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Otherness as a Quality in Designing Expressive Robotic Touch
KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Media Technology and Interaction Design.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5309-056X
IT University Copenhagen, Copenhagen S., Denmark.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9723-5516
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4342-7082
KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Media Technology and Interaction Design.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9472-3805
2026 (English)In: Proceedings of the 2026 Designing Interactive Systems Conference, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) , 2026, p. 3316-3333Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Haptic technologies have advanced rapidly, yet exploration of robotic touch remains dominated by replicating realistic environmental cues or hand gestures, which narrows the design space and risks social resistance. This paper argues for alternatives: grounded in the notion of “otherness” from human-robot interaction (HRI), we propose treating robotic touch’s inherent otherness as a design quality. Instead of being a limitation in pursuing realism, otherness can be embraced to elicit ambiguity and provoke alternative interpretations, fostering expressive and evocative robotic touch design. To develop this perspective, we analyze inspirational art and design precedents and four design research cases through a reflective Research through Design (RtD) approach. Through this analysis, we articulate a set of design languages structured around why otherness matters for touch meaning-making, how it can be shaped through design strategies, and where it can be embedded within robotic touch systems. We conclude by reflecting on the tensions and risks involved in designing robotic touch with otherness in mind.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) , 2026. p. 3316-3333
Keywords [en]
Otherness, Ambiguity, Expressive Robotic Touch, Touch Design, Haptics, Human-robot Interaction, Heuristic, Interpretation, Meaning-making
National Category
Human Computer Interaction Design Robotics and automation
Research subject
Human-computer Interaction
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-384864DOI: 10.1145/3800645.3812880Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105042977900OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-384864DiVA, id: diva2:2084377
Conference
The 2026 Designing Interactive Systems Conference, DIS 2026, Singapore, June 13-17, 2026
Note

Part of ISBN 979-8-4007-2563-0

QC 20260706

Available from: 2026-07-05 Created: 2026-07-05 Last updated: 2026-07-06Bibliographically approved

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Zhou, RanBalaam, Madeline

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