Haptic Playground: Empowering Inclusive Haptic Design for Everyone
Bibhushan Raj Joshi, Sandeep Zechariah George Kollannur, Anchit Mishra, and 2 more authors
In Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2024
While haptic technology is rapidly maturing, training for haptics is in its infancy. Disciplinary siloing has contributed to fast but fragmented growth of the haptics industry; graduate courses mainly exist for individual STEM fields, such as device development for mechanical engineers or study design for psychologists. Despite increasing broad interest to use haptics, many potential researchers and practitioners face barriers to learning how to design and study haptics, especially when their background is outside of STEM fields. This one-day workshop will bring together both expert and new or aspiring hapticians to work together to break down disciplinary silos. Expert hapticians with expertise in design justice and haptics community development will give invited talks to frame the discussion. Attendees will work with two interactive tangible tools to design haptic sensations, then reflect on their process, challenges faced, and successful strategies. By adhering to the principles of inclusive design during the process, we aim to render haptic design accessible to a wider audience, recognizing and respecting the unique design needs of each individual. The result will be a more comprehensive understanding of tangible tools’ crucial role in the haptic technology design process, while offering vital insights on inclusive design, ultimately supporting further development of a multidisciplinary, diverse practice of haptic design and research.