How Users Perceive Mixed-Initiative AI: Attitudes Toward Assistance in Problem SolvingIn mixed-initiative systems, the mode of AI assistance delivery can be as consequential as the assistance itself. We investigated two assistance delivery modes: on-demand help (users request via Button) and pre-scheduled help (assistance delivered at user-selected intervals, with user actions resetting the Timer). To evaluate these modes, we selected Rush Hour puzzles as the human-AI collaborative task because they capture elements of real-world problem solving such as analysis, resource management, and decision-making under constraints. To enhance ecological validity, we imposed monetary costs for both time and AI assistance, simulating scenarios where people must balance implicit or explicit trade-offs such as time pressure, financial limitations, or opportunity costs. Although task performance was comparable across modes, participants who used the pre-scheduled (Timer) mode reported more positive perceptions of the AI, even when their ending budget was low. This suggests that assistance delivery mode can shape user experience independent of task outcomes, indicating that human-AI systems may need to consider how AI assistance is delivered alongside improving task performance.2026YLYunhao Luo et al.University of California, Santa BarbaraHuman-LLM CollaborationAI-Assisted Decision-Making & AutomationExplainable AI (XAI)IUI
ReUseIt: Synthesizing Reusable AI Agent Workflows for Web AutomationAI-powered web agents have the potential to automate repetitive tasks, such as form filling, information retrieval, and scheduling, but they struggle to reliably execute these tasks without human intervention, requiring users to provide detailed guidance during every run. We address this limitation by automatically synthesizing reusable workflows from an agent's successful and failed attempts. These workflows incorporate execution guards that help agents detect and fix errors while keeping users informed of progress and issues. Our approach enables agents to successfully complete repetitive tasks of the same type with minimal user intervention, increasing the success rates from 24.2% to 70.1% across fifteen tasks. To evaluate this approach, we invited nine users and found that our agent helped them complete web tasks with a higher success rate and less guidance compared to two baseline methods, as well as allowed users to easily monitor agent behavior and understand its failures.2026YLYimeng Liu et al.University of California, Santa BarbaraAI-Assisted Decision-Making & AutomationAutoML InterfacesGenerative AI (Text, Image, Music, Video)IUI
Clay ARTools: Precise Machine Toolpath Editing for Clay 3D Printing With Craft-Inspired Direct Manipulation Tools in ARCeramics practice is an embodied activity where creators use manual tools in unique ways to shape physical material. Clay 3D printing uses the same material as manual ceramics craft, enabling new opportunities for form and texture by precisely controlling the 3D printing toolpath. However, current clay 3D printing design workflows require developing forms through digital software rather than tool-based making. We present Clay ARTools, an augmented reality (AR) system for designing clay 3D printed vessels. We developed Clay ARTools in collaboration with a professional ceramicist to create AR toolpath editing operations that reference manual use of ceramic tools. Through the design and fabrication of 3D-printed clay artifacts, we demonstrate how AR ceramic tools enable precise and controllable modifications of the toolpath, from the overall form down to individual toolpath points. We demonstrate how extending physical tool metaphors with digital representations and numerical precision enables craft-like interaction with CAM-based design techniques.2026JPEmilie Yu et al.University of California, Santa BarbaraDesktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationAR Navigation & Context AwarenessPhysical-Digital Hybrid InteractionCHI
StepDance: A Toolkit for Redesigning CNC Machines Using Physical MetaphorsResearchers can build craft-aligned digital fabrication technologies by designing interfaces inspired by craft tools. This process often demands real-time physical interactions not supported by today’s automation-focused CNC control systems. We theorize we can lower engineering challenges for craft-aligned CNC prototyping by allowing designers to modify existing CNCs to support both automated and real-time control. We contribute a new creative motion control system, Stepdance, which consists of two elements: 1) modular controllers that replace the G-code controller of a CNC and can be chained together to develop new interfaces, and 2) a modular programming library that supports declarative mappings between live user input, pre-programmed operations, and machine motion. We developed Stepdance with practitioners at the Haystack Mountain School of Craft, where we used the system to modify commercial plotters and 3D printers. We analyze the resulting artifacts, interactions, and ideas to discuss how Stepdance can broaden the practice of CNC design via physical metaphor.2026IMIlan E Moyer et al.Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCircuit Making & Hardware PrototypingPhysical-Digital Hybrid InteractionTangible Programming & Physical ComputingCHI
A Cantilevered DeltaXY Positioning Mechanism Enabling Rackable Digital Fabrication Form FactorsDesktop digital fabrication presumes form-factors designed for workbenches, limiting suitability for other spaces and workflows. We propose a class of physically narrow and deep “rackable” digital fabrication machines that offers opportunities for new applications and interactions. Flexible and inconspicuous placement supports ubiquitous fabrication, including site- and context-specific tools. Personal factories could be enabled by shelf-optimized rackable digital fabrication technologies that improve organization and functionality for collections of machines. These explorations necessitate new positioning mechanisms and machine architectures. We contribute the Cantilevered DeltaXY mechanism that enables rackable digital fabrication form factors with high lateral spatial efficiencies (LSE). We develop first-order design tools to aid the implementation of DeltaXY machines. We demonstrate DeltaXY by creating Fab Unit, a “bookshelf 3D printer” with an LSE significantly higher than similar commercial desktop machines. Together, DeltaXY and Fab Unit open the design space of rackable digital fabrication for future HCI fabrication research.2026IMIlan E Moyer et al.Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDesktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationCustomizable & Personalized ObjectsCircuit Making & Hardware PrototypingCHI
The Augmented Undercommons: A Framework for Liberatory HCI Research within Ethically Compromised InstitutionsSociocultural engineering research is being systematically attacked under the current US government, pressuring researchers to eliminate cultural inquiry from our work. These attacks present an existential crisis for HCI because technological innovation and understanding cultural impact are fundamentally intertwined. Marginalized HCI practitioners are at particular risk from these policies. Compliance with authoritarian demands is untenable. We need strategic, principled ways of resisting. We propose the augmented undercommons, a framework grounded in Harney and Moten’s undercommons that supports liberatory, culturally grounded technology development parallel and in opposition to ethically compromised institutions. We outline five guiding principles, demonstrate their use in HCI through three case studies, and reflect further on one principle's dimensions in practice. The augmented undercommons builds upon past knowledge from oppressed scholars to offer one possible survival strategy for our current moment, while critically reflecting on the HCI community’s current and future responsibilities.2026PCPayton Croskey et al.University of California Santa BarbaraTechnology Ethics & Critical HCIEmpowerment of Marginalized GroupsGender & Race Issues in HCICHI
Embedded vs. Situated: An Evaluation of AR Facial Training FeedbackWhile augmented reality (AR) research demonstrates benefits of embedded visualizations for gross motor training, its applicability to facial exercises remains under-explored. Providing effective real-time feedback for facial muscle training presents unique design challenges, given the complexity of facial musculature. We developed three AR feedback approaches varying in spatial relationship to the user: situated (screen-fixed), proxy-embedded (on a mannequin), and fully embedded (overlaid on the user's face). In a within-subjects study (N=24), we measured exercise accuracy, cognitive load, and user preference during facial training tasks. The embedded feedback reduced cognitive load and received higher preference ratings, while the situated feedback enabled more precise corrections and higher accuracy. Qualitative analysis revealed a key design tension: embedded feedback improved experience but created self-consciousness and interpretive difficulty. We distill these insights into design considerations addressing the trade-offs for facial training systems, with implications for rehabilitation, performance training, and motor skill acquisition.2026ANAvinash Ajit Nargund et al.University of California Santa BarbaraSocial & Collaborative VRVR Medical Training & RehabilitationFitness Tracking & Physical Activity MonitoringCHI
Grand Challenges around Designing Computers’ Control Over Our BodiesAdvances in emerging technologies, such as on-body mechanical actuators and electrical muscle stimulation, have allowed computers to take control over our bodies. This presents opportunities as well as challenges, raising fundamental questions about agency and the role of our body when interacting with technology. To advance this research field as a whole, we brought together expert perspectives in a week-long seminar to articulate the grand challenges that should be tackled when it comes to the design of computers’ control over our bodies. These grand challenges span technical, design, user, and ethical aspects. By articulating these grand challenges, we aim to begin initiating a research agenda that positions bodily control not only as a technical feature but as a central, experiential, and ethical concern for future human–computer interaction endeavors.2026FMFlorian 'Floyd' Mueller et al.Monash UniversityElectrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) & NeurofeedbackEmpathy & Emotional DesignCHI
GraspR: A Computational Model of Spatial User Preferences for Adaptive Grasp UI DesignGrasp User Interfaces (grasp UIs) enable dual-tasking in XR by allowing interaction with digital content while holding physical objects. However, designing grasp UIs presents a fundamental challenge: existing approaches either capture user preferences through labor-intensive elicitation studies that don't scale, or rely on biomechanical models that ignore subjective factors. We introduce GraspR, the first computational model that predicts user preferences for single-finger microgestures in grasp UIs. Our data-driven approach combines the scalability of computational methods with human preference modeling, trained on 1,520 preferences collected via a two-alternative forced choice paradigm across eight participants and four frequently used grasp variations. We demonstrate GraspR's effectiveness through a working prototype that dynamically adjusts interface layouts across four everyday tasks. We release both dataset and code to support future research in adaptive grasp UIs.2025ACArthur Caetano et al.Haptic WearablesShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsFull-Body Interaction & Embodied InputUIST
WORM: Programming Collaborative Robots Through Manual Actions for Craft-Aligned Digital FabricationCollaborative robotic (cobot) arms enable digital fabrication practitioners to engage in safe and adaptable robotic interactions. Cobot machining involves similar principles to CNC operation; however, cobot fabrication workflows are more complex than CNC because they require both programming expertise and material knowledge. These requirements limit the adoption of cobots in manufacturing and craft. Prior cobot fabrication research frames the robot as a generative partner, but we seek to enable artists to precisely specify domain-specific machining operations. We contribute a novel cobot programming framework that allows artists to use manual interaction with the robot to define robotic behaviors. We identified four interaction modes to enhance human-robot collaboration in digital fabrication. We used these modes to develop the Workflow-Oriented Robotic Manufacturing (WORM) system. We informed our development through need-finding interviews with two professional ceramicists and assessed our system through a preliminary study with a professional painter, production of exemplar artifacts, and an expert evaluation with a professional ceramicist.2025SBSam Bourgault et al.Aging-Friendly Technology DesignDesktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationCustomizable & Personalized ObjectsUIST
SiCo: An Interactive Size-Controllable Virtual Try-On Approach for Informed Decision-MakingVirtual try-on (VTO) applications aim to replicate the in-store shopping experience and enhance online shopping by enabling users to interact with garments. However, many existing tools adopt a one-size-fits-all approach when visualizing clothing items. This approach limits user interaction with garments, particularly regarding size and fit adjustments, and fails to provide direct insights for size recommendations. As a result, these limitations contribute to high return rates in online shopping. To address this, we introduce SiCo, a new online VTO system that allows users to upload images of themselves and interact with garments by visualizing how different sizes would fit their bodies. Our user study demonstrates that our approach significantly improves users’ ability to assess how outfits will appear on their bodies and increases their confidence in selecting clothing sizes that align with their preferences. Based on our evaluation, we believe that SiCo has the potential to reduce return rates and transform the online clothing shopping experience.2025SCSherry X. Chen et al.Recommender System UXCustomizable & Personalized ObjectsDIS
A Novel Lens on Metacognition in VisualizationMetacognition, or the awareness and regulation of one's own cognitive processes, allows individuals to take command of their learning and decision making in various contexts. In tasks that require problem-solving and adaptive learning, individuals with heightened metacognitive awareness tend to outperform others, as they are better equipped to regulate cognition, leading to more effective processes. On the other hand, visualization research facilitates exploration and decision making with data. We posit that metacognitive frameworks that examine how individuals think about their own thinking processes can likewise enhance visualization processes. In this paper, we review metacognition literature from the cognitive and learning science to identify opportunities in visualization to improve people's ability to reason with data. We propose the use of a metacognitive framework, serving as a starting point to inspire future research to improve visualization practices and outcomes.2025MCMengyu Chen et al.Emory University, Computer ScienceInteractive Data VisualizationVisualization Perception & CognitionCHI
Your Hands Can Tell: Detecting Redirected Hand Movements in Virtual RealityIn-air hand interactions are prevalent in Virtual Reality (VR), and prior studies have shown that manipulating the visual movement of the hand to be different from the actual hand movement, i.e., hand redirection, could create a more immersive and engaging VR experience. However, this manipulation risks degrading task performance and, if maliciously applied, poses a threat to user safety. Such manipulations may arise from VR applications developed with intentional or inadvertent perceptual manipulations that yield harmful outcomes. We advocate for a user's prerogative to be informed of any such potential manipulations before application usage. To address this, our study introduces an \textit{Autoencoder}-based anomaly detection technique that leverages users' inherent hand movements to identify hand redirection, thereby preserving the integrity of application use. Our model is trained on regular (i.e., non-manipulated) hand movement patterns and employs a stochastic thresholding approach for anomaly detection. We validated our method through a technical evaluation involving 21 participants engaged in reaching tasks under manipulated and non-manipulated scenarios. The results demonstrated a high accuracy of hand redirection detection at 93.7%, with an F1-score of 93.9%.2025MAMd Aashikur Rahman Azim et al.University of Virginia, Department of Computer ScienceVibrotactile Feedback & Skin StimulationHand Gesture RecognitionFull-Body Interaction & Embodied InputCHI
Don't Mesh Around: Streamlining Manual-Digital Fabrication Workflows with Domain-Specific 3D ScanningSoftware-first digital fabrication workflows are often at odds with material-driven approaches to design. Material-driven design is especially critical in manual ceramics, where the craftsperson shapes the form through hands-on engagement. We present the Craft-Aligned Scanner (CAS), a 3D scanning and clay-3D printing system that enables practitioners to design for digital fabrication through traditional pottery techniques. The CAS augments a pottery wheel that has 3D printing capabilities with a precision distance sensor on a vertically oriented linear axis. By increasing the height of the sensor as the wheel turns, we directly synthesize a 3D spiralized toolpath from the geometry of the object on the wheel, enabling the craftsperson to immediately transition from manual fabrication to 3D printing without leaving the tool. We develop new digital fabrication workflows with CAS to augment scanned forms with functional features and add both procedurally and real-time-generated surface textures. CAS demonstrates how 3D printers can support material-first digital fabrication design without foregoing the expressive possibilities of software-based design.2024IMIlan E Moyer et al.Desktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingUIST
Millipath: Bridging Materialist Theory and System Development for Surface Texture FabricationProponents of digital fabrication argue that future technologies will fundamentally reshape manufacturing; however, we still have a limited understanding of the relationship between contemporary digital fabrication technologies and the values and labor of people who make things. Contemporary materialist theories can offer insights into how interaction modalities with machines and materials influence human production activities. We aim to implement these theoretical principles in technical system development. We focus on action as a bridging concept between abstract notions regarding human-machine-material relationships and concrete digital fabrication system features. We use CNC-milled surface texture production on wood as a case study. We follow a research-through-design process to develop Millipath, an action-oriented programming platform enabling the parametric design of machine toolpaths. Through the analysis of autobiographical data from fabricating artifacts, we investigate how digital fabrication systems informed by materialist theories support expressive modes of production and design decisions in response to material behaviors.2024SBSam Bourgault et al.Shape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingMakerspace CultureDIS
DanceGen: Supporting Choreography Ideation and Prototyping with Generative AIChoreography creation requires high proficiency in artistic and technical skills. Choreographers typically go through four stages to create a dance piece: preparation, studio, performance, and reflection. This process is often individualized, complicated, and challenging due to multiple constraints at each stage. To assist choreographers, most prior work has focused on designing digital tools to support the last three stages of the choreography process, with the preparation stage being the least explored. To address this research gap, we introduce an AI-based approach to assist the preparation stage by supporting ideation, creating choreographic prototypes, and documenting creative attempts and outcomes. We address the limitations of existing AI-based motion generation methods for ideation by allowing generated sequences to be edited and modified in an interactive web interface. This capability is motivated by insights from a formative study we conducted with seven choreographers. We evaluated our system's functionality, benefits, and limitations with six expert choreographers. Results highlight the usability of our system, with users reporting increased efficiency, expanded creative possibilities, and an enhanced iterative process. We also identified areas for improvement, such as the relationship between user intent and AI outcome, intuitive and flexible user interaction design, and integration with existing physical choreography prototyping workflows. By reflecting on the evaluation results, we present three insights that aim to inform the development of future AI systems that can empower choreographers.2024YLYimeng Liu et al.Generative AI (Text, Image, Music, Video)Dance & Body Movement ComputingDIS
AI Comes Out of the Closet: Using AI-Generated Virtual Characters to Help Individuals Practice LGBTQIA+ AdvocacyDespite significant historical progress, discrimination and social stigma continue to impact the lives of LGBTQIA+ individuals. The use of AI-generated virtual characters offers a unique opportunity to facilitate advocacy by engaging individuals in simulated conversations that can foster understanding, education, and empathy. This paper explores the potential of AI simulations in helping individuals practice LGBTQIA+ advocacy, while also acknowledging the need for ethical considerations and addressing concerns about oversimplification or perpetuation of stereotypes. By combining technological innovation with a commitment to inclusivity, we aim to contribute to the ongoing struggle for equality in both the legal framework and the hearts and minds of the community. We present a study evaluating virtual characters driven by generative conversational AI simulating the social interactions surrounding ‘coming out of the closet’, a rite of passage associated with LGBTQIA+ communities. In our study, virtual characters embodied as queer individuals engage with users in a text-based conversation simulation paired with visual representations. We investigate how the interactions between the virtual characters and a user influence the user’s comfort, confidence, empathy and sympathy. We developed an AI simulation with distinct visual personas and deployed a series of conditions. We explore the potential of these interfaces for simulating queer social interactions to enhance LGBTQIA+ potential and cultural acceptance. We present findings from such deployments involving 323 users. Finally, we discuss the design implications of our work on the potential future of embodied, self-actuated and openly LGBTQIA+ intelligent agents.2024DPDaniel Pillis et al.Agent Personality & AnthropomorphismGenerative AI (Text, Image, Music, Video)Gender & Race Issues in HCIIUI
An Adaptable Workflow for Manual-Computational Ceramic Surface OrnamentationSurface ornamentation is a rich component of ceramic manufacture wherein craftspeople use multiple methods to create intricate patterns on vessels. Computational fabrication can extend manual ceramic ornamentation through procedural pattern generation and automated fabrication; however, to be effective in traditional ceramics, computational fabrication systems must remain compatible with existing processes and materials. We contribute an interactive design workflow, CeramWrap, in which craftspeople can procedurally design and fabricate decorative patterned stencils tailored to radially symmetrical vessels. Our approach extends manual techniques through a workflow where craftspeople design and edit repetitive motifs directly on a 3D digital model of a vessel and then interactively adjust the unrolling of the 3D design to a 2D format suitable for digitally fabricating stencils and templates. Through a series of example artifacts, we demonstrate how our workflow generalizes across multiple vessel geometries, supports manual and digital clay fabrication, and is adaptable to different surface ornamentation methods.2023MTMert Toka et al.Desktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationLaser Cutting & Digital FabricationTextile Art & Craft DigitizationUIST
CoilCAM: Enabling Parametric Design for Clay 3D Printing Through an Action-Oriented Toolpath Programming SystemClay 3D printing provides the benefits of digital fabrication automation and reconfigurability through a method that evokes manual clay coiling. Existing design technologies for clay 3D printing reflect the general 3D printing workflow in which solid forms are designed in CAD and then converted to a toolpath. In contrast, in hand-coiling, form is determined by the actions taken by the artist’s hands through space in response to the material. We theorize that an action-oriented approach for clay 3D printing could allow creators to design digital fabrication toolpaths that reflect clay material properties. We present CoilCAM, a domain-specific CAM programming system that supports the integrated generation of parametric forms and surface textures through mathematically defined toolpath operations. We developed CoilCAM in collaboration with ceramics professionals and evaluated CoilCAM’s relevance to manual ceramics by reinterpreting hand-made ceramic vessels. This process revealed the importance of iterative variation and embodied experience in action-oriented workflows.2023SBSam Bourgault et al.University of California, Santa BarbaraDesktop 3D Printing & Personal FabricationShape-Changing Materials & 4D PrintingCHI
Remote Learners, Home Makers: How Digital Fabrication Was Taught Online During a PandemicDigital fabrication courses that relied on physical makerspaces were severely disrupted by COVID-19. As universities shut down in Spring 2020, instructors developed new models for digital fabrication at a distance. Through interviews with faculty and students and examination of course materials, we recount the experiences of eight remote digital fabrication courses. We found that learning with hobbyist equipment and online social networks could emulate using industrial equipment in shared workshops. Furthermore, at-home digital fabrication offered unique learning opportunities including more iteration, machine tuning, and maintenance. These opportunities depended on new forms of labor and varied based on student living situations. Our findings have implications for remote and in-person digital fabrication instruction. They indicate how access to tools was important, but not as critical as providing opportunities for iteration; they show how remote fabrication exacerbated student inequities; and they suggest strategies for evaluating trade-offs in remote fabrication models with respect to learning objectives.2021GBGabrielle Benabdallah et al.University of WashingtonAging-Friendly Technology DesignLaser Cutting & Digital FabricationMakerspace CultureCHI