Diana Saplacan Lindblom is a Researcher at the University of Oslo's Department of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. She is a member of the Robotics and Intelligent Systems Research Group (ROBIN) and actively contributes to the Vulnerability in Robot Society (VIROS) research project (2021-present) and the Ethical Risk Assessment of Artificial Intelligence in Practice (ENACT) project (2023-present). Dr. Saplacan received her Ph.D. from the University of Oslo in 2020 with a thesis titled "Situated abilities: Understanding Everyday Use of ICTs" from the Design of Information Systems (DESIGN) Research Group. During Spring 2023, she was a visiting researcher at the Human-Robot Interaction Lab, Department of Social Informatics, Kyoto University, Japan, and a guest researcher at Tohoku University's Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences. Her research focuses on user studies in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and Human-Robot cooperation, with particular emphasis on digitalization of home- and healthcare services, robots as welfare technologies, and ethics regarded through Universal Design principles. She investigates privacy, safety, and security aspects related to robots in healthcare settings, bridging legal and technical considerations. Her work often employs qualitative methods including story dialogue techniques to understand user perspectives and professional reactions to emerging technologies. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong interdisciplinary approach connecting computer science, social sciences, and healthcare. Her work spans technical aspects of robotics, ethical considerations in AI implementation, and practical user studies across diverse populations including elderly care recipients and healthcare professionals. She frequently examines how Universal Design principles can be applied to social and assistive robots to ensure accessibility and inclusion. Dr. Saplacan has received notable recognition including an Honorable Mention at HRI (2024) and being named among "Women changing the field of AI in Norway" (2021, 2022). She has also earned Best Paper Awards at ACHI-IARIA (2018, 2020) and a Best Paper Finalist Award at ARSO (2021). HRI Honorable Mention (2024) Women changing the field of AI in Norway (2021, 2022) Best Paper Finalist Award - ARSO (2021) Best Paper Award, ACHI - IARIA (2020) Best Paper Award, ACHI - IARIA (2018) Dr. Saplacan has served as co-supervisor for Ph.D. candidates Adel Baselizadeh (completed 2024) and Marieke van Otterdijk (defense scheduled for December 2024). Her research is supported through collaborations with multiple academic partners including SINTEF, HIOF, and NTNU, as well as industry partners such as DNB, Posten, NAV, Medsensio, and Hypatia Learning. She actively contributes to standardization efforts as a member of Standards Norway Committee on AI & Ethics (WG3) and the IEEE Artificial Intelligence Standards Committee. She is a key contributor to the ROBIN research group's work on healthcare robotics and leads efforts in the UD-Robots project, which examines how universal design principles can be applied to robotics. Her work with the Norwegian Council for Digital Ethics and participation in international workshops demonstrates her commitment to shaping ethical frameworks for emerging technologies.










