Contact Dr Anne-Marie Oostveen
- Email: J.M.Oostveen@cranfield.ac.uk
- Twitter:
Areas of expertise
- Industrial Automation
- Industrial Ergonomics and Human Factors
Background
Anne-Marie holds a PhD in Social Informatics and an MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam. Before joining the Industrial Psychology and Human Factors Group at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in 2020, she held research positions at the University of Oxford, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Rathenau Institute.
Her research explores the intersection of technology, society, and ethics, focusing on how emerging technologies impact people’s lives, work, and values. With a strong participatory approach, she’s worked on both the design and evaluation of technologies in areas ranging from public services to automation and AI.
Anne-Marie’s work has been funded by the European Commission, EPSRC, and other major institutions. She was awarded a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship to explore e-democracy and public trust and has published extensively across academic and public-facing platforms.
Research opportunities
Anne-Marie’s current work centres on the ethics of AI and robotics, with a particular focus on emerging fields such as drones, digital manufacturing, soft robotics, and nanobots. She explores how these technologies are developed, how they might be used responsibly, and how frameworks like the EU AI Act can help embed socio-ethical principles into research and design. Her aim is to ensure that innovation is not only technically advanced but also aligned with public values, trust, and societal needs.
This focus builds on a long-standing interest in the relationship between technology and society. Earlier in her career, Anne-Marie studied large and complex socio-technical systems, including e-voting, automated border control, and digital public service platforms. She examined how such systems are used and perceived, and how people’s values, attitudes, and behaviours shape their adoption. She has also investigated surveillance technologies such as biometrics and child-tracking systems, always with attention to the social trends and debates driving technological change.
Her approach is participatory and problem-oriented: she believes that technologies should not only be designed for people but also with them, by involving diverse stakeholders in the process.
Beyond her own research, Anne-Marie is involved in the wider robotics and AI ethics community. She serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Climbing and Walking Robots (JCWR), published by Bon View with the CLAWAR Association (UK), helping to shape the direction of scholarship in the field. She also brings her expertise to the European Commission as an independent expert, where she evaluates proposals, reviews projects, and helps guide the development of new programmes and policies.
Current activities
- FEROX: Using AI, robotics, and data tools to support wild food harvesting in Nordic forests, FEROX aims to improve working conditions for seasonal berry pickers. Anne-Marie leads research on work practices, socio-ethical impacts, and user acceptance. [https://ferox.fbk.eu]
TEACHING
- MSc Applied Artificial Intelligence: Module leader and lecturer 'Ethical, Regulatory, and Social Aspects of AI' (ERS) compulsory module. [/courses/taught/applied-artificial-intelligence]
- MSc Robotics: Lecturer 'Psychology, Ethics and Standards' (PES) compulsory module. [/courses/taught/robotics]
- Short Course: Module leader and lecturer on the 2-day intensive course 'Ethics of AI and Robotics', which equips professionals and academics with the tools and knowledge to address the societal, legal, and environmental implications of these transformative technologies. [/courses/short/aerospace/aero-ethics-of-ai-and-robotics]
PREVIOUS CRANFIELD PROJECTS
- Made Smarter Innovation – Smart Robotics: This UKRI-funded centre addresses the social acceptability of collaborative robots in manufacturing. Anne-Marie investigates how automation reshapes work, skills, and public perception—developing ethical frameworks and policy guidance.
- DigiTOP: Exploring how trust, ethics, and awareness influence the adoption of digital manufacturing technologies. Anne-Marie contributed to assessing individual and organisational readiness for tech integration on factory floors.
- RAS Human Factors (MOD/Dstl): Developed guidance on human-centred design and testing of robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) in defence, with a focus on usability, safety, and trust.
