EXTENDED: Call for Papers: 19th Workshop „Be-greifbare Interaktion 2026“ at „Mensch und Computer 2026“

The theme of this year’s “Be-greifbare Interaktion” (Tangible Interaction) workshop is “Rethinking Tangibles”. As tangible interaction centers around the manipulation of physical objects and the usage of one’s body, it involves the environment and physical context stronger than visual or speech-based interfaces. The wide range of possibilities for integrating sensors and computing systems into the physical environment provides ample design space, which is investigated by the research field of tangible interaction, to enable meaningful and human-oriented applications. This year, we will revisit existing definitions of tangibles and examine their roles and relevance in today's world. The “Be-greifbare Interaktion” workshop intends to advance the discussion on this topic, both theoretically and practically, through research examples.

In a full-day workshop, we explore how to prototype and how to design for tangible interfaces. This is done in 2 hands-on sessions prepared by the organizers. This year, the hands-on session will also focus on rethinking the role of tangibles. On the one hand, we will discuss their potential in a digitized world where people are increasingly seeking analog experiences. On the other hand, we will create prototypes to explore how to integrate tangibles in workflows newly emerged through the omnipresence of artificial intelligence (AI).

Besides these sessions, we invite students and researchers to submit their work and prototypes relevant to tangible interaction, including the latest (technological) developments, embodied interaction, and Mixed Reality, by June 12th June 19th, 2026. Contributions range from theoretical, critical and forward-looking reflections to design work and practical examples (demonstrators). Accepted contributions and demonstrators will be presented during the workshop. Contributions must be submitted through Conftool and at least one author must attend the workshop and register for the conference.

The workshop is open to all interested in tangible interaction, and we warmly invite practitioners, researchers, and students to participate and submit to our workshop. Our workshop is explicitly open for student projects. Experience has shown that the workshop offers a great opportunity to gain insight into academic research and get to know the community. We therefore strongly encourage both students to submit their work and advisors to recommend our workshop to their students.

Contribution formats

Interested parties can submit contributions in four different formats (using single-column ACM manuscript template):

• Short papers (up to 6 pages)

• Demonstration papers (2-4 pages)

• Pictorials (up to 8 pages)

• Position papers (1-2 pages)

Accepted contributions will be presented in talks during the workshop and/or as demonstrations.

Short papers will be presented as presentations during the workshop.

Demonstrations should describe a system or technology, its innovation, and the planned implementation of the demonstration in the workshop context. Demonstrations will be exhibited and presented by at least one of the authors.

This year, we are again offering the opportunity to submit visually rich contributions (equal balance between text and visuals) in pictorial format. Submissions should use the single-column ACM Manuscript template, but they may not exceed 8 pages in length.

The fourth form of contributions – position papers – focus on short 1-2 page contributions, with discussion contributions and (provocative) topics. Position papers are suitable for an interactive panel within the framework of the workshop.

Contributions can be submitted in German or English and should comply with the single-column ACM Manuscript template. Anonymisation of the contributions concerning authorship is not required. Submission of a print-ready version in PDF format is requested via ConfTool. Each submission is independently reviewed by 2 expert reviewers. The short papers and demonstration contributions are intended for publication in the workshop volume of Mensch und Computer.

Dates

12.06.2026: Submission of contributions for the workshop
03.07.2026: Notification of acceptance
16.07.2026: Submission for the conference proceedings (short and demonstration papers)
30.08.2026: Workshop

Workshop Organizers

• Vitus Maierhöfer, Universität Regensburg

• Lena Nischwitz, Technische Universität Chemnitz

• Martina Emmert, Universität Regensburg

• Maximilian Kilger, Universität Regensburg

• Maximilian Eder, Bauhaus Universität Weimar

• Lisa Hesselbarth, Universität Bremen

Contact: vitus.maierhoefer@ur.de