EUROHAPTICS 2026: Workshop on co-designing a robotic hug!
This workshop examines the design of a “fulfilling” robotic hug as a structured haptic interaction, rather than a narrow force-feedback problem. It focuses on the phases of a hug—pre-contact signaling, initiation, settling, sustained embrace, and release—and considers how consent, timing, and embodied experience operate across these stages. Bringing together researchers, designers, and industry practitioners, the workshop will map the design space of technology-mediated hugging and develop a shared interaction framework. The outcomes include (1) a structured design space for a robotic hug, with potential for a joint publication, and (2) a community research agenda, creating opportunities for participants to connect with others working on this design challenge.
Registration for those attenting the Eurohaptics conference via the conference website: https://eurohaptics.org/ehc2026/
Events and news
Stay in Touch
Sign up for updates on the next meeting and events around the touch scene of the Netherlands (a few emails a year).
Organizers of the upcoming yearly gathering (2025):
Judith Weda
Merel Jung
Sima Ipakchian Askari
Gijs Huisman
Jan van Erp
Dasha Kolesnyk
Dutch Touch Society
2025
The Netherlands
Get in Touch
dutchtouchsociety@gmail.com