Signal arXiv cs.ET — "Speculating the Impacts of Mediated Social Touch Technology" (DIS '26)

Summary

Ruo-Xuan Wu, Xinyan Yu, Marius Hoggenmueller and Luke Hespanhol of the University of Sydney's Design Lab wrote the paper Speculating the Impacts of Mediated Social Touch Technology together with co-authors from Aalto University, Kyushu University, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and the University of Sydney. Rather than an empirical study, the paper applies design fiction, a common HCI method for exploring the societal, ethical and interpersonal implications of emerging technology before it becomes widespread. Mediated social touch technology is defined as enabling physical interaction despite distance by transmitting, through devices, the haptic cues that make up social touch. The technology is associated with reducing anxiety and loneliness and with conveying emotions such as love and reassurance. The paper is associated with the 2026 Designing Interactive Systems Conference.