CS Special Seminar: Paul Strohmeier "Shaping Experience and Expression with Sensorimotor Interaction"

Shaping Experience and Expression with Sensorimotor Interaction

Paul Strohmeier
Max Planck Institute for Informatics
Google Scholar

Abstract: Interaction with digital technology often follows an action-reaction model: we issue discrete commands and consequently receive symbolic feedback. In contrast, human understanding is grounded in continuous sensorimotor loops, where action and sensory feedback are inseparably intertwined -- each co-constituting the other in an ongoing process.

In this talk, I will present research that seeks to understand these sensorimotor processes and use them as a foundation for designing interactive systems that modulate perception, expression, and agency. Drawing on empirical studies and functional prototypes, I will show how wearable and tactile interfaces can modulate sensorimotor processes to alter how we experience our bodies and our environment. I will also demonstrate how the sensorimotor perspective can be applied to other domains, including how we experience interaction with generative AI.

The overarching goal of my work is to move beyond symbolic, command-driven models of interaction and toward systems that integrate with the continuous, embodied nature of human activity. By developing technologies, models, and design languages grounded in sensorimotor processes, I aim to expand human capabilities while remaining sensitive to contextual and societal implications. 

Bio: Paul Strohmeier is a senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, where he leads the Sensorimotor Interaction Group. He investigates how sensorimotor processes shape human experience and how such understanding can be used to design technologies that modulate perception and agency in interaction. His research combines empirical approaches to HCI -- focusing on wearable systems and tactile feedback -- with theoretical reflection grounded in the philosophy of technology and cognitive science. He was awarded the ERC Starting Grant for his research on kinesthetic displays and received the ACM SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award for his PhD work on vibrotactile feedback and active perception.