Postdoctoral Position in the Research Unit for Robophilosophy and Integrative Social Robotics (RISR)

The Research Unit for Robophilosophy and Integrative Social Robotics (RISR), School of Culture and Society, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University invites applications for a 2-year fixed-term postdoctoral position in interaction design, with specialization on social/assistive robotics.

The appointment begins on October 1, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The university is keen for its staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified applicants regardless of their personal background.

Research context

The position is offered in the context of the research project “Enabling Social Interiors: Innovating Design in Assistive Robotics (DARE Research Unit for Robophilosophy and Integrative Social Robotics)”. DARE is an interdisciplinary project in social (assistive) robotics where Humanities research is fully included: the project combines philosophical expertise (social ontology, social phenomenology, axiology, ethics), anthropological field research, and constructive design research. With focus on assistive robotics for independent living of older adults, the DARE project will investigate the complex interplay between the dynamics of value hierarchies (e.g., autonomy vs. dignity), self-conceptions in aging, and robot appearance. Drawing on these insights and recent design studies of shape-changing objects, we introduce a new design category, “enabling social interiors”, and investigate how it can support positive conceptions of aging. The project is relevant for the physical and kinematic design of social robots in general, since it investigates the contextual relationship between value experience, social cues in robotic movements, and acceptance of robots.

The relationship between ‘design spaces’ and user values currently constitutes an important research gap in assistive robotics. The DARE project will address this relationship by way of design-centered approach that draws on the unique conceptual and methodological resources of ISR (Integrative Social Robotics), a R&D paradigm for culturally sustainable social robotics as developed at the research unit RISR. (Background information on ISR is provided at the project’s webpage). DARE will also benefit from close collaborations with the ACUTE project (link) which explores the new design category of artifact inspired robots experimentally.

The position

We are looking for an innovative researcher with a disciplinary background in interaction design and a specialization in (social/assistive) robotics. The successful applicant will have both strong design and research skills, with a particular emphasis on qualitative research methods.

The applicant is expected to work productively in an interdisciplinary team. Other researchers of the DARE team will determine interactional profiles for value experience and sociality experiences. The postdoctoral researcher is expected to explore, by means of a constructive design approach using design probes and interviews, how the (physical and kinematic) design of robotic items can support these interactional profiles.

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