Bio


Sean Follmer is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science (by courtesy) at Stanford University. His Research in Human Computer Interaction, Haptics, and Human Robot Interaction explores the design of novel tactile physical interfaces and novel robotic devices. Dr. Follmer directs the Stanford Shape Lab and is a faculty member of the Stanford HCI Group. He is a core faculty member of the Design masters program focusing on innovation and human centered design at Stanford.

The Shape lab explores how we can interact with digital information in a more physical and tangible way. Towards our goal of more human centered computing, we believe that interaction must be grounded in the physical world and leverage our innate abilities for spatial cognition and dexterous manipulation with our hands. We develop advanced technologies in robotics, mechatronics, and sensing to create interactive, dynamic physical 3D displays and haptic interfaces that allow 3D information to be touched as well as seen. We are specifically interested in using these novel interfaces to support richer remote collaboration, computer aided design, education, and interfaces for people with visual impairments. In pursuit of these goals, we use a design process grounded in iterative prototyping and human centered design and look to create new understanding about human perception and interaction through controlled studies.

Our research in Human Computer Interaction and Human Machine Interaction currently directed the following areas:
- Shape Changing and Tangible User Interfaces
- Haptic Interaction
- Accessible User Interfaces for People who Are Blind and Visually Impaired
- Shape Changing Robotics
- Design and Debugging Tools for Physical Computing and Robotic Systems


Dr. Follmer received a PhD and a Masters from the MIT Media Lab in 2015 and 2011 (respectively) for his work in human-computer interaction, and a BS in Engineering with a focus on Product Design from Stanford University. His talk featured on TED.com was named one of the best science and tech TED talks of 2015 and has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. He has received numerous awards for his research and design work such as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, Google Faculty Research Award, 17 Best Paper Awards and nominations from premier conferences in human-computer interaction (including Five Best papers at ACM UIST, Two Best Papers at ACM CHI and an IMWUT Distinguished Paper Award), Fast Company Innovation By Design Award, Red Dot Design Award, and a Laval Virtual Award. His work has been shown at the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, Ars Electronica Center, and the Milan Design Week.

Academic Appointments


Honors & Awards


  • Best Paper Award, ACM CHI 2023 (2023)
  • NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2022)
  • Best Paper Award, ACM CHI 2021 (2021)
  • Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2021)
  • Best Short Paper Award, ACM VRST (2019)
  • Distinguished Paper Award, ACM IMWUT Volume 2 (2019)
  • Best Paper Award, ACM UIST 2017 (2017)
  • Google Faculty Research Award, Google (2017)
  • Best Demo Award, ACM UIST 2016 (2016)
  • Best Paper Award (x2), ACM UIST 2016 (2016)
  • Google Faculty Research Award, Google (2016)
  • Best Paper Award, ACM UIST 2013 (2013)
  • Best Paper Award, ACM UIST 2012 (2012)

Program Affiliations


  • Symbolic Systems Program

Professional Education


  • Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Media Lab (2015)
  • PhD, MIT Media Lab (2015)
  • S.M., MIT Media Lab (2011)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Human Computer Interaction, Haptics, Robotics, Human Centered Design

2024-25 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • The Accessibility of Data Visualizations on theWeb for Screen Reader Users: Practices and Experiences During COVID-19 ACM TRANSACTIONS ON ACCESSIBLE COMPUTING Fan, D., Siu, A., Rao, H., Kim, G., Vazquez, X., Greco, L., O'Modhrain, S., Follmer, S. 2023; 16 (1)

    View details for DOI 10.1145/3557899

    View details for Web of Science ID 000963968700003

  • Detecting Touch and Grasp Gestures Using a Wrist-Worn Optical and Inertial Sensing Network IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS Cofer, S., Chen, T. N., Yang, J., Follmer, S. 2022; 7 (4): 10842-10849
  • An All-Soft Variable Impedance Actuator Enabled by Embedded Layer Jamming IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS Do, B. H., Choi, I., Follmer, S. 2022
  • Robotic Presence: The Effects of Anthropomorphism and Robot State on Task Performance and Emotion IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS Kim, L. H., Domova, V., Yao, Y., Huang, C., Follmer, S., Paredes, P. E. 2022; 7 (3): 7399-7406
  • Beyond Being Real: A Sensorimotor Control Perspective on Interactions in Virtual Reality Abtahi, P., Hough, S. Q., Landay, J. A., Follmer, S., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2022
  • A Model Predictive Control Approach for Reach Redirection in Virtual Reality Gonzalez, E. J., Chase, E. Z., Kotipalli, P., Follmer, S., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2022
  • Slide-Tone and Tilt-Tone: 1-DOF Haptic Techniques for Conveying Shape Characteristics of Graphs to Blind Users Fan, D., Siu, A., Law, W., Zhen, R., O'Modhrain, S., Follmer, S., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2022
  • Supporting Accessible Data Visualization Through Audio Data Narratives Siu, A., Kim, G., O'Modhrain, S., Follmer, S., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2022
  • Augmenting Perceived Softness of Haptic Proxy Objects Through Transient Vibration and Visuo-Haptic Illusion in Virtual Reality IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS Choi, I., Zhao, Y., Gonzalez, E. J., Follmer, S. 2021; 27 (12): 4387-4400

    Abstract

    In this article, we investigate the effects of active transient vibration and visuo-haptic illusion to augment the perceived softness of haptic proxy objects. We introduce a system combining active transient vibration at the fingertip with visuo-haptic illusions. In our hand-held device, a voice coil actuator transmits active transient vibrations to the index fingertip, while a force sensor measures the force applied on passive proxy objects to create visuo-haptic illusions in virtual reality. We conducted three user studies to understand both the vibrotactile effect and its combined effect with visuo-haptic illusions. A preliminary study confirmed that active transient vibrations can intuitively alter the perceived softness of a proxy object. Our first study demonstrated that those same active transient vibrations can generate different perceptions of softness depending on the material of the proxy object used. In our second study, we evaluated the combination of active transient vibration and visuo-haptic illusion, and found that both significantly influence perceived softness, with with the visuo-haptic effect being dominant. Our third study further investigated the vibrotactile effect while controlling for the visuo-haptic illusion. The combination of these two methods allows users to effectively perceive various levels of softness when interacting with haptic proxy objects.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TVCG.2020.3002245

    View details for Web of Science ID 000711642800005

    View details for PubMedID 32746263

  • Generating Legible and Glanceable Swarm Robot Motion through Trajectory, Collective Behavior, and Pre-attentive Processing Features ACM TRANSACTIONS ON HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION Kim, L. H., Follmer, S. 2021; 10 (3)

    View details for DOI 10.1145/3442681

    View details for Web of Science ID 000731456900003

  • Hybrid Actuation With Unidirectional Clutches for Handheld Haptic Controllers IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS Choi, I., Gonzalez, E. J., Follmer, S. 2021; 6 (3): 4827-4834
  • COVID-19 highlights the issues facing blind and visually impaired people in accessing data on the web W4A: Web Accessibility Siu, A. F., Fan, D., Kim, G. S., Rao, H. V., O'Modhrain, S., Follmer, S. 2021: 1-15

    View details for DOI 10.1145/3430263.3452432

  • Balloon Animal Robots: Reconfigurable Isoperimetric Inflated Soft Robots Stuart, A. D., Hammond, Z. M., Follmer, S., IEEE IEEE. 2021: 6941-6947
  • Grasp Analysis and Manipulation Kinematics for Isoperimetric Truss Robots Hammond, Z. M., Usevitch, N. S., Follmer, S., IEEE IEEE. 2021: 6140-6146
  • Acoustic Communication and Sensing for Inflatable Modular Soft Robots Drew, D. S., Devlin, M., Hawkes, E., Follmer, S., IEEE IEEE. 2021: 11827-11833
  • A Causal Feeling: How Kinesthetic Haptics Affects Causal Perception Chase, E. Z., Wolff, P., Gerstenberg, T., Follmer, S., IEEE IEEE. 2021: 347
  • HIGH FORCE DENSITY MULTI-STAGE ELECTROHYDRODYNAMIC JETS USING FOLDED LASER MICROFABRICATED ELECTRODES Drew, D. S., Follmer, S., IEEE IEEE. 2021: 54-57
  • Lightweight High Voltage Generator for Untethered Electroadhesive Perching of Micro Air Vehicles IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS Park, S., Drew, D. S., Follmer, S., Rivas-Davila, J. 2020; 5 (3): 4485–92
  • An untethered isoperimetric soft robot. Science robotics Usevitch, N. S., Hammond, Z. M., Schwager, M., Okamura, A. M., Hawkes, E. W., Follmer, S. 2020; 5 (40)

    Abstract

    For robots to be useful for real-world applications, they must be safe around humans, be adaptable to their environment, and operate in an untethered manner. Soft robots could potentially meet these requirements; however, existing soft robotic architectures are limited by their ability to scale to human sizes and operate at these scales without a tether to transmit power or pressurized air from an external source. Here, we report an untethered, inflated robotic truss, composed of thin-walled inflatable tubes, capable of shape change by continuously relocating its joints, while its total edge length remains constant. Specifically, a set of identical roller modules each pinch the tube to create an effective joint that separates two edges, and modules can be connected to form complex structures. Driving a roller module along a tube changes the overall shape, lengthening one edge and shortening another, while the total edge length and hence fluid volume remain constant. This isoperimetric behavior allows the robot to operate without compressing air or requiring a tether. Our concept brings together advantages from three distinct types of robots-soft, collective, and truss-based-while overcoming certain limitations of each. Our robots are robust and safe, like soft robots, but not limited by a tether; are modular, like collective robots, but not limited by complex subunits; and are shape-changing, like truss robots, but not limited by rigid linear actuators. We demonstrate two-dimensional (2D) robots capable of shape change and a human-scale 3D robot capable of punctuated rolling locomotion and manipulation, all constructed with the same modular rollers and operating without a tether.

    View details for DOI 10.1126/scirobotics.aaz0492

    View details for PubMedID 33022597

  • An untethered isoperimetric soft robot SCIENCE ROBOTICS Usevitch, N. S., Hammond, Z. M., Schwager, M., Okamura, A. M., Hawkes, E. W., Follmer, S. 2020; 5 (40)
  • Foxels: Build Your Own Smart Furniture Perteneder, F., Probst, K., Leong, J., Gassler, S., Rendl, C., Parzer, P., Fluch, K., Gahleitner, S., Follmer, S., Koike, H., Haller, M., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2020: 111–22
  • User-Defined Swarm Robot Control Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Kim, L. H., Drew, D. S., Domova, V., Follmer, S. Association for Computing Machinery. 2020: 13

    View details for DOI 10.1145/3313831.3376814

  • Design and Analysis of High-Resolution Electrostatic Adhesive Brakes Towards Static Refreshable 2.5D Tactile Shape Display IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON HAPTICS Zhang, K., Gonzalez, E. J., Guo, J., Follmer, S. 2019; 12 (4): 470–82

    Abstract

    Tactile displays are haptic devices capable of rendering shape and texture information. Unsolved challenges in building tactile shape displays include their traditionally large form factors, low spatial resolution, and high costs. Using electrostatic adhesion to individually brake each pin and a single platform for global actuation, we developed a prototype static refreshable tactile shape display with high spatial resolution (1.7 mm pitch, 0.8 mm pin width; 4 mm pitch, 1.6 mm pin width), high resistance force (76.3 gf static-loading force per pin for 1.6 mm width) and low cost ($0.11 USD per pin for raw material). We present an analytical model of our electroadhesive brake mechanism and evaluate its maximum contact force and robustness in various conditions. To demonstrate the mechanism's potential, we built a static tactile shape display prototype with a 4×2 array of pins controlled using electroadhesive brakes. To further increase maximsum contact force allowed by our device, we develop and evaluate a global mechanical clutch which can be engaged during user interaction. A user study is carried out to compare our static tactile shape display's performance with printed 2.5D tactile graphics in a shape recognition task, and comparable shape recognition rates and response times are observed.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TOH.2019.2940219

    View details for Web of Science ID 000505585900008

    View details for PubMedID 31545743

  • Beyond The Force: Using Quadcopters to Appropriate Objects and the Environment for Haptics in Virtual Reality Abtahi, P., Landry, B., Yang, J., Pavone, M., Follmer, S., Landay, J. A., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019
  • Investigating the Detection of Bimanual Haptic Retargeting in Virtual Reality Gonzalez, E. J., Follmer, S., Spencer, S. N. ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019
  • shapeCAD: An Accessible 3D Modelling Workflow for the Blind and Visually-Impaired Via 2.5D Shape Displays Siu, A. F., Kim, S., Miele, J. A., Follmer, S., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019: 342–54
  • Tactile Code Skimmer: A Tool to Help Blind Programmers Feel the Structure of Code Falase, O., Siu, A. F., Follmer, S., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019: 536–38
  • Evaluating the Minimum Jerk Motion Model for Redirected Reach in Virtual Reality Gonzalez, E. J., Abtahi, P., Follmer, S., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019: 4–6
  • Editing Spatial Layouts through Tactile Templates for People with Visual Impairments Li, J., Kim, S., Miele, J. A., Agrawala, M., Follmer, S., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019
  • Pinpoint: A PCB Debugging Pipeline Using Interruptible Routing and Instrumentation Strasnick, E., Follmer, S., Agrawala, M., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019
  • SwarmHaptics: Haptic Display with Swarm Robots Kim, L. H., Follmer, S., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2019
  • Dynamic Composite Data Physicalization Using Wheeled Micro-Robots. IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics Goc, M. L., Perin, C., Follmer, S., Fekete, J., Dragicevic, P. 2018

    Abstract

    This paper introduces dynamic composite physicalizations, a new class of physical visualizations that use collections of self-propelled objects to represent data. Dynamic composite physicalizations can be used both to give physical form to well-known interactive visualization techniques, and to explore new visualizations and interaction paradigms. We first propose a design space characterizing composite physicalizations based on previous work in the fields of Information Visualization and Human Computer Interaction. We illustrate dynamic composite physicalizations in two scenarios demonstrating potential benefits for collaboration and decision making, as well as new opportunities for physical interaction. We then describe our implementation using wheeled micro-robots capable of locating themselves and sensing user input, before discussing limitations and opportunities for future work.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TVCG.2018.2865159

    View details for PubMedID 30136993

  • Electrostatic Adhesive Brakes for High Spatial Resolution Refreshable 2.5D Tactile Shape Displays Zhang, K., Follmer, S., Kuchenbecker, K. J., Gerling, G. J., Visell, Y. IEEE. 2018: 319–26
  • An Accessible CAD Workflow Using Programming of 3D Models and Preview Rendering in A 2.5D Shape Display Siu, A. F., Miele, J., Follmer, S., Assoc Comp Machinery ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2018: 343–45
  • Investigating Tangible Collaboration for Design Towards Augmented Physical Telepresence DESIGN THINKING RESEARCH: MAKING DISTINCTIONS: COLLABORATION VERSUS COOPERATION Siu, A. F., Yuan, S., Pham, H., Gonzalez, E., Kim, L. H., Le Goc, M., Follmer, S., Plattner, H., Meinel, C., Leifer, L. 2018: 131–45
  • Designing Line-Based Shape-Changing Interfaces IEEE PERVASIVE COMPUTING Nakagaki, K., Follmer, S., Dementyev, A., Paradiso, J. A., Ishii, H. 2017; 16 (4): 36–46
  • shiftIO: Reconfigurable Tactile Elements for Dynamic Affordances and Mobile Interaction Strasnick, E., Yang, J., Tanner, K., Olwal, A., Follmer, S., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2017: 5075–86
  • Shape Displays: Spatial Interaction with Dynamic Physical Form IEEE COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND APPLICATIONS Leithinger, D., Follmer, S., Olwal, A., Ishii, H. 2015; 35 (5): 5-11

    View details for Web of Science ID 000361969200002

    View details for PubMedID 26416359

  • Jamming User Interfaces: Programmable Particle Stiffness and Sensing for Malleable and Shape-Changing Devices UIST'12: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 25TH ANNUAL ACM SYMPOSIUM ON USER INTERFACE SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY Follmer, S., Leithinger, D., Olwal, A., Cheng, N., Ishii, H. 2012: 519-528
  • TessalTable: Tile-based Creation of Patterns and Images 4th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodies Interaction Allison, A., Follmer, S., Raffle, H. ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2010: 203–204
  • d.note: Revising User Interfaces Through Change Tracking, Annotations, and Alternatives 28th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Hartmann, B., Follmer, S., Ricciardi, A., Cardenas, T., Klemmer, S. R. ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2010: 493–502
  • Family Story Play: Reading with Young Children (and Elmo) Over a Distance CHI2010: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 28TH ANNUAL CHI CONFERENCE ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTING SYSTEMS, VOLS 1-4 Raffle, H., Ballagas, R., Revelle, G., Horii, H., Follmer, S., Go, J., Reardon, E., Mori, K., Kaye, J. '., Spasojevic, M. 2010: 1583-1592