Yuting Chen's 50% seminar

Discussant: Céline Coutrix, Université Grenoble Alpes
Abstract: This seminar draws inspiration from the intimate relationships between people to investigate the potential for humans and machines to develop intimate social bonds. It explores a future in which touch serves as a medium through which humans and machines communicate, cultivate care and emotional investment, and establish meaningful social relationships. To support this discussion, the seminar introduces the notion of lifelike touch, examining how it may be defined and what qualities of experience it entails. The presentation also reviews the student's ongoing efforts to realise lifelike touch, including the fabrication of shape-changing systems and the integration of interdisciplinary research paradigms and methodologies. Finally, it will outline the future directions and development plans for this research over the coming two years.