Electro-actuated Materials for Future Haptic Interfaces

OVERVIEW

Electro-actuated materials (EAMs) have received wide attention within material science and soft robotics for their ability to dynamically change physical properties, such as shape and stiffness, in response to electrical stimuli. While researchers have begun exploring the haptic characteristics of EAMs, their integration into Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) shows challenges, including limited commercial availability and a lack of interdisciplinary knowledge exchange. This workshop specifically focuses on electrostatic (ES), soft electrohydraulic (SEH), and electroosmotic (EO) actuators. By bringing together researchers in the field, we aim to facilitate the exchange of findings, techniques, fabrication practices, and tacit knowledge within the HCI community. The workshop combines interactive demos, focused discussions, and hands-on ideation, providing a platform to explore the haptic potential of EAMs, identify key challenges and opportunities, and envision how these programmable materials can unlock new haptic interactions and interfaces.

TOPICS OF INTEREST 

For this one-day workshop, we invite participants from the UIST community who are experienced or interested in EAMs, and are enthusiastic about integrating them into future HCI applications. We particularly welcome researchers, designers, and practitioners in haptics, wearables, and shape-changing areas, as our main focus will revolve around haptic applications for EAMs. The topics of interest for the workshop include but are not limited to:

• Introducing the underlying technology of EAMs

• Testing out their haptic experiences

• Sharing fabrication approaches

• Exchanging knowledge about electronic hardware controls

• Tuning haptic cues and ideating authoring methods

• Discussing safety concerns and potential solutions

• Ideating potential form factors and interactions

• Brainstorming future applications

AGENDA

09:00 - Welcome & Social ice-breakers

09:20 - Presentation from organizers: Introduction of EAMs 

• underlying principles

• state-of-the-art technologies

• current fabrication pipelines

• example haptic applications

09:40 - Demo session with the latest haptic and shape-changing interfaces designed in EAMs

• HASEL (hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic actuator) developer kits from Artimus Robotics 

• Scalable shape displays with embedded EO pumps from Fluid Reality

• A programmable shape-display controlled by ES clutches

• Compact HASEL tags for wearable haptics

Participants will be divided into small groups to take turns experiencing each demo and having a moderated discussion with the presenting organizers.
A concurrent coffee break will occur from 10:30am-11am, for interested participants.

11:00 - Demos and Lighting talks from participants

• Lightning Talks

  • Bolor Amgalan: Textile experiments bridging computational design & soft robotics

  • Aryan Saini: PneuMa: Designing pneumatic bodily extensions for supporting embodiment in everyday life

  • Ali Shtarbanov: SleeveIO: Modular and Reconfigurable Platform for Multimodal Wearable Haptic Feedback Interactions

• Demos

  • Ran Zhou: TactorBots: A Haptic Design Toolkit for Out-of-lab Exploration of Emotional Robotic Touch

  • Bingjian Huang: NebulaSuit: An Upper-Body High-Density Vibrotactile Suit Built With Scalable Hardware Solutions

  • Shan-Yuan Teng: Touch&Fold: A Foldable Haptic Actuator for Rendering Touch in Mixed Reality

  • Arata Jingu: Double-Sided Tactile Interactions for Grasping in Virtual Reality

12:00 - Lunch break

13:30 - Small group discussion: 

Guided to discuss specific topics and challenges that emerge in the presentation and demonstrations. 

14:15 - Large group discussion and synthesis 

14:45 - 15:00 - Coffee break

15:00 - Small group brainstorming: 

Hands-on ideation with low-fi prototyping to explore different form factors and potential haptic interaction with EAMs.

16:30 - Large group discussion with prototype showcase

17:00 - Closing discussion

17:30 - End of Workshop

JOINING THE WORKSHOP

UIST 2023 Workshops will take open enrollment. There are limited spaces offered on first-come first-served. 

You can join the workshop by registering for it when you complete your UIST registration.