International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)

• 08/2021 Special session organiser
  Exploring social credibility and trust in HRI,
  International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)

• 06/2021 General chair
  UK-RAS Conference for PhD and Early-Career Researchers (UKRAS21)
  Online (Hatfield, UK)

• 02/2019 Host and organiser
  Robot House 2.0 academic launch event
  Hatfield, UK

• 10/2017 Publication chair
  International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI)
  Bielefeld, Germany

• 10/2017 Workshop co-organiser
  Multicentric Interaction with Smart Homes and Home Robots,
  International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI)
  Bielefeld, Germany

• 11/2016 Main workshop organiser
  Embodied Interaction with Smart Environments,
  International Conference on Multimodal Interaction (ICMI)
  Tokyo, Japan

• 08/2012 Track organiser and tutor
  Interaction Strategies in the Peripersonal Space,
  Summer School Verbal and non-verbal interaction
  Bielefeld, Germany

Invited talks

• 11/2022 Robot House - Home to human-robot interaction
  Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg,
  Advanced Topics in AI and Robotics Seminar
  Online

• 07/2022 How AI-driven technology can help solve issues facing global food security
  Times Higher Education,
  THE Campus round table discussion
  Online

• 07/2022 Human-robot interaction research at Robot House
  Heriot-Watt University,
  Interaction Lab, School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences
  Edinburgh, UK

• 10/2020 Human-robot interaction research at Robot House
  National Health Service (NHS),
  Graduate management trainee scheme IAG
  Online

• 10/2019 Human-robot interaction research at Robot House
  University of Oslo,
  Multimodal Elderly Care Systems (MECS) project closing
  Oslo, Norway

• 12/2017 The Cognitive Service Robotics Apartment - Interaction Concepts
  University of Hertfordshire,
  Computer Science Research Colloquium
  Hatfield, UK

• 10/2017 The Cognitive Service Robotics Apartment - Interaction Concepts
  Workshop Multicentric Interaction with Smart Homes and Home Robots,
  International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI)
  Bielefeld, Germany

Memberships

• since 07/2022 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
  AdvanceHE

• since 01/2022 Associate editor
  International Journal of Social Robotics,
  Springer

• since 12/2021 IEEE P3108: Recommended Practice for Human-Robot Interaction Design of Human Subject Studies (Co-chair subgroup study design)
  Project/Task Group,
  IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

• since 09/2021 Associate editor (Human Robot/Machine Interaction)
  International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems,
  Sage Publishing

• since 09/2021 Associate editor
  Interaction Studies,
  John Benjamins Publishing Company

• since 09/2017 EPSRC UK-Robotics and Autonomous Systems (UK-RAS) Network (Network committee member)
  Representative of the University of Hertfordshire

• 12/2018 - 01/2015 IEEE Young Professionals (Member)
  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Guest Editorials

• in prep. Co-editor of a special issue (Curiosity in Human-Robot Interaction)
  Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics,
  De Gruyter

• 08/2022 Associate editor (Track 4: Biometrics and Human-Computer Interaction)
  International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR)

• in prep. Co-editor of a special issue (The road to successful HRI: trust, acceptance, ethics, social signals and AI)
  International Journal of Social Robotics,
  Springer

• 12/2021 Co-editor of a special issue (Trust, Acceptance and Social Cues in Human-Robot Interaction)
  Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics Volume 12, Issue 1,
  De Gruiter

• 12/2021 Co-editor of a special issue (Trust, Acceptance and Social Cues in Robot Interaction)
  International Journal of Social Robotics Volume 13, Issue 8,
  Springer

• 11/2019 Co-editor of a special issue (Social Cues in Robot Interaction, Trust and Acceptance)
  Interaction Studies Volume 20, Issue 3,
  John Benjamins Publishing Company

Reviewing

• Proposals: EPSRC Fellowship, NWO Talent Programme "Vici"

• Doctoral theses: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

• Journals: Paladyn - Journal of Behavioral Robotics (4), International Journal of Social Robotics (26), Interaction Studies (3), MDPI Robotics (2), Robotics and Automation Letters (1), User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction (2)

• Conferences: Conference on Human Factors in Computing (1), International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (4), International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (7), Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems (1), International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (1), International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (3), UK-RAS Conference for PhD and Early-Career Researchers (7), International Conference on Social Robotics (4), International Conference on Development and Learning (1)

• Book chapters: TU Wien Academic Press

Dissemination

• Exhibitions: Automatica (Munich, 2010 & 2012), RoboDays (Odense, 2009), CEBIT (Hanover, 2008), CEREALS (Duxford, 2022)

• Selected outreach activities
  • 06/2022 : Robot Talk Episode 18: Robotics in the Home
  • 06/2022 : Robot Lab Live: A Visit to Robot House
  • 02/2022 : Jack To The Future Podcast: The Future of Robots
  • 08/2020 : Can Robots save the NHS? on ITV Tonight
  • 04/2019 : Take your vicar to the lab
  • 03/2019 : .helloworld - Hertfordshire Hackathon
  • 06/2018 : UK Robotics Week 2018
  • 08/2017 : GENIALE science festival Bielefeld

Teaching and supervision

• Theses
  • since 09/2021 (Doctoral project): End-user personalisation of social/companion robot for long-term engagement (working title)
  • since 01/2021 (Doctoral project): Human Activity Detection in Ambient Assisted Living Scenarios (working title)
  • since 04/2019 (Doctoral project): Human Activity Detection in Ambient Assisted Living Scenarios (working title)
  • 09/2017 (M.Sc. thesis): Goal-driven competitive behaviors as an intelligent home control
  • 11/2013 (M.Sc. thesis): Analysing Human-Human Behaviour in Shared Space for Improving Human-Robot Interaction
  • 08/2011 (B.Sc. thesis): Automatisches Akquirieren Visueller Training Sets für Erkennungsalgorithmen
  • 04/2011 (M.Sc. thesis): An Online Stereo Calibration System for Humanoid Robots demonstrated on the iCub Platform

• Guest Lectures
  • 2021 (A), 2020 (A) : Legal and Ethical Practice Exercise
  • since 2019 (C) : Advanced Research Topics in Computer Science

• Seminars
  • Su. 2015 : Social robotics
  • Su. 2012 : Applied speech processing
  • Su. 2011 : Vision for 3D - 3D for vision
  • Su. 2010 : Image-based tracking methods
  • Wi. 2009 : Spatial interaction between humans and robots

• Tutorials
  • since 2019 (C) : Advanced Research Topics in Computer Science
  • Wi. 2012, Wi. 2011 : Musterklassifikation (pattern recognition)
  • Su. 2011 : Computer Vision
  • Wi. 2010 : Bildverarbeitung (image processing)
  • Su. 2006, Wi. 2005 : Techniken der Projektentwicklung I & II (project development)
  • Wi. 2005 : Unix Praktikum (applied basic Unix)
  • Su. 2005, Wi. 2004 : Algorithmen und Datenstrukturen I & II (algorithms & data structures)

Extracurricular education and training

• 07/2011 VVV RobotCub (Summer School)
  Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)
  Sestri Levante, Italy

• 10/2010 Structure of Cognitive Motion (Summer School)
  Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC)
  Bielefeld, Germany

• 01/2008 Human-Robot Interaction (Winter School)
  FP6 Project Cognitive Robot Companion (COGNIRON)
  Lausanne, Switzerland

• Selected in-house trainings and roles
  • since 05/2019 : Fire warden (Fire Warden and Fire Marshal Training)
  • since 04/2018 : First aider (First Aid at Work Certificate)
  • 10/2018 : Research Degrees Supervision Training
  • since 10/2017 : Ethics reviewer for Health, Science, Engineering and Technology (HSET) ECDA
  • 07/2011 : Überzeugend Präsentieren (how to give convincing presentations)
  • 07/2009 : Academic Writing in English
  • 06/2009 : Project- and Self-management in a Ph.D. program

Further experience

• Scientific: Social robotics (non-verbal signalling, trust and social credibility), Systems integration (interaction architectures, coordination and arbitration)

• Technologies: Distributed Systems (ROS, Yarp, RSB), Software Engineering (Netbeans, Linux), Collaboration (GitLab, GitHub)

• Programming: Java, Python, C++, LaTeX, R, Matlab, Bash

• Languages: German, English