Changing How We See the World: Inclusive Augmented Reality for Health and Wellbeing Kingston University in United Kingdom

This PhD opportunity at Kingston University invites candidates to explore the transformative potential of Augmented Reality (AR) for health, wellbeing, and inclusion. AR overlays interactive digital content onto the real world, creating immersive yet accessible experiences that can support individuals facing barriers to participation. The research will investigate how AR can enhance quality of life, promote engagement, and enable meaningful social interaction across three domains: health, wellbeing, and inclusion.

In the health domain, the project will focus on AR as an assistive tool for individuals with neurological disabilities, such as cerebral palsy or acquired brain injuries. AR can facilitate independence, support communication, and improve navigation of everyday environments, while also offering opportunities for light rehabilitation through engaging, guided tasks. By augmenting real-world spaces with interactive elements, AR has the potential to improve daily care, encourage gentle movement, and enrich user experiences.

For wellbeing, AR-enhanced activities in the workplace—such as guided movement breaks or collaborative exercises—can improve employee wellbeing and productivity. Structured interventions delivered via AR can reduce stress, improve mood, and lower absenteeism, making wellbeing initiatives more engaging and accessible. The technology enables personalised experiences that help employees recharge, stay motivated, and enhance focus on real-world tasks.

Inclusion is a central theme, with AR helping to break down physical and social barriers. The research will explore how AR can enable participation in activities that are often inaccessible to those with mobility impairments or neurological conditions. By transforming everyday spaces into shared, interactive environments, AR fosters collaboration, curiosity, and social connection, promoting social belonging and confidence while raising awareness of diversity and participation.

The project is highly interdisciplinary, sitting at the intersection of human–computer interaction, assistive technology, digital wellbeing, and inclusive design. Candidates will engage in user-centred design and development of AR interventions, prototype and implement AR experiences using platforms such as Meta Quest 3, Pico 4, or Apple Vision Pro, and evaluate usability, accessibility, and impact through mixed methods research. The successful applicant will join a supportive research community, collaborate with clinical partners, educators, and technology developers, and gain skills in mixed-reality development, co-design methods, user studies, and impact evaluation.

Funding is available through the Graduate School studentships competition for October 2026 entry, potentially covering tuition and stipend. Applicants should have a strong academic background in relevant disciplines and a passion for creating technology that makes a measurable difference to people’s lives. The application deadline is March 4, 2026. For further details and application instructions, visit the Kingston University PhD Studentships and Faculty research webpages.