CHI PLAY 2026 Workshop
Technological Innovations for Inclusive and Connective Play
A half-day on-site workshop exploring new ways to design playful technology that supports creative, inclusive, and social experiences across XR, AI, and everyday interactive systems.
As digital experiences and immersive technologies become more pervasive, they bring novel opportunities but also new challenges and potential harms. Some prominent recent examples include toxicity, excessive screentime, sedentiarism, or reality distortion and social isolation. In CHI PLAY and connected communities, we strive to observe, understand, and ultimately resolve these problems.
With our workshop, we want to move beyond mitigation-focused research. By using structured creativity and design approaches, we will ideate, refine, and discuss novel playful interactions that are inclusive, connective, and human-centered from the start.
If you want to kickoff CHI PLAY 2026 with a creative and thought-inspiring workshop, unusual design ideas, and great networking opportunities, please join us on Monday, November 2, between 09:00 and 12:30. Since attendance is limited to about 20 seats, we ask all interested attendees to sign up on the linked form (registration required, no position paper needed) until September 30, 2026. Afterwards, we will notify accepted participants in early October. Everyone is welcome!
Apply to ParticipateKicking off CHI PLAY 2026, we want to bring together researchers from all backgrounds, including XR, AI, accessibility, and child-computer interaction, to network and explore new interdisciplinary collaborations around inclusive and connective play.
We want to create a space that sparks your creativity and encourages out-of-the-box thinking. By drawing from your lived experiences, unusual inspirations, and diverse domain expertise, you will generate novel ideas for unexpected, playful concepts and experiences.
We hope that you will form unusual collaborations to further develop your ideas and that you will carry the creative energy into the main conference program and beyond.
| Time | Activity | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 - 09:20 | Welcome and introductions | Introduction of organizers, participants, and program. |
| 09:20 - 09:50 | Scenario creation | Small groups brainstorm current challenges and choose a concrete scenario. |
| 09:50 - 10:30 | Concept Ideation | Groups develop ideas for inclusive, connective play experiences using creativity techniques. |
| 10:30 - 10:45 | Short Break | Refresh, network, and prepare for the second half. |
| 10:45 - 12:00 | Concept Refinement | Groups refine, focus, and evolve their ideas using design thinking methods. |
| 12:00 - 12:30 | Presentations and Closing | Groups present their refined ideas and discuss future research directions. |
Sebastian Cmentowski is an Assistant Professor in Game Design and Digital Twins at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. His research covers a broad range of XR- and play-related topics, including exergames, locomotion techniques, and novel interaction concepts. Recently, he has shifted his attention towards reconnective, playful experiences which foster teamwork, engage people in healthy physical activity, and balance immersion and social connection through non-visual interaction modalities.
Sukran Karaosmanoglu is a postdoctoral researcher in the Human-Computer Interaction Group, Universität Hamburg, Germany. Her research centers on designing, developing, and evaluating technology-based interactive experiences, particularly immersive XR games, that create a positive societal impact for individuals of all ages and conditions. Her areas of focus include promoting physical activity and mental well-being, supporting active aging, enhancing social interaction, and addressing environmental challenges.
Giulia Cosentino is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Computer Science of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), specializing in multimodal interaction design and educational technology. Her research focuses on designing and evaluating innovative multimodal settings to support learning and inclusion.
If you have any questions about this workshop, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.