Bridging Soft Robotics and Human–Computer Interaction
to Open New Potential Spaces

Soft robotic technologies are rapidly expanding the ways humans can touch, feel, and interact with computational systems. At the same time, the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community is embracing soft materials and soft actuation as a foundation for richer, more expressive interfaces. Yet despite this converging momentum, the two communities rarely meet in the same room. Their methods, goals, and vocabularies differ—leaving a clear need for a space where perspectives can be exchanged and new collaborations can emerge. This workshop aims to become that bridge.

We gather invited speakers who represent three distinct trajectories across human-facing soft technologies: soft robotics researchers pushing technologies toward real-world human applications, HCI researchers who integrate soft robotic mechanisms into interactive systems, and researchers working at the boundary between soft robotics and HCI. Together—with voices ranging from early-career to senior leaders—this group forms a uniquely diverse foundation for cross-disciplinary and cross-generational dialogue. The lineup intentionally includes early-career researchers, allowing fresh ideas to participate in shaping the bridge between soft robotics and HCI.

To make this exchange genuinely interactive, the workshop includes a demo table, where participants can gather around prototypes, material samples, and small-scale systems. These hands-on encounters encourage spontaneous conversation and help translate ideas across disciplinary boundaries more effectively than talks alone. By uniting two communities that share a vision but rarely share a platform, this workshop seeks to articulate emerging research questions, uncover shared opportunities, and push forward the central inquiry: How can soft robotics meaningfully enhance human experience?

• Programmable Materials

• Soft Robotics

• Human-Computer Interaction

• Human-Centric Robotics

• More-than-Human Design

8:45 -  9:00   Opening Remarks by Organizers

9:00 - 9:25   Invited Talk 1 by Ozgun Killic Afsar 

• Engineering Anatomy for Wearable Robots: Fiber-Form-Factor Electrohydraulic Muscle Units

9:25 - 9:50   Invited Talk 2 by Tianyu Yu 

• 1. • • Multimodal Hydraulic Actuators Based on Flexible Electroosmotic Pumps

9:50 - 10:15   Invited Talk 3 by Jung-Hwan Youn 

• 1. • • An Accessible Approach to Haptic Input and Output for the HCI Community

10:15 - 10:40   Invited Talk 4 by Craig Shultz 

• 1. • • Scalable Electrohydraulics for Embedded Soft Actuation

10:40 - 11:20   Tea Break & Demo Table

11:20 - 11:45   Invited Talk 6 by Takafumi Morita

• 1. • • Designing Silent Liquid Expressions Based on Electrically Driven Fluid Actuation

11:45 - 12:10   Invited Talk 7 by Kenjiro Fukuda 

• 1. • • Ultraflexible Electronics for Soft Robot Applications

12:10 - 12:30   Closing Remarks by Organizers