Mark de Bruijn

Researcher into Social Robotics and Human-Robot Interaction

Lowell, MA, United States · mark@debruijn.ai

I am a researcher in human-robot interaction with a focus on the effects of task engagement in social and psychological robotics. My interest lies at the intersection of technology and human psychology. Pursuing my Doctoral studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, I am interested into research how understanding human psychology can improve human-robot interaction, aiming to bring together different areas of expertise to make progress in this field.

My current research revolves around task interruptions with underwater robots for long-term autonomy, and how to bridge the Sim-To-Real gap from virtual reality into the real-world (funded by the Office of Naval Research/ONR).

Publications

2026, Addressing Challenges in the Sim-To-Real Gap in Underwater Robot-To-Human Communication

Mark de Bruijn; Maria E. Cabrera. Accepted at IEEE OCEANS 2026, Monterrey CA

doi not yet available.

2025, Beware of the Tablet: A Dominant Distractor in Human-Robot Interaction

Linlin Cheng; Artem V. Belopolsky; Mark de Bruijn; Koen V. Hindriks. Published at IEEE IROS 2025

https://doi.org/10.1109/iros60139.2025.11247745

2025, Evaluating Appearance-Based Gaze Pattern for Human-Robot Interaction

Linlin Cheng; Artem V. Belopolsky; Mark de Bruijn; Koen V. Hindriks. Published at IEEE RO-MAN 2025

https://doi.org/10.1109/RO-MAN63969.2025.11217716

Awards

Excellence in Teaching Award

Awarded on April 30th, 2025 for working as a TA on Mobile Robotics (COMP.4500)

This award is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions as an Exemplary Teaching Assistant. The dedication and expertise have significantly enhanced the learning experience of UML students. Awarded by Prof. Holly Yanco, PhD at University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Education

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Doctor of Philosophy - Computer Science

August 2024 - currently

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Master of Science - Artificial Intelligence

August 2022 - June 2024

Pre-Master- Artificial Intelligence

August 2021 - July 2022

Windesheim University of Applied Sciences

Bachelor of Science - Major Business IT & Management (HBO)

August 2016 - September 2020

Minor Applied Psychology

August 2019 - January 2020

Minor Entrepreneurship

January 2019 - July 2019

Minor Concept and Creation

September 2018 - January 2019

ROC van Twente

Software Engineering (MBO)

August 2013 - July 2016

Academia

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Teaching Assistant

January 2025 - May 2025

Teaching Assistant (TA) for the Bachelor course Mobile Robotics (COMP.4500)*

Teaching Assistant

August 2024 - January 2025

Teaching Assistant (TA) for the Bachelor course Computer Architecture (COMP.3050)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Research Assistant

February 2024 - June 2024

Research Assistant for creating a graduate level educational module covering basic principles and techniques of Human-Interactive Robot Learning (HIRL). Funded by HumanE AI Net.

Teaching Assistant

December 2023 - February 2024

Teaching Assistant (TA) for the MSc course Socially Intelligent Robotics Project (XM_0076)

Teaching Assistant

October 2023 - December 2023

Teaching Assistant (TA) for the MSc course Socially Intelligent Robotics (X_0074)

Teaching Assistant

September 2023 - October 2023

Teaching Assistant (TA) for the MSc course Evolutionary Computing (X_400111)

Research Assistant

July 2023 - September 2023

Designed and developed an explorative data-annotation scheme for gold labels in combination with the RIVM (The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment).

* Awarded with Excellence in Teaching award.

Industry

White Lioness Technologies

Dot.net Software Engineer

With White Lioness, I have researched and worked on API possibilities to convert BIM-models (Building Information Models) to Autodesk Revit through Dot.NET and WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation).

March 2022 - August 2022

Lemerij Verhuur

Dot.net Lead Software Engineer

At de Lemerij, I was responsible for the continuation of development in the IT team. I was mainly focussed on writing C# code for the information flow of the inventory and rental up to the creation of the invoices. This was done with SQL and a Microsoft Access database. Initially solo, but later as the lead developer of 2 other software engineers. Besides this, I assisted in an upgrade from a legacy to a renewed Windows Server.

July 2017 - January 2020
January 2021 - March 2021

Gemeente/Municipality Almelo

Graduation project IT consultant

For my thesis project, I worked with researching the current and wished situation of the information flow of multiple disciplines from the management to the executors of the unit Uitvoering Fysiek (physical execution) and advising about the possible improvements within a politically driven and complex organisation.

January 2020 - September 2020

Agri Trader

Graduation project Software Engineering

For my MBO graduation internship, I have worked at Agri Trader on a dashboard for online users of a marketplace for second hand agricultural machines. Because of this dashboard, users gained insight in how they could more efficiently market their advertisements. I created this in a combination of PHP and JavaScript.

January 2016 - June 2016

A&D Logomat

Internship Software Engineering

For A&D Logomat, I created an C# application that reduced a time-intensive task from a couple hours to a couple minutes. I did this by making an XML-reader with a filtering mechanism that automatically filters messages based on a blacklist.

January 2015 - June 2015

Skills

Python

Matplotlib

Data Analysis

Robot Manipulation

ROS 2

.NET C#

Virtual Reality

Ubuntu