Devesh gives a humanoid robot a face - interview with master student Interaction Technology

“I want to better someone’s life with Interaction Technology”

“After my graduation in India, I explored my options abroad in The United States and Europe. I ended up choosing to continue my studies in the Netherlands because a lot of people speak English here, and travelling through EU countries is possible because of the Schengen Convention. I signed up for the Master’s in Interaction Technology. This was right up my alley because of my interest in helping people improve their living conditions. With this study, I have the opportunity to seamless bridge the gap between technology and humans.

QUOTE: “Interaction Technology has a broad perspective on scientific work with a human touch. I bridge the gap between technology and humans. This way I can help people improve their lives.”

Interaction Technology

Interaction Technology focuses on various branches of science, such as human psychology, brain functions, virtual & augmented reality, humanoid robots, etc. It has a broad perspective on scientific work with a human touch. UT is a partner in ANA Avatar XPrize, which is a competition to develop a robotic system that will deploy the presence of a human to a remote location in real-time, leading to a more connected world.

The i-Botics team is incorporating and enhancing the immersiveness through a compelling combination of state-of-the-art social, visual haptic, audio and olfactory technologies. My focus in this team, during my master’s thesis, lies in creating a face on the humanoid avatar. Using trackers through the VR headset, the emotions of the person using the headset are transferred to the face of the avatar. This way the avatar will become more personal. A challenge is how to make these humanoid robots acceptable in society. How can you make people, for example, the elderly, want to live with these robots?

QUOTE: “Concerns about sustainability and environmental pollution have long piqued my interest.” 

Green Hub Twente

I became a member of Green Hub Twente because concerns about sustainability and environmental pollution have long piqued my interest. I wonder why we exploit nature and the ecosystem just for our advantage, in terms of money or image? After all, this does not benefit our health. Green Hub Twente is the central point where all knowledge and initiatives related to sustainability within the university come together and strengthen each other. The Green Hub plays an active role in shaping, realising, implementing and monitoring UT policy related to sustainability. With my Green Hub colleagues, we try to contribute to the awareness of sustainability, help people with skills and knowledge on how to tackle their problems and how to find the right stakeholders and platforms. In this way, we can make a small contribution to decreasing climate change.

For example, my thesis research is related to sustainability. It contributes to enhancing the remote social presence so you may not have to travel always and be somewhere in person. So in turn, you don't use fuel and thus lower the CO2 emissions/carbon footprint.

Future

I don't know yet what the future will bring. I prefer a job where I can contribute to Interaction Technology projects related to human society. My work must be in line with improving human society or someone's life. You could say that I want to put the interest of mankind or society before my pleasure and needs, so I can make this world a better place. This can be in the Netherlands, or elsewhere in the world.”

ℹ️ MSc Interaction Technology https://bit.ly/MScInteractionTechnology

ℹ️ Green Hub twente https://www.utwente.nl/en/sustainability/green-hub-twente/