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
Read the blog post on our website: tu-dresden.de/ing/elektrot...
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: irene.valori@tu-dresden.de
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: team.kaesling@tu-dresden.de
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
We'd like to hear your thoughts:
How can haptic technology enhance our emotional and physical connection to music beyond traditional listening?
In what ways might multisensory approaches like touch and movement improve accessibility and inclusion in musical performance?
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...
