InSense3D: Designing Smart 3D-Printed Structures Leveraging Ferromagnetic Filaments for Inductive Deformation SensingIn this paper, we explore the design and development of passive soft 3D-printed structures whose deformation can be sensed accurately without any wired connection. By 3D printing tangible interfaces consisting of flexible TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), made from lattice structures with bespoke geometries and mechan…2026RBRahul Bhaumik et al.Free University of Bozen-BolzanoShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsBiosensors & Physiological MonitoringCircuit Making & Hardware PrototypingCHI
Towards Fluent Interaction with Cyber-Physical ArchitectureWhat happens when your walls begin to move? This paper explores the design of human-robot interaction for architectural-scale, shape-changing environments. We present findings from two studies: (1) a series of speculative design workshops (N=20) that uncovered aspirational visions for these spaces, and (2) a task-base…2026JGJesse T Gonzalez et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsPhysical-Digital Hybrid InteractionHuman-Robot Collaboration (HRC)CHI
Towards Accessible Mobility Support: User-Centered Design of a Passive, Multi-Functional, Low-Cost Knee ExoskeletonWalking aids are critical for people with mobility impairments, yet current options remain unsatisfactory. Static knee braces are lightweight and affordable, but their rigid joints force users into unnatural gait patterns, leading to fatigue, reduced safety, and high abandonment rates. Robotic exoskeletons, in contras…2026YLYuyu Lin et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityHaptic WearablesMotor Impairment Assistive Input TechnologiesVibrotactile Feedback & Skin StimulationCHI
Towards Unobtrusive Physical AI: Augmenting Everyday Objects with Intelligence and Robotic Movement for Proactive AssistanceUsers constantly interact with physical, most often passive, objects. Consider if familiar objects instead proactively assisted users, e.g., a stapler moving across the table to help users organize documents, or a knife moving away to prevent injury as the user is inattentively about to lean against the countertop.…2025VHViolet Yinuo Han et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityUbiquitous ComputingCommunity Engagement & Civic TechnologyUIST
Sculptable Mesh Structures for Large-Scale Form-FindingIt can be hard to design a physical structure entirely within the confines of a computer monitor. To better capture the interplay between real-world objects and a designer’s work-in-progress, practitioners will often go through a sequence of low-fidelity prototypes (paper, clay, foam) before arriving at a form that sa…2025JGJesse T Gonzalez et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingUIST
Personalized Bistable Orthoses for Rehabilitation of Finger JointsOrthoses are essential components of rehabilitation yet limited in functionality. Static braces immobilize joints, which especially for hand and finger injuries, interfere with users’ daily activities. Additionally, early mobilization schedules require users to take off and reapply their static orthoses frequently, wh…2025YLYuyu Lin et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityDesktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationCircuit Making & Hardware PrototypingPrototyping & User TestingUIST
Transforming Everyday Objects into Dynamic Interfaces using Smart Flat-Foldable StructuresDynamic physical interfaces are often dedicated devices designed to adapt their physical properties to user needs. In this paper, we present an actuation system that allows users to transform their existing objects into dynamic physical user interfaces. We design our actuation system to integrate as a self-contained l…2025VHViolet Yinuo Han et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsHand Gesture RecognitionUIST
A Dynamic Bayesian Network Based Framework for Multimodal Context-Aware InteractionsMultimodal context-aware interactions integrate multiple sensory inputs, such as gaze, gestures, speech, and environmental signals, to provide adaptive support across diverse user contexts. Building such systems is challenging due to the complexity of sensor fusion, real-time decision-making, and managing uncertaintie…2025VHViolet Yinuo Han et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityContext-Aware ComputingComputational Methods in HCIIUI
Wearable Material Properties: Passive Wearable Microstructures as Adaptable Interfaces for the Physical EnvironmentUsers interact with static objects daily, but their preferences and needs may vary. Making the objects dynamic or adaptable requires updating all objects. Instead, we propose a novel wearable interface that empowers users to adjust perceived material properties. To explore such wearable interfaces, we design unit cel…2025YLYuyu Lin et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityHaptic WearablesShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsCustomizable & Personalized ObjectsCHI
Robotic Metamaterials: A Modular System for Hands-On Configuration of Ad-Hoc Dynamic ApplicationsWe propose augmenting initially passive structures built from simple repeated cells, with novel active units to enable dynamic, shape-changing, and robotic applications. Inspired by metamaterials that can employ mechanisms, we build a framework that allows users to configure cells of this passive structure to allow it…2024ZCZhitong Cui et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingCHI
ConeAct: A Multistable Actuator for Dynamic MaterialsComplex actuators in a small form factor are essential for dynamic interfaces. In this paper, we propose ConeAct, a cone-shaped actuator that can extend, contract, and bend in multiple directions to support rich expression in dynamic materials. A key benefit of our actuator is that it is self-contained and portable as…2024YLYuyu Lin et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityForce Feedback & Pseudo-Haptic WeightShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsCHI
Constraint-Driven Robotic Surfaces, at Human-ScaleRobotic surfaces, whose form and function are under computational control, offer exciting new possibilities for environments that can be customized to fit user-specific needs. When these surfaces can be reprogrammed, a once-static structure can be repurposed to serve multiple different roles over time. In this paper,…2023JGJesse T Gonzalez et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingUIST
Reprogrammable Digital Metamaterials for Interactive DevicesWe present digital mechanical metamaterials that enable multiple computation loops and reprogrammable logic functions, making a significant step towards passive yet interactive devices. Our materials consist of many cells that transmit signals using an embedded bistable spring. When triggered, the bistable spring disp…2023YJYu Jiang et al.Tsinghua UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingUIST
Parametric Haptics: Versatile Geometry-based Tactile Feedback DevicesHaptic feedback is important for immersive, assistive, or multimodal interfaces, but engineering devices that generalize across applications is notoriously difficult. To address the issue of versatility, we propose Parametric Haptics, geometry-based tactile feedback devices that are customizable to render a variety of…2023VHViolet Yinuo Han et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityHaptic WearablesShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsUIST
MiuraKit: A Modular Hands-On Construction Kit For Pneumatic Shape-Changing And Robotic InterfacesBuilding shape-changing, robotic or deployable interfaces is notoriously difficult, often requiring fabrication skills or specialized hardware. We present a construction kit for novice users to enable immediate hands-on exploration of custom shape-changing or robotic structures through pneumatically actuated origami t…2023ZCZhitong Cui et al.Zhejiang UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsDesktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationDIS
Reconfigurable Elastic MetamaterialsWe present a novel design for materials that are reconfigurable by end-users. Conceptually, we propose decomposing such reconfigurable materials into (1) a generic, complex material consisting of engineered microstructures (known as metamaterials) designed to be purchased and (2) a simple configuration geometry that c…2022WYWilla Yunqi Yang et al.Carnegie Mellon UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingUIST
Developable Metamaterials: Mass-fabricable Metamaterials by Laser-Cutting Elastic StructuresWe propose a novel design of engineered, structured materials that leverages fast fabrication technologies, pushing them towards mass-fabrication. Specifically, our metamaterial is designed to be laser cut, to approximate the volumetric shape and allow for locally varying compliance. Traditional mechanical metama…2021MSMadlaina Signer et al.ETH ZurichShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsLaser Cutting & Digital FabricationCHI
Understanding Metamaterial MechanismsIn this paper, we establish the underlying foundations of mechanisms that are composed of cell structures---known as metamaterial mechanisms. Such metamaterial mechanisms were previously shown to implement complete mechanisms in the cell structure of a 3D printed material, without the need for assembly. However, their…2019AIAlexandra Ion et al.Hasso Plattner InstituteShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingPrototyping & User TestingCHI
TrussFormer: 3D Printing Large Kinetic StructuresWe present TrussFormer, an integrated end-to-end system that allows users to 3D print large-scale kinetic structures, i.e., structures that involve motion and deal with dynamic forces. TrussFormer builds on TrussFab, from which it inherits the ability to create static large-scale truss structures from 3D printed conne…2018RKRobert Kovacs et al.Hasso Plattner InstituteDesktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingCircuit Making & Hardware PrototypingUIST
Metamaterial TexturesWe present metamaterial textures---3D printed surface geometries that can perform a controlled transition between two or more textures. Metamaterial textures are integrated into 3D printed objects and allow designing how the object interacts with the environment and the user’s tactile sense. Inspired by foldable paper…2018AIAlexandra Ion et al.Hasso Plattner InstituteShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsCustomizable & Personalized ObjectsCHI