Eurohaptics 2016

Dr Alejandro Granados-Martinez and the haptic rectal examination training device he showcased at Eurohaptics 2016

The Imperial College Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science played a leading role in Eurohaptics2016, a major conference on haptic technology

The Imperial College Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science (ICCESS) recently played a leading role in Eurohaptics 2016, the main international European conference for researchers in haptics and touch-enabled computer applications.  Centre Director Dr Fernando Bello played a major role in organising the event as both Programme co-Chair and local co-Chair whilst Dr Alejandro Granados Martinez showcased the haptic rectal examination trainer he has developed.

His innovative device attracted a great deal of media coverage over the conference period, with articles in the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Vice Magazine, to name a few.

Eurohaptics 2016 was hosted by Imperial College London at South Kensington over 4-7th July 2016 and organised by the College in partnership with University College London, University of Reading, University of Bristol and University of Birmingham.

The conference was a great opportunity for researchers – drawn from disciplines such as neuroscience, psychology and robotics – to meet and present their work with the goal of improving understanding of the sense of touch from a physiological and perceptual perspective, devising new haptic devices and investigating better ways of controlling and interacting with them.

Haptics is a growing field, with awareness amongst the wider public also on the rise thanks to the increasing use of haptic technology in mobile devices.  Eurohaptics 2016 included public-focused evening events at the Royal Society and Royal Institution.

Keynote speakers at Eurohaptics 2016 included Professor Stephen Brewster (University of Glasgow), Dr Henrik Jörntell (Lund University, Sweden) and Professor Blake Hannaford (University of Washington, USA), who acknowledged challenges in the design of haptic devices and how we could improve this by studying brain circuitry during tactile skin sensing and by enhancing the way we interact with them.

Eurohaptics 2016 was attended by nearly 400 delegates from 26 countries and was therefore the largest event in the history of the conference.