Workshop Agenda

Yicheng Xu is a PhD candidate in the Design Lab at the University of Sydney's School of Architecture, Design and Planning. His research and artistic practice investigate how materiality, movement-based design, and soma-informed felt experience can reshape human–robot interaction beyond anthropomorphic approaches, exploring the performative boundaries of more-than-human entities within relational settings.

Dr. Kristina Mah is an Academic Specialist and Lecturer in Art and Computer Science at Science Gallery Melbourne and The University of Melbourne. Her research and creative practice explore bridges across ancient wisdom traditions, somatic, contemplative and martial arts lineages, and diasporic narratives through public art, interaction design and performance. She works across academic, art and community contexts shaping engagement with relational discourse and compassion to foster more attuned and adaptive futures. 

Dr. Dagmar Reinhardt is an Associate Professor and Leader of the Robotics Lab in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at The University of Sydney. She is a practising architect, researcher, and educator. Her research explores the integration of architecture, design robotics, acoustics, structures, materials, digital fabrication, and construction through interdisciplinary collaboration. Central to her work is the investigation of human–robot collaboration, where robots are understood not only as fabrication tools but as interactive agents that shape design processes, material intelligence, and modes of construction. By developing robotic design and fabrication strategies that integrate geometry, material behaviour, and construction constraints, her research advances innovative approaches to adaptive manufacturing, human–machine interaction, and collaborative workflows, addressing the evolving relationship between human expertise, robotic agency, and fabrication in the built environment

Jo Martin is a PhD candidate in the Design Lab of the University of Sydney with a research focus on movement design and digital scenography for performance using computer vision. She has broad business experience across a variety of sectors including finance and e-commerce start-ups. She has been an educator, producer and performer. Her research includes the use of theatre methods, specifically “Six Viewpoints” training to investigate movement, objects and space in HCI workshops and design collaborations. The horizontal approach of the practice makes it particularly useful for the exploration of “more-than-human” design and robotics.

Lanxin Li is a PhD candidate in the Design Lab at the University of Sydney's School of Architecture, Design and Planning. Her research focuses on wearable devices, human-computer interaction (HCI), and user experience design, which aligns with the wearable prototype design of the robotics in this study. 

Xingxia Chen (Cynthia) is a PhD candidate in Design at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on the utilisation of bio-based materials in HCI and XR. She has explored a range of digital fabrication techniques, including moulding, 3D printing, CNC machining, and laser cutting, for soft bio-based materials such as Composite Mycelium Materials (CMM), agar film, and bio-foam. She is particularly interested in investigating how soft bio-based materials can be applied to emerging technologies such as robotics and XR. She has experience designing and facilitating workshops and user studies, and is passionate about creating engaging hands-on learning experiences.

Hanshu Jia is a PhD candidate in Architectural and Design Science at the University of Sydney. He is particularly interested in “grown” composite materials and bio-based soft materials, investigating how their adaptive and responsive properties can be integrated with parametric design models to inform new building paradigms and novel biofabrication techniques. His research further draws on principles of soft robotics and biomaterial responsiveness to explore the systems capable of adapting to changing environmental and biological conditions.

Shumin Fan is a PhD candidate in Design at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on designing personalised VR experiences to support relaxation and wellbeing. She explores a range of personalisation approaches, including user-controlled personalisation, biofeedback-driven adaptation, and Gen AI-supported techniques. She is particularly interested in how personalisation and Gen-AI can support the design of adaptive VR experiences, from enhancing relaxation to shaping how people experience and engage with robot dance performances in personalised virtual environments.

Yuxuan Liu is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney. Her research explores how sound and interactive technologies can contribute to more inclusive playground experiences for blind and low-vision (BLV) children. She is particularly interested in how people perceive and develop relationships with interactive equipment and environment through sensory design. Her experience includes designing and facilitating workshops and user studies, and she enjoys creating practical and engaging participatory activities.

Wendy Qi Zhang is a PhD candidate at the Affective Interactions Lab at The University of Sydney, where she explores embodied, cultural and collective healing within human-computer interaction. Her research and artist practice engages with interactive technologies, and performance informed by cyber-feminist, Daoist, and Buddhist perspectives.

Dr. Marius Hoggenmueller is a Lecturer in Interaction Design at the Design Lab, University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design, and Planning. His research explores how to design and prototype interactions with emerging technologies, with a particular focus on robotic systems in public urban environments. He is interested in how the form, behavior, and presence of robots shape social interactions and public life. His work often uses speculative and experimental design approaches to rethink how robots might operate outside of controlled settings, supporting alternative visions for human–robot coexistence in everyday spaces.