Designing socially adaptive behavior for mobile robots

An autonomous guided vehicle can be used for the delivery of goods. To deliver these goods to your home, the mobile robot will be driving in pedestrian rich environments. In these environments the robot will need to socially navigate itself in a way which is both pleasant for the pedestrians and progressive for the robot. During its drive, the...

Telltail: understanding feline behavior and personality to increase the human-animal bond in order to prevent owner-surrender

One of the most enriching relationships of human beings is the relationship between owner and companion-animal, including more specifically the relationship between owner and cat. Cats are the third-most important source for social support and security for human-beings. Cats are relatively easy to take care of and make people feel needed. Owners...

A change of perspective on Dutch asylum policies: redesigning citizenship for a cultural inclusive society

The European ‘refugee crisis’, which started during the summer of 2015, has challenged European countries and their societies on many levels. This graduation project focuses on the impact on the Dutch society and zooms in on the concerns of its policymakers, citizens and asylum seekers; refugees that have applied for asylum in the Netherlands....

Design for subjective well-being

Happiness is often considered a universal goal of people. In the relatively new field of positive psychology, many studies have been conducted to understand the concept of happiness and its broader counterpart; subjective well-being, leading to a collection of theories that explain their determinants. It has been shown that although there are...