As the hands-on technical arm of AMS Institute, our Prototyping Team offers specialized design, development, and testing services that turn academic ideas into functional prototypes and Proofs of Concepts, validating their potential before implementation at scale. They combine expertise in user research, stakeholder engagement, design, technical development, data visualization, and parametric modelling to create functional prototypes and Proofs of Concepts that bridge theoretical research with practical applications for urban challenges.
In that way the team provides essential validation for emerging urban technologies through user testing, interface design, and prototype creation. Ensuring solutions are viable, usable, and impactful before wider implementation. End-users are typically citizens, the city’s civil servants, and its visitors.
“Prototyping is where science meets reality. Our team bridges the gap between academic insights and practical urban solutions by bringing ideas to life through design, technology, and user testing.”
Thijs Turèl
Program Developer & Teamlead
The Prototyping Process
The process of our Prototyping Team spans from discovery (through interviews and participatory design) to definition (creating personas and journey maps), design (conceptualizing products, services, and visualizations), and prototyping (developing physical and digital models). All supported by rigorous testing protocols that engage users and stakeholders in Living Labs (real-world settings to co-create, test and prototype innovative solutions). This integrated approach enables researchers and program developers to validate assumptions, refine concepts, and demonstrate value before significant investments are made in scaling solutions, creating a critical pathway from academic insight to urban innovation.
“The value of prototyping isn't just the prototype itself - it's everything you learn along the way. By the time we move forward with something, we already know it can hold up in the real world.”
DRO-DMI PoC Fund Team
The Prototyping Team's Impact
Our Prototyping Team has successfully developed and tested numerous urban innovations, turning conceptual research into tangible solutions that address real challenges. From mapping the movements of vulnerable road users, to prototyping ethical sensing technology, to visualizing autonomous canal vessels - our projects translate complex urban research into testable, tangible solutions. Working across mobility, data, and public space, we build the prototypes and proof of concepts that help cities make better decisions, faster.
Members of our Prototyping Team
Thijs Turèl (Team Lead & Program Developer)
Thijs leads the Prototyping Team while also serving as Program Developer for Responsible Digitalization, bringing extensive experience in urban innovation and digital transformation to create user-centered city solutions. Learn more →
Fabian Geiser (Designer)
Fabian is an interaction designer with experience in the research through design approach. A main focus of Fabian’s work is the topic of Digital Autonomy. Learn more →
Linus Knupfer, Designer
Linus is a generalist designer with a broad background in Industrial design engineering, Wayfinding design, Internet of Things and Digital design. Learn more →
Anastasios Kokkos, Research Engineer
Anastasios is a Computational Designer with a background in Building Engineering working as a Research Engineer and supporting the team by providing data driven engineering insights to various projects. Learn more →
Caspar Egas, Research Engineer Learn more →
Eva van der Born, Learn more →
Chris ten Dam, Learn more →
