Master’s in Human-Robot Interaction Engineering
Online master's programme of 1,900 hours in human-robot interaction engineering. 12 modules covering HRI models, human perception, robot communication, physical collaboration, planning and decision-making, learning in HRI, safety and regulation, human factors and trust, social and service robots and HRI evaluation, with an assigned technical tutor.
Take the controls.
Run a real engineering trade-off from this programme. Move the sliders, watch the model react in real time and beat the challenge.
What you will be able to do
Understand models of interaction between people and robots.
Implement perception of people and gestures.
Design legible robot communication.
Develop safe physical collaboration.
Apply interactive learning in robots.
Assess trust and human factors.
Design experimental studies in HRI.
Who it's for
- Human-robot interaction engineers.
- Social robotics researchers.
- Collaborative robotics developers.
- Human factors specialists.
- Cobot application engineers.
- Robotics experience designers.
- Engineering or science graduates seeking to enter manufacturing.
What you'll work with
- ISO 10218-1:2025 (safety requirements for industrial robots)
- ISO/TS 15066:2016 (collaborative robots)
- ISO 13482:2014 (safety requirements for personal care robots)
- ISO 10218-2:2025 (safety of industrial robot applications and cells)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (Artificial Intelligence Act)
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation)
- IEEE 7001-2021 (transparency of autonomous systems)
- ISO 9241-210:2019 (human-centred design for interactive systems)
- ROS 2
- MediaPipe
- Gazebo
- PsychoPy
- Unity
12 modules · 1900 h
1.1History and fields of HRI1.2Interaction taxonomies1.3Physical and social proximity1.4Levels of robot autonomy1.5Roles: supervisor, operator and teammate1.6User mental models1.7Industrial, service and social robots1.8Interaction metrics1.9Scientific community and conferences1.10Case study: analysis of an HRI application
2.1Person detection and tracking2.2Human pose estimation with OpenPose and MediaPipe2.3Gesture recognition2.4Speech recognition and dialogue2.5Emotion recognition2.6Gaze tracking2.7Multimodal perception fusion2.8Depth sensors for HRI2.9Privacy in perception2.10Lab: pose estimation with MediaPipe
3.1Legible and predictable motion3.2Light and sound signals3.3Displays and projection of intentions3.4Natural language generation3.5Gestures and expressions in social robots3.6Communication in augmented reality3.7Transparency of decisions3.8Haptic feedback design3.9Communication in groups3.10Practical exercise: projecting intentions onto the floor
4.1Hand guiding of the robot4.2Impedance control for interaction4.3Object handover4.4Co-manipulation of loads4.5Estimation of human forces4.6Motion synchronisation4.7Adapting to the operator's pace4.8Stability of physical interaction4.9Contact safety4.10Lab: human-robot handover
5.1Human-aware planning5.2Human trajectory prediction5.3Shared task allocation5.4Partially observable Markov models5.5Preference learning5.6Planning under uncertainty5.7Game theory in interaction5.8Cognitive architectures for robots5.9Evaluating planners5.10Practical exercise: trajectory prediction for planning
6.1Learning from demonstration6.2Interactive learning with corrections6.3Reinforcement learning from human feedback6.4Language models in robots6.5Learning social skills6.6Personalised adaptation to the user6.7Safety of online learning6.8Interaction data and annotation6.9Generalisation across users6.10Workshop: teaching a task by demonstration
7.1ISO 10218-1 and 10218-27.2ISO/TS 15066 and biomechanical limits7.3ISO 13482 for personal care robots7.4Speed and separation monitoring7.5Collaborative risk assessment7.6Psychological safety of the worker7.7Validation of safety functions7.8Mobile robots and people7.9Certification of applications7.10Case study: risk assessment of an HRI cell
8.1Trust calibration8.2Workload and stress8.3Technology acceptance models8.4Anthropomorphism and the uncanny valley8.5Individual and cultural differences8.6Use errors and their prevention8.7Fatigue in prolonged collaboration8.8Worker wellbeing8.9Measuring the experience8.10Practical exercise: trust-in-robots questionnaire
9.1Robots in hospitals and care homes9.2Robots in education9.3Customer service robots9.4Domestic assistive robots9.5Robots for people with disabilities9.6Social behaviour design9.7Ethics in social robots9.8Evaluation with real users9.9Current limitations of social robots9.10Case study: companion robot in a care home
10.1Experimental design in HRI10.2Wizard of Oz studies10.3Godspeed and other questionnaires10.4Objective performance metrics10.5Qualitative analysis of interviews10.6Statistics for user studies10.7Ethics and informed consent10.8Longitudinal interaction studies10.9Reproducibility of HRI studies10.10Lab: Wizard of Oz study
11.1Ethical principles of robotics11.2Data protection and the GDPR11.3The EU AI Act11.4Legal liability for damage11.5Impact on work11.6Inclusion and accessibility11.7Value-sensitive design11.8Public communication of robotics11.9Technology governance and participation11.10Case study: ethical analysis of a deployment
12.1Definition of the interaction scenario12.2User perception12.3Robot behaviour12.4Implementation in ROS 212.5Safety assessment12.6Study with participants12.7Statistical analysis of the data12.8Conclusions and future work12.9Master's Thesis report12.10Master's Thesis: defence before a panel
How you'll learn
100% online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. No fixed timetables: you progress at your own pace within the intake, making it compatible with work.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is ROS 2, MediaPipe, Gazebo, PsychoPy and Unity, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Exercises are based on real procedures for studies with participants in interaction, development of human perception for robots and risk assessment of collaborative applications. Assessment is continuous by module, plus the final Master's Thesis.
Standards covered: ISO 10218-1:2025, ISO/TS 15066:2016, ISO 13482:2014, ISO 10218-2:2025, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Regulation (EU) 2016/679, IEEE 7001-2021, ISO 9241-210:2019.
Build it end to end
Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- University degree in engineering, science or architecture, or equivalent demonstrable professional experience.
- Internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme software.
- English sufficient to read technical standards.
Ready to start?
Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.
Frequently asked questions
The programme totals 1,900 hours over 12–14 months. You set your own pace within each intake, and your tutor helps you plan the workload around your job.
You work with ROS 2, MediaPipe, Gazebo, PsychoPy and Unity, using free, academic or evaluation versions. Your tutor indicates the free alternative wherever one exists.
A SEIUM Institute diploma, awarded on passing the continuous assessment and the Master's Thesis. It is SEIUM's own qualification, not an official state degree; its recognition depends on the programme completed and the regulations of each country.
Yes. Modules passed in a course or postgraduate diploma in the same area are recognised in the higher programme. Ask about the recognition policy when you enrol.
A university degree in engineering, science or architecture (or equivalent professional experience), a computer able to run the software and English sufficient to read technical standards.
Start dates are set by SEIUM's faculty for each intake. Our admissions team will confirm the next available date when you apply.
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