Can touch be part of psychiatric care? In our Healing Hands interview series, Dr. Tobias Schwippel discusses touch as a fundamental element of psychiatric practice, while also reflecting on its limitations and the importance of professional boundaries. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yern...

Recorded last year, our Healing Hands: Touch in and as Medicine series features conversations with social psychologists, doctors, psychiatrists, anthropologists, and touch therapists about the role of touch in medicine, care, empathy, and healing. Watch the playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

The concept of LLMorphism describes the growing tendency to assume human cognition works like a large language model simply because AI can now produce human-like language. A fascinating paper exploring the psychological and societal implications of this shift. arxiv.org/abs/2605.05419

Meet the youngest visitor at the ConTakt Lab 👶✨ @irenevalori.bsky.social’s beautiful baby stopped by the lab to explore our motion capture setup, and seems to be very comfortable surrounded by cameras, immersive technology, and his mommy's research. A scientist in the making? We think so <3

What does it mean to be present through an avatar? At the socialBRIDGES conference, Katja Krug (@tudresden.bsky.social) discussed how avatars in mixed reality shape social presence, self-perception, and the acceptance of virtual others in shared spaces. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPSl...

In the following weeks we’re going to pilot a UX-test series with the first participants. The question is how the feeling of warmth and interpersonal proximity is related and could be altered in the virtual space through thermal belts. In addition to questions regarding hardware fit and positioning,

What if the most powerful aspect of virtual reality is connection? Our projects explore how VR can generate trust, inclusion, exclusion, and shared emotional experiences through presence, nonverbal interaction, and collaborative music-making. Read our blog post: tu-dresden.de/ing/elektrot...

On on April 22–23, we had the pleasure of hosting our collaborator Bernhard Riecke from @sfu.ca. Prof. Riecke shared insights from over 20 years of research with our students and provided valuable feedback on several of our projects. Thank you for the inspiring visit and engaging discussions!

What if social connection works like hunger? A paper in Cell Press shows we regulate social contact through “social homeostasis”: We track it, compare it to a set-point, and act when it’s off. Link: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Missed the socialBRIDGES - Presence conference, or want to revisit the discussions? The recordings are now available on YouTube! We brought together experts from different disciplines to answer: what does it mean to be present in a mediated world? Check them out: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

In memory of Vincent Hayward, a final study with our chair Merle Fairhurst shows that even when touch isn’t more accurate than vision, we still trust it more. Read it here doi.org/10.1163/2213... #Haptics #Neuroscience #Perception

In today's #InsideConTaktLab, we show you what it feels like to meet a robot in VR, and choose whether to trust it or not. In this COSMO exhibition experience, participants embody an avatar, walk through a forest, and encounter a robot that offers them a flower. Do you take it, or not? #VR #HRI

Interesting paper on vicarious touch in Scientific Reports. 84% report feeling touch when observing it Importantly, the findings also point to substantial heterogeneity, identifying distinct experiential profiles that reflect variability in how individuals perceive and experience vicarious touch.

New preprint! We systematically examine touch aversion: its measurement, behavioural correlates, and links to individual differences. Findings point to a multidimensional construct and the need for better alignment across measures. Link: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8...

This video shows how learning via backpropagation (used in most ML systems) differs from how the brain may learn in parallel through predictive coding. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-OL... Related paper: arxiv.org/abs/2202.09467

New research on autism and touch. Makita et al. (2025) show that adults with ASD perceive softness normally, but experience less increase in pleasantness when touching soft, skin-like materials. Suggests differences in affective evaluation of touch, not sensory detection.

Our collaborators at Dutch Touch Society have been nominated for the Klokhuis Wetenschapsprijs! Their project explores how social touch can reduce stress. Help them win and bring touch research to national TV! Vote: hetklokhuis.nl/dossier/153/... Select Hand in hand tegen de spanning & click “stem”

New Editorial by @irenevalori.bsky.social and Merle Fairhurst introducing the special issue: “The Social Bridge: An Interdisciplinary View on Trust in Technology.” A timely reflection on how trust is built and shaped in digital environments. Read here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The new book Humans, Robots and Virtual Worlds in the Tactile Internet is now available! With CeTI, we're excited to have contributed chapters to this forward-looking volume on the future of immersive tech and human-machine interaction. Get it: shop.elsevier.com/books/humans...

Today we celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science The 2026 theme highlights the power of connecting AI, social science, STEM and finance to build inclusive futures. At our team —led by a woman committed to empowering women in science— inclusion is foundational.

Call for Contributions for a NeuroImage Special Issue led by Merle Fairhurst (CeTI/@tudresden.bsky.social) and @nicohinrichs.bsky.social (@mpicbs.bsky.social) Focus: hyperscanning, inter-brain coupling, multimodal neuroimaging, VR/AR/haptics and computational model

Interesting paper by Banerjee et al. (2025) on a multi-user haptic glove & sleeve system for VR. Especially compelling is the focus on shared tactile feedback across physically distant users. A great step toward social touch in VR. arxiv.org/pdf/2502.13421

Digital touch has evolved from vibrations to immersive haptics, raising unique ethical challenges. Passive digital touch in particular demands careful attention to ethics, as increasingly realistic haptics can shape sensations, beliefs, and well-being. Read our blog: tu-dresden.de/ing/elektrot...

Our Spotlight on Tactile Sensitivity brought together experts to explore individual differences in touch, from social touch research to tactile sensor development. Great visit and exchange from the teams of Ilona Croy and @utasailer.bsky.social

We're proud to be part of CeTI Phase 2 We’re advancing research on social affective touch in VR, studying neural correlates, stress buffering, trust, and co-presence using haptics, thermal feedback, and immersive social scenarios. So excited for what's to come

Some people love hugs. Others step back, and that’s not a problem. Our new article explores touch aversion as an adaptive response shaped by many factors: tu-dresden.de/ing/elektrot... Are you a touch seeker or prefer to keep your distance? Why might that be?

Kicking off the year with a new publication! Our recently published article in the Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology explores social interaction, trust, and human connection. Read here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

New preprint coauthored by Merle Fairhurst and @irenevalori.bsky.social We compare touch vs. verbal comforting and find that touch boosts emotional empathy but can also increase personal distress. Read it here: osf.io/preprints/ps...

A big congratulations to the team of colleagues at @mila-quebec.bsky.social behind this innovation! Get yours: scicortex.com

Join us on 05.12.25 at @tudresden.bsky.social for "Closing the Learning Loop: From Research to Schools and Back" organized by CeTI. Talks include: • Social inclusion interventions • VR stress & mindfulness research • CeTI & QUARKS in the classroom • Panel discussion Info: [email protected]

New #InsideConTaktLab episode: Master’s student Pinar Ekin presents her Microsensory Vibrotactile Touch Study, exploring how different touch experiences shape physical, neural and subjective responses.

What role does causality play in explaining robot behavior? Join us on 21 Nov 2025 at BAR I-15 for a CeTI workshop bringing together philosophy, law, engineering and neuroscience to rethink explanations in HRI and AI More info at www.linkedin.com/feed/update/... Register: [email protected]

Our postdoc @irenevalori.bsky.social will be speaking at the PONS Conference next week, presenting her work at CeTI on touch in virtual reality, which explores how immersive tech can help us understand and simulate social touch. ponspadova2021.wixsite.com/pons-2021/co... #VR #SocialTouch

What if we could not only hear music but also feel it? Haptics and immersive tech are redefining how we experience sound, making concerts more embodied, inclusive, and unforgettable. Read the post by @irenevalori.bsky.social: tu-dresden.de/ing/elektrot...

New paper by @IreneValori in Nature Scientific Reports! Study shows neurotypical people prefer socially engaged partners (even if delayed), while autistic participants favor partners who are both prompt and engaged. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Autism #Research

Introducing our new series #InsideConTaktLab In our first episode, Master’s student Helene Krämer tests the Midas Touch Theory in VR. Watch how we study the science of touch below. #SocialTouch #Research #Neuroscience

Internship opportunity! Join the Trust and Touch project at @tudresden_de CeTI @TactileInternet Explore how touch builds trust in human and robot interactions using fNIRS, VR and haptic tech. Dresden, Germany [email protected] More info: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

The exhibition “Mensch, Roboter! – Robotik aus der Dresdner Wissenschaft” officially opened at the COSMO Forum on Oct 2! Visitors experienced VR, interactive demos and insights into human–robot trust. On view at Kulturpalast Dresden until Feb 27, 2026. #MenschRoboter #COSMO2025

Our new blog post explores how touch, rhythm and voice evolved as tools for care and connection. From a mother cat’s lick to a human lullaby, soothing behaviours unite all mammals. Read the blog: tu-dresden.de/ing/elektrot...

Why would you trust a robot? Our COSMO VR exhibit explores trust through immersive, embodied interaction. Here's a short demo of our exhibition, now live at the COSMO Wissenschaftsforum. www.cosmo-wissenschaftsforum.de/robotik/ #MenschRoboter #Robotik #Dresden #COSMO

Can trust in robots arise from shared presence? Our COSMO VR demo explores affect and interaction in human-robot relations. We now have pictures of our setup, which will open this Thursday at the COSMO Forum. See you there! www.cosmo-wissenschaftsforum.de/robotik/ #MenschRoboter #Dresden #COSMO

Keynote spotlight: Prof. Olaf Blanke (EPFL ) at #SocialBridges: "Neuroscience of the Sense of Self & its Relevance for Presence" explores embodiment, multisensory integration & self-other distinction in VR/XR, towards new forms of selfhood.

Keynote spotlight: Prof. Kristine Nowak (@uconn.bsky.social) at #SocialBRIDGES: What Presence and “Being There” Means for Being Here Presence is powerful, but more isn’t always better. Unfocused presence can overwhelm, distract, or hinder learning.

Keynote spotlight: Prof. Mel Slater (UniBarcelona, Event Lab) at #socialBRIDGES-Presence: "Advances in the Theory and Evaluation of Presence" explores how and why we experience the illusion of being present in virtual environments. Sept 22–23, 2025 www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuGK...

New paper out! A systematic review of evidence on touch interventions and their effects on arousal and self-regulation, highlighting their potential in stress and pain management and broader medical use. Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What does trust in a robot feel like? Our COSMO VR installation explores this question through and more. From 02.10.2025 to 27.02.2026 at COSMO, the exhibit explores trust as an emotional and embodied response in human–robot interaction. www.cosmo-wissenschaftsforum.de/robotik/

Can simulated touch help us feel connected? At ConTakt Lab we explore how VR and pseudohaptics (visuals, sounds, resistance) can recreate the comfort of touch without skin contact. Could this change how we bond in digital spaces? tu-dresden.de/ing/elektrot...

How do we feel present in life, VR and beyond? Join socialBRIDGES – Presence, a hybrid event with keynotes by Mel Slater and Olaf Blanke, exploring presence across neuroscience, VR, theatre and more. www.linkedin.com/events/73613...

Why would you trust a robot? Our COSMO VR exhibit invites you to experience this question firsthand. From Oct 2, 2025 to Feb 27, 2026 at Kulturpalast Dresden. www.cosmo-wissenschaftsforum.de/robotik/ #MenschRoboter #Robotik #Dresden #Forschungfüralle #Wissenschaftskommunikation #COSMO