Doctoral student in Human-Robot Interaction

About this role

About Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering, a joint department of Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg, spans the breadth of computing disciplines. Our internationally visible research, strong industry links and diverse environment create a collaborative setting where ideas grow into real impact. At the division of Interaction Design and Software Engineering, we design smarter ways to engineer better software, and explore how people engage with digital systems, combining global research perspectives with strong collaboration with industry. Within the division, you will join a growing group of researchers working in Human-Robot Interaction, focusing on trustworthy and critical robotics, with access to well-equipped labs and a diverse range of robots. About the research project Robots are entering human spaces, but they are still struggling to communicate effectively with us. Whether assisting older adults, delivering goods, supporting education, or navigating busy public environments, robots must make their intentions understandable to the people around them. If a robot cannot clearly signal what it is about to do, coordination breaks down. Trust weakens. Acceptance declines. In safety-critical contexts, misunderstandings can have serious consequences. This PhD project addresses this challenge. You will develop a novel, universal framework for robot communication that is both platform-independent and context-adaptive. Instead of designing communication strategies for one robot at a time, the goal is to establish principled foundations for how robots can communicate, regardless of which robot, which context, which environment. This interdisciplinary project combines theory-driven research wi