PhD Candidate · Robotics & Product R&D · Human-Centered Engineering
I am an interdisciplinary R&D researcher and PhD candidate at the Integration & Innovation Design (IID) Lab, UNIST. I work at the seam between user research and engineering: defining user scenarios, translating them into functional components and engineering specifications, and building the product prototypes that follow.
What I do
Frameworks that convert user scenarios into functional requirements and engineering specifications.
How AI tools can (and can't) help interdisciplinary teams, and the factors that drive acceptance of AI-infused systems.
Keeping real users at the centre of product and service development, from older adults to special forces.
Selected projects
Funded R&D · Sep 2021 – Dec 2025
An AI-based companion care robot supporting elderly independence and emotional well-being, honoured with a CES 2025 Innovation Award.
Funded R&D · Jan 2022 – Dec 2025
Design and development of a modular special-forces backpack with a carbon-fibre frame optimised for weight distribution.
Funded R&D · Nov 2022 – Feb 2026
An ergonomically optimised, modular sleeping system for extreme operational environments in South Korea.
Selected publications
2026 · Journal article
Journal articleResearch in Engineering Design, 37(4), Article 36
2025 · Conference paper
Conference paperProceedings of the Design Society, 5, 2841–2850 (ICED 2025)★ Reviewers' Choice Award, ICED 2025
2024 · Journal article
Journal articleHuman Factors, 66(1), 126–144★ 2025 Clarivate ESI Highly Cited Paper (top 1 % in Psychiatry/Psychology)
2024 · Conference paper
Conference paperProceedings of the Design Society, 4, 23–34 (DESIGN 2024)
News & updates
Publication
The Scenario-Oriented Specification (SOS) method at the core of my PhD is now published in Research in Engineering Design (volume 37, article 36), written with Prof. KwanMyung Kim.
Read moreWorkshop & event
At DRS2026 in Edinburgh I led “Action Steps Sprint”, a 90-minute Explorations session in which three interdisciplinary teams turned an elder-care robot scenario into requirements, components and early specifications.
Read morePublication
Article with Sang-Ho Kim and Kyuho Maeng in Transportation Research Part F: a survey of 509 people in South Korea on what drives the acceptance of autonomous vehicles, and how this differs between groups of users.
Read moreConference
Two papers in the IASDR 2025 proceedings (Taipei): which parts of a user scenario matter to engineers, and how to design motion for a non-humanoid care robot. I also co-facilitated a workshop on robot personality.
Read morePublication
Two papers from the defense-equipment projects with NH Co., Ltd. appeared in the IEA 2024 congress proceedings (Springer): design guidelines for special-forces sleeping bags, and a device that measures how a military backpack distributes its load.
Read moreOpen to research collaborations, design projects and conversations about human-centered and human–AI product design.
