Call for Papers:

Cross-sensory Futures: Rewiring Perception in HCI
A Workshop at ACM CHI 2026, The Association of Computing Machinery conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Barcelona, Spain
Workshop: April 13, 2026, https://xsensoryfutures.ousmet.com/
CHI 2026: April 13-17, 2026, https://chi2026.acm.org/

Deadline for submission of statement of interest or position paper: February 16, 2026

MOTIVATION

Sensory HCI is at a crossroads. Human–Computer Interaction has long explored how technology can engage more sensory modalities than just vision and sound. In recent years, a growing body of work has gone further, intentionally leveraging how stimulation in one sensory modality can alter perception, cognition, or experience in another; a perspective we refer to as cross-sensory interaction.

This workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to examine cross-sensory interaction as an emerging focus within HCI.  Rather than simply adding more senses to interfaces, cross-sensory interaction foregrounds relationships between senses: how touch can shape colour perception, how smell can influence thermal experience, or how sound can change the felt qualities of shape and material.

The workshop aims to collectively explore whether this perspective of “cross-sensory interaction” offers a useful way of advancing theory, design, and engineering in sensory HCI research and practice.

WORKSHOP TOPICS

The workshop will bring together perspectives from HCI, psychology, design, and engineering to discuss theoretical foundations, share emerging practices, and collectively map future research directions. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Cross-sensory interaction as a theoretical or sensitising construct
• Distinctions between multimodal, multisensory, and cross-sensory interaction
• Crossmodal correspondences, metaphors, and perceptual mappings
• Designing with neuroplasticity and sensory substitution
• Engineering and evaluation challenges for cross-sensory systems
• Inclusive, ethical, and accessibility-focused perspectives

SUBMISSION FORMATS:

• Statement of Interest (1–2 pages)
• Position Paper (4–6 pages)

Submissions should outline relevant work or perspectives and identify questions participants wish to explore during the workshop. Non-traditional and practice-based contributions are also welcome (slide decks, sketches, demo videos, etc).

IMPORTANT DATES:

• Submission deadline: Feb 16, 2026
• Notification: Feb 23, 2026
• Workshop: April 13, 2026

More details and submission instructions here

We warmly welcome contributions from across the CHI community and beyond.

Oussama Metatla
Associate Professor of Human–Computer Interaction at the University of Bristol

Susan Min Li
Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol

Feng Feng
Postdoctoral Researcher at Aarhus University

Cameron Steer
Lecturer at the University of the West of England

Michael Proulx
Research Scientist at Meta Reality Labs Research and Professor of Cognition and Technology at the University of Bath

Meike Scheller
Assistant Professor of Psychology at Durham University.

Tegan Roberts-Morgan
PhD researcher at the University of Bristol