About The Workshop
AI has transformed methods and knowledge across many domains. However, the intersection of AI and haptics remains underexplored. While modern AI techniques such as machine learning, generative modeling, and reinforcement learning offer powerful opportunities for advancing haptic design, insights from haptics research such as perception modeling and adaptive interaction — grounded in human touch, embodiment, and multisensory integration — can also play a critical role in shaping more human-centered AI systems. This workshop will bring together an interdisciplinary community of researchers from HCI, haptics, AI, robotics, and design to (1) identify pressing questions in haptics that could benefit from AI approaches and (2) highlight ways in which haptic knowledge can support the development of embodied and context-aware AI. Through position papers and paper presentations, we will map key challenges, exchange methods, and explore new research directions that connect the two fields. By framing haptics and AI as mutually reinforcing, the workshop aims to build a shared research agenda and foster collaborations that advance both the science of touch and the design of intelligent interactive systems.
For more information, please see the workshop proposal.
Where
In-person Workshop at CHI'26
When
Date April 16, 2026
What are the topics covered in the Workshop?
- AI for Haptics - How can AI techniques advance haptic design, perception modeling, and interaction? What are the key challenges in creating large-scale haptic datasets, representations, and evaluation metrics?
- Haptics for AI - How can insights from haptics research rooted in embodiment, touch, and multisensory integration inform the development of more human centered and context-aware AI systems?
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration - What methods, tools, and frameworks can facilitate collaboration between HCI, haptics, AI, and robotics communities to advance both fields?
Workshop Schedule
Total duration: 180 minutes (3 hours)
The workshop consists of lightning talks and dynamic group discussions aimed at fostering collaboration and deeper exploration of AI-haptics intersections.
Introducing the Workshop
Opening remarks, introduction of organizers and agenda
Session 1: Lightning Talks and Discussions
10 lightning talks (3 minutes each: 2 min presentation + 1 min Q&A)
Discussion: AI for Haptics (40 minutes)
Summary of Session 1 (10 minutes)
Break - Coffee and informal networking
Session 2: Lightning Talks and Discussions
10 lightning talks (3 minutes each: 2 min presentation + 1 min Q&A)
Discussion: Haptics for AI (40 minutes)
Summary of Session 2 (10 minutes)
Synthesize and Conclude
Connecting the dots across presented work
Planning next steps for the community
Organizers
Easa
AliAbbasi
Max Planck Institute for Informatics
Saarland Informatics Campus
Dennis
Wittchen
Max Planck Institute for Informatics
Dresden University of Applied Sciences
Yinan
Li
Arizona State University
Shihan
Lu
Northwestern University
Thomas
Müller
Hapticlabs
Dresden, Germany
Donald
Degraen
HIT Lab NZ
University of Canterbury
Thomas
Leimkühler
Max Planck Institute for Informatics
Saarland Informatics Campus
Sang Ho
Yoon
Graduate School of Culture Technology
KAIST
Hasti
Seifi
School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence
Arizona State University
Oliver
Schneider
Management Science and Engineering
University of Waterloo
Heather
Culbertson
Department of Computer Science
University of Southern California
Jürgen
Steimle
Saarland University
Saarland Informatics Campus
Paul
Strohmeier
Group Leader
Sensorimotor Interaction Group
MPI for Informatics
Position Papers
| Robotic Affection - Opportunities of AI-based haptic interactions to improve social robotic
touch through a multi-deep-learning approach Ali Askari (TU Dortmund University, Germany) Jens Gerken (TU Dortmund University, Germany) |
|
| Haptics for Bidirectional Interaction with AI Musical Mappings Matthew Davison (Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, United Kingdom) |
|
| AI and Haptics: Toward Perception-Aware Shape-Changing Interfaces Zhuzhi Fan (University of Bristol, United Kingdom) Min S. Li (University of Bristol, United Kingdom) |
|
| Tangible Intelligence: Exploring the Bidirectional Synergy of AI and Haptics Roman Heger (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany) |
|
| Shared or Modality-Specific? Representation Strategies for AI-Driven Haptic
Design Kevin John (Arizona State University, USA) Hasti Seifi (Arizona State University, USA) |
|
| Hand-Object Interaction as an Intermediate Representation for Haptics in GenAI-Driven XR
Authoring Dohui Lee (Graduate School of Metaverse, KAIST, Republic of Korea) |
|
| Perceptually Grounded AI-Powered Systems for Haptic Design Yinan Li (Arizona State University, USA) Hasti Seifi (Arizona State University, USA) |
|
| Decoding Body Transformation Experiences: Fusing AI-Ready Wearables and Haptic Illusions in
Everyday Settings Tomás Martínez Cortés (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain) Karunya Srinivasan (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain) Amar D'Adamo (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain) Ana Tajadura-Jiménez (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain) |
|
| Generative Muscle Stimulation: Providing Users with Physical Assistance by Constraining
Multimodal-AI with Embodied Knowledge Romain Nith (University of Chicago) Yun Ho (University of Chicago) Pedro Lopes (University of Chicago) |
|
| A Pneumatic Haptic Glove for Pose-Based Human-AI Communication Minwoo Lee (Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea) Sungjoon Yoon (Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea) Seongmin Yun (Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea) Yunseo Do (Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea) Seungjae Oh (Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea) |
|
| Making Generated Scenes Touchable: LLM-Grounded Kinesthetic Feedback from a Single
Image Jaejun Park (Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea) Soyeon Nam (Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea) Jeongwoo Kim (Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea) Uison Ju (Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea) Seungmoon Choi (Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea) |
|
| Crowdsourcing Haptic Calibration Location Dataset for Muscle and Tendon Vibration Kun-Woo Song (KAIST, Republic of Korea) Sang Ho Yoon (KAIST, Republic of Korea) |
|
| Designing Touch with AI: Context-Aware Generative Haptics Youjin Sung (KAIST, Republic of Korea) Sang Ho Yoon (KAIST, Republic of Korea) |
|
| Maintaining Physical Collaboration with Haptic Feedback in Virtual Reality Wen-Jie Tseng (Sorbonne Université, ISIR, France) |
|
| Why Modeling Human Haptic Material Perception with AI Is Difficult Yasemin Vardar (Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), The Netherlands) |
|
| Adaptive Immersive Experience: AI-Driven, Context-Aware Haptics in Games Eric Vezzoli (Razer Inc.) |
|
| From Hunting to Farming: Analogy for Large-Scale Haptic Datasets Juan José Zárate (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
|
| How AI Enables Haptic Virtual Reality in Everyday Environments Andre Zenner (Saarland University & German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Germany) Muhammad Moiz Sakha (Saarland University & German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Germany) Sukran Karaosmanoglu (Universität Hamburg, Germany) Florian Daiber (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Germany) Frank Steinicke (Universität Hamburg, Germany) |
FAQ
-
How to attend the workshop?
AI for Haptics workshop is an in-person format and you can register for the event by reserving your spot during CHI 2026 registration.
-
How to apply as a participant?
Participants can apply by submitting a 2-4 page position paper via the online form.
-
What should be in the position paper?
If you are interested in participation, please submit a 2–4 page position paper (excluding references) using the CHI Extended Abstracts format as a non-anonymized PDF.
We encourage your position paper to focus on topics such as: AI techniques for haptic design and perception, challenges in haptic datasets and evaluation, how haptics can inform human-centered AI, design and fabrication of haptic interfaces, or other relevant areas. The paper should briefly introduce yourself, provide an overview of what you believe is important and needs discussion, and you are highly encouraged to present your own work in this context. -
Will the submitted paper be published?
Accepted position papers may be displayed on the AI for Haptics workshop website at the authors' discretion.
-
Do I need to attend the workshop after
submitting a position paper?
At least one author of an accepted position paper must attend the workshop (in-person).
-
What should I do if I am facing problems during
submission?
Please contact the organizing committee via email (easa[dot]aliabbasi[at]mpi-inf[dot]mpg[dot]de or dennis[dot]wittchen[at]mpi-inf[dot]mpg[dot]de) for assistance with any submission issues.