This thesis introduces Armando, a low-cost soft robotic gripper with proprioceptive sensing using a single flexible capacitive sensor and neural-network decoding. Achieving 99% accuracy, Armando enables precise finger-position estimation for applications in prosthetics, assistive care, and disaster response, advancing accessible tactile robotics inspired by human touch.

Digital health expanded during COVID-19, but many services exclude people seeking support for alcohol and drug use. This research uses inclusive design, interviews, and workshops with people with lived experience to identify barriers, reduce stigma, improve usability, and guide industry toward creating accessible, equitable digital care for all.

My research improves brain–computer interfaces for children with disabilities by reducing the repetitive calibration needed before use. Using transfer learning and a team-selection algorithm, data from other users help personalise the system, cutting calibration by up to 90%. This makes creative activities like painting more accessible, enjoyable, and sustainable.

This research examines how public engagement in science is shaped not just by researchers and audiences, but by institutions, environments, and material objects. By following PhD researchers across Europe, it investigates how engagement practices emerge, why they often remain exclusionary, and how understanding these “actors” can make science communication more inclusive.