The BMS Lab

Furhat is engineered to enhance human tife quality through sociat interactions, facial expressions, and movements that replicate human behaviour. Hence, there is a compelling argument for the incorporation of socially assistive robots in settings and contexts where they hold the potential to bring substantial benefits to humans, especially within critical sectors like healthcare. The study aimed to create an effective persuasive system using Furhat to enhance patient adherence.

To enhance engagement in energy transition participation processes, BMS researchers, together with the BMS Lab, develop, test, and optimise an augmented reality application. Utilising the HoloLens, participants can visualise prospective wind turbine sites and interact with virtual wind turbines within the environment. Variables such as the number of turbines, their height, the presence of flickering lights, and weather conditions can be adjusted. Elevating the realism of these future-scenario simulations, the tool will encompass multi-sensory elements, incorporating manipulations of sound, sunlight reflection, and drop shadows.

Our advanced driving simulator centre empower researchers to conduct innovative experiments and training programs. Whether using projectors or immersive VR with eye-tracking, our tools support studies on driving behavior, cognitive load, and beyond. .

TechEthos, a project funded by the European Union, addresses the ethical considerations associated with upcoming technologies expected to have substantial socio-economic implications. The primary objective of TechEthos is to promote "ethics by design," embedding ethical and societal values into the early stages of designing and developing new technologies. To this end, together with reserachers from the BMS Philosophy department, we developed a web tool, to aid in the design process.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sports introduced CoronaMelder, a COVID-19 contact tracing app utilising the Google/Apple Exposure Notification framework. The study investigated whether CoronaMelder can effectively support the traditional contact tracing efforts undertaken by public health authorities. 

BMS reserachers worked on expolring the brain acitivity of students in a classroom setting. The students were following different styles of lecturing, form a more passive style where they only listened to the lecturer, to an interactive one where they were actively participating.

To further integrate technology in the educational activities of the University of Twente, the BMS Lab created a VR class. In the class students familiarise themselves with VR as a research method, by using and modifying VR environments.