VIDI Grant for Eduard Fosch-Villaronga to work on Sex, Care & Robots
Sexuality is a fundamental part of being human. Yet, for many people with disabilities, it remains overlooked, unsupported, and surrounded by stigma. Eduard Fosch-Villaronga confronts that long-standing neglect with a project that envisions an urgent yet straightforward future: one in which sexual rights are recognised, respected, and realised – for everyone.
Dr Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, Associate Professor and Research Director at eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies, has been awarded a prestigious NWO VIDI grant (€850,000) for his project Sex, Care & Robots. The project confronts this long-standing neglect and asks a bold question:
How can the sexual rights of persons with disabilities be meaningfully realised through care, law, and technology?
Why this research matters
In disability policy and practice, sexuality is often treated as peripheral – something to be managed rather than supported. This silence has real consequences: it isolates individuals, deepens stigma, and denies them the opportunity to live full and autonomous lives. At the same time, assistive technologies and social robots have transformed many aspects of care – from mobility and communication to companionship. Yet, when it comes to intimacy and sexuality, technology still mirrors society’s discomfort.
Eduard’s project seeks to bridge these divides by examining how inclusive innovation, legal clarity, and care practices can come together to uphold dignity and desire for everyone.
'Sexuality is not a luxury, it’s part of what makes us human,' Fosch-Villaronga explains. 'The project is not about sex, care, or robots. It’s about reimagining what care means in the 21st century.'
A journey built on years of research
The Sex, Care & Robots project continues a conversation that Eduard began years ago with Adam Poulsen, a researcher from Sydney University exploring how robotic technologies could support intimacy in care settings:
- Fosch-Villaronga, E. & Poulsen, A. (2020) Sex Care Robots. Exploring the potential use of sexual robot technologies for disabled and eldercare. Paladyn Journal of Behavioral Robotics, 11(1).
- Fosch-Villaronga, E. & Poulsen, A. (2021) Sex Robots in Care. Setting the Stage for a Discussion on the Potential Use of Sex Robots for Persons with Disabilities. ACM HRI 2021 (ALT.HRI Track).
These works sparked global debate on the ethics and possibilities of sexual robotics in care contexts. Today, this inquiry continues through collaborations like the one with the gender, law, and tech scholar Carlotta Rigotti:
Connecting to a broader research vision on law and robotics
The VIDI award builds on Fosch-Villaronga’s growing body of work at the intersection of law, robotics, and AI. It complements his ERC Starting Grant 'Safe and Sound', which focuses on evidence-based policies for service robots, as well as his leadership roles in European projects such as Horizon Europe’s BIAS, tackling diversity bias in AI recruitment, and AI:Liner, pushing for responsible data-driven sewer asset management.
Together, these initiatives reflect a cohesive research agenda: creating policies and technologies that serve human dignity, diversity, and justice.
'The VIDI gives me the freedom to take the topic of sexuality and disability that has long been seen as marginal and place it at the centre of a serious, evidence-based, modern conversation,' he says.
About the NWO VIDI Grant
Vidi is an instrument within the NWO Talent Programme. The Vidi target group consists of researchers who are in the transition to leadership. They also possess academic qualities that clearly exceed what is usual and demonstrate development of leadership and mentoring qualities. The Vidi grant of €850,000 funds scientifically innovative research and gives researchers the opportunity to establish or expand a research group. For the 2024 call a total of 149 grants were awarded 14 of which were to Leiden University promising scholars.