Speakers

Dr. Sungryul Yun "Photothermally-induced Height-renderable Morphable Tactile Display"
Prof. Sang-Youn Kim "Haptic Skin based on Electroactive Gel "
Prof. Suk-kyun Ahn "Liquid Crystal Elastomers-based Haptic Technology"
Dr. Kentaro Yasu "Magnetically Actuated Shape Displays: Toward Simple and Accessible Interaction"
Prof. Craig Shultz "Feeling Fast and Fine, Exploring the Limits of Fingertip Displays"
Dr. Giulio Grasso "Stretchable zipping electrostatic actuators for wearable cutaneous haptics"

Dr. Sungryul Yun

"Photothermally-induced Height-renderable Morphable Tactile Display"

Abstract

We have developed a photothermally-induced height-renderable morphable tactile display that can programmably generate tangible three-dimensional topologies with varying textures on a thin film surface. The morphable tactile display was composed of a heterogeneous polymer structure that integrated a stiffness-tunable polymer into a light-absorbing elastomer, NIR-LED array, and small pneumatic chamber. Topological expression was enabled by producing localized out-of-plane deformation in response to light-triggered stiffness modulation at each target area under switching of stationary pneumatic pressure. The tactile display could express a spatial softness map of the latched topology upon re-exposing the target areas to modulated light from the NIR-LED array. We expect the developed tactile display to open a pathway for generating high-dimensional tactile information on electronic devices and enable realistic interaction in augmented and virtual environments.

Keywords: (Stimuli-responsive polymer, actuator, tactile display)

Bio

Sungryul Yun received the Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Inha University, Korea, in 2009. He was a postdoctoral fellow in Materials Science and Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles, USA, in 2011. He is currently principal researcher and director of tangible interface research section at Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Korea. His research include stimuli-responsive polymers for flexible functional devices such as physical/chemical sensor, artificial muscle, tunable lens, and haptic interface.

Prof. Sang-Youn Kim

"Haptic Skin based on Electroactive Gel "

Abstract

Nowadays, the form factor of consumer electronic devices is shifting rapidly from rigid to flexible, foldable, and soft devices to provide better experience and expandability to users. Touch UI for these soft devices can be easily achieved by using flexible and soft haptic sensors. Although this touch UI based on a haptic sensor allows users to interact with soft devices intuitively, it is not easy to increase the level of intuitiveness and immersion to the level where the user experience is truly “intuitive” and “immersive.” One solution to maximize the level of intuitiveness and immersion in soft devices is to add haptic feedback via a soft haptic actuator with excellent feature flexibility/softness to the touch UI. An electroactive gel can be one of the best candidate materials for fabricating a soft haptic module with a simple fabrication process. This talk addresses a poly vinyl chloride (PVC) gel (or plasticized PVC gel), which is one of the representative electroactive gels, and introduces haptic actuators using the PVC gel.

Bio

Sang-Youn Kim received the BS degree from Korea University, Korea, in 1994, and the MS and PhD degrees at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), in 1996 and 2004, respectively. From 2004 to 2005, he was a researcher in the Human Welfare Robot System Research Center. In 2005, he was a research staff at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. He is a professor of computer science and engineering at Korea University of Technology and Education and also a director of the Advanced Technology Research Center. His current research interests include human-robot interaction, virtual reality, and haptics. He received Best Demo Award at IEEE World Haptic conference 2013. He also received commendations from the Minister of Knowledge and Economy 2013, the Minister of Education 2018, and the Minister of Science and Technology 2022. Moreover, he received Best Demo Award at 28th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology.

Prof. Suk-kyun Ahn

"Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators for Haptic Technology"

Abstract

Materials intelligence is becoming crucial for advancing the physical artificial intelligence (AI) that integrates artificial intelligence with physical components, such as robots, to interact with the real world in an intelligent and adaptive manner. While liquid crystals (LCs) are best known for their success in flat panel displays, their unique anisotropic properties and inherent sensitivity to external stimuli enable them to impart intelligence when integrated into various polymeric forms. In this talk, I will introduce our recent research effort on liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) which combine the elastic properties of rubber with the anisotropic characteristics of LCs. Unlike conventional elastomers, LCEs exhibit mechanical anisotropy, controlled alignment, self-assembled ordering, and adaptive behavior, making them a unique class of intelligent materials capable of reversible and programmable shape changes. By leveraging these distinctive properties and carefully designing their molecular and network structures, we have developed reprogrammable artificial muscles, textile actuators, and haptic display.

Bio

Prof. Suk-kyun Ahn is a Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering & Department of Polymer Science and Engineering at Pusan National University (PNU) in Korea. He received BS in Chemical Engineering in 2006 from Sogang University (Korea) and PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Connecticut (USA) in 2011. Before joining PNU, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). His research interests include (1) liquid crystal-based responsive polymers for applications including actuators/sensors, smart textiles, adhesives, and (2) the development of high-performance polymer binders and polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.

Dr. Kentaro Yasu

"Magnetically Actuated Shape Displays: Toward Simple and Accessible Interaction"

Abstract

I introduce two shape-changing displays that leverage magnetic materials for simple structures and battery-less interaction. MagneShape is a pin-based display that presents shapes and motions without any electronic components. Magnetic pins levitate via repulsive forces from an underlying magnetic sheet, with pin heights varying according to pre-designed magnetic patterns. This approach simplifies the structure compared to conventional motorized systems. MagneSwift further lowers the barrier to creating dynamic shapes by enabling users to hand-draw magnetic patterns. Both systems demonstrate interactive shape displays without electronics, driven by the philosophy of enabling anyone to experience physical interaction through familiar materials and simple principles.

Bio

Kentaro Yasu is a Distinguished Researcher in the Sensory Interface Research Group at NTT Communication Science Laboratories. He received his Ph.D. in Media Design in 2013 from Keio University, Japan. Since joining NTT in 2016, he has been focusing on interactive systems using magnetic materials. His work on a magnetic field control technique using layered magnetic sheets received an Honorable Mention at CHI '20, and his research on pin-based shape-changing displays won the Best Talk Award at UIST '22. He is a member of ACM SIGCHI and the Information Processing Society of Japan.

Prof. Craig Shultz

"Feeling Fast and Fine, Exploring the Limits of Fingertip Displays"

Abstract

High-speed actuation is not sufficient for rich haptic feedback without fine spatial resolution. Recent advances in wearable fingertip displays reveal the fingertip’s remarkable sensitivity to localized strain variation, underscoring the importance of both spatial and temporal cues. Shape displays, especially in wearable form factors, must engage not just the fingerpad but also the sides, edges, or even back of the finger to be perceptually effective. This talk explores a biological based view of shape displays as spatiotemporal systems and introduces the concept of “minimally viable” tactile cues—efficient, perceptually salient cues that balance simplicity with expressiveness, and target specific areas of the fingertip's anatomy.

Bio

Craig is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois College of Engineering and co-founder of Fluid Reality. He specializes in interactive embedded systems and haptic actuation. His work has won 6 best paper awards and nominations at premiere ACM and IEEE venues and has been featured in venues such as NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, TechCrunch, and Engadget.

Dr. Giulio Grasso

"Stretchable zipping electrostatic actuators for wearable cutaneous haptics"

Abstract

To this day, there are no wearable platforms that can completely match the cutaneous perception capabilities of the fingertip in terms of bandwidth, amplitude, and spatial resolution of mechanical stimuli. Additionally, these solutions should unobtrusively conform to the deformable, curved skin to provide realistic stimuli. Motivated by these challenges we developed additively manufactured zipping electrostatic actuators that are completely stretchable, lightweight (<250 mg), and capable of providing both quasi-static and dynamic (up to 1 kHz) cutaneous haptic stimuli. These actuators consist of 5 mm-sized, less than 1 mm-thick silicone pouches filled with dielectric fluid, with stretchable electrodes patterned on the outer layers. When high voltage is applied to the electrodes, the zipping dielectric membranes displace the filling, and the resulting pouch inflation is harnessed to provide mechanical deformations. Thanks to 3D printing, these actuators can be flexibly adapted to their application, as they can operate in arbitrary array configurations without any cross-talk, even under 50% uniaxial strain. Haptic tests performed on a 2 × 2, 12 mm-wide square array mounted on users’ fingertips showed that the provided haptic stimuli can be recognized and localized correctly 86% of the time, thus representing a promising step towards high-fidelity wearable haptic devices.

Bio

Dr. Giulio Grasso is a postdoctoral researcher at the Biomimetic Materials and Machines group of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, led by Dr. Florian Hartmann. He obtained both B.Sc. (2016) and M.Sc. (2019) in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Bari (Italy). He then joined the Soft Transducers Laboratory of EPFL (Switzerland) as a research assistant and doctoral student under the supervision of Prof. Herbert Shea and Dr. Samuel Rosset (University of Auckland, New Zealand). Here, Giulio developed additive manufacturing processes for zipping electrostatic actuators for on-skin haptic feedback applications, and gained expertise in soft MEMS fabrication processes, design of electrostatic actuators, and both analytical and FEM-based modelling. He obtained the title of Doctor of Science in 2024. In his current research position, Giulio continues exploring innovative fabrication processes and modelling approaches for soft compliant systems.

Young Scientists Speakers

Qihan Yang (Imperial College London)

"Toward Understanding Perception of Shape-Changing Haptic Interfaces: Insights from a Translational Device"

Shape-changing haptic interfaces (SCHIs) are a promising and emerging field. However, compared to more established stimulus modalities, such as vibration, there is sparse literature on the perception of dynamic shapes. We attempt to initiate a formal evaluation of how grasp types, displacement stimuli magnitude, and direction affect users' perception of an SCHI. We conducted a psychophysical user study (Method of Constant Stimulus) using a high-resolution 1-DOF translational shape-changing interface. We also demonstrated how to apply the perception findings to real-world applications via a simple 'paddle game'. We hope this work inspires further formal perceptual investigation into other SCHI morphologies.

Dr. Jung-Hwan Youn (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

"Approaches to High-Resolution Haptic Gloves for Mixed Reality "

Wearable tactile interfaces can significantly enhance immersive experiences in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) systems by providing tactile stimulation to the skin, complementing the visual and auditory cues. In this work, we explore two innovative approaches—electro-osmotic pumps and dielectric elastomer actuators—for developing high-resolution haptic gloves for AR/VR interactions. We present a detailed summary of the actuator design, haptic glove integration, and the VR/AR implementation for each approach.

Dr. Seung-Yeon Jang (ETRI)

"Dynamically reconfigurable shape-morphing and tactile display via hydraulically coupled PVC gel actuator "

We introduce a versatile soft shape-morphing display, using a novel actuator that combines a PVC gel composite, dielectric liquid, and an electrode array. Proposed device facilitates on-demand liquid flow control through electrohydraulic actuation. Liquid channels within the device can be dynamically reconfigured using localized electrostatic zipping, enabling rapid shape-morphing and reconfiguration into seamless 3D shapes. Our device achieves a large deformation and high output force, in a slim and lightweight framework. It also offers various haptic feedback, including dynamic tactile patterns and vibrations for localizable surface textures. Additionally, its potential in robotics was demonstrated through high-speed object manipulation.

Dr. Chaeyong Park (POSTECH)

"Dynamic Touch for Enhanced VR: Visuo-haptic Crossmodal Shape Perception with Handheld Controllers "

Handheld controllers in VR offer limited user experiences due to its fixed shape, creating a mismatch between what users see and feel. This visuo-haptic incongruence restricts immersive and realistic interactions, especially for shape perception. This talk delves into designing visuo-haptic crossmodal matching VR experiences through the concept of dynamic touch. By exploring the relationship between a controller's physical attributes, like inertia tensor, and the perceived shape of virtual objects (e.g., length, asymmetry, volume), we can significantly improve visuo-haptic experiences. I'll cover the broad concept of crossmodal shape perception for handheld VR controllers, aiming to enhance immersive user interactions.

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