prof. dr Somaya Ben Allouch

Lector Digital Life (HvA) & Bijzonder Hoogleraar ‘Human-System Interaction for Health & Wellbeing’ (UvA)

Dr. Somaya Ben Allouch is sinds oktober 2018 lector Digital Life aan de Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA). Het lectoraat focust op mensgericht onderzoek naar het ontwerp, gebruik en de implementatie van digitale technologieën binnen gezondheid en welzijn. Ze werkt daarnaast aan het SIA-SPRONG project Mensen in Beweging, gericht op gezonde leefstijl en duurzame gedragsverandering met creatieve technologie. Sinds januari 2021 is Somaya bijzonder hoogleraar ‘Human-System Interaction for Health and Wellbeing’ aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA), een leerstoel ingesteld door Stichting Bèta Plus. Haar expertise ligt in mensgerichte interactie, acceptatie en evaluatie van technologieën zoals sociale robotica en wearables. Eerder promoveerde ze aan de Universiteit Twente en werkte ze als gastonderzoeker bij Stanford University. Daarnaast is Somaya actief in internationale onderzoeksprojecten en redactieraden van wetenschappelijke tijdschriften.

e-mail: s.ben.allouch@hva.nl

Projects

Publications

Anne Marleen Olthof, Jouke Verlinden, Somaya Ben Allouch

Attuned Design Practice: a design vocabulary for embodied knowing Proceedings Article

In: Chang, C. Y., Chen, C. H., Hsu, Y. (Ed.): IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan, pp. 1-11, 2026.

Abstract | Links

@inproceedings{nokey,

title = {Attuned Design Practice: a design vocabulary for embodied knowing},

author = {Anne Marleen Olthof and Jouke Verlinden and Somaya Ben Allouch},

editor = {C.Y. Chang and C.H. Chen and Y. Hsu},

url = {http://retroproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Publication-Attuned-Design-Practice_-a-design-vocabulary-for-embodied-knowing-1.pdf},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.947},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-03-17},

urldate = {2026-03-17},

booktitle = {IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan},

pages = {1-11},

abstract = {This poster introduces Attuned Design Practice (ADP), a concept that examines how design practice can be used to interpret and articulate alternative understandings of studying human-computer relationships, by prior it ising ‘embodied knowing’ as an alternative design vocabulary. We shortly introduce the current state of scientific research in general, explain the notion of ‘attunement’, and show an existing framework that has inspired us to start an eighteen-months field study of body-based inquiry in the domains of Design, Art and Technology. In our field study, we have explored developmental paths of scientific and artistic inquiry towards constructing embodied knowledge, and have employed per formative techniques to examine affective, temporal, and somatic qualities in human-computer relationships. As a follow-up to our field study, we propose an Open Rehearsal framework that integrates (1) the preparation of design tools and instruments, (2) the enactment of per formative techniques at the intersection of artistic-scientific inquiry, and (3) the development of notation methods that attract, respond, and release compositional or per formative activity. Through a dynamic interplay of human intentionality, algorithmic responsiveness, and material agency, we investigate how embodied knowledge can be produced and mediated through Attuned Design Practice. We conclude by outlining our future research to produce alternative ways of understanding the body in human-computer relationships.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {inproceedings}

}

Nataliia Kaminskaia, Rob Saunders, Kim Baraka, Somaya Ben Allouch

The Nudging Machine: Exploring Expressive Touch-Based Movement for Abstract Robots Proceedings Article

In: pp. 381-386, ACM, 2026.