ICMI 2026 CALL FOR PAPERS ============================================ 5-9 October 2026, Napoli - Italy https://icmi.acm.org/2026/ ============================================ The 28th International Conference on Multimodal Interaction (ICMI 2026) will be held in Napoli, Italy. ICMI is the premier international forum for advancing research at the intersection of multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) and social interaction to create technically innovative, effective, and human-centered multimodal interactive systems. A unique aspect of ICMI is its multidisciplinary nature, bringing together research in AI, multimodal data processing, human-machine, and human-human interaction to bridge behavioral understanding with technology, with an eye towards impactful applications that benefit people and society. Novelty will be evaluated along two dimensions: scientific novelty and technical novelty. Accepted papers at ICMI 2026 must demonstrate novelty in at least one of these two dimensions. The theme of this year's conference is "Context and Cultural Awareness for Multimodal Interaction", to explore how context and cultural factors influence multimodal interaction systems, including their design, implementation, and evaluation. We welcome papers that address the integration of contextual understanding, such as environmental, social, and emotional factors, into multimodal interaction systems. We also encourage contributions that explore cultural considerations in the development and deployment of interactive technologies. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Affective computing and interaction * User-adaptive systems * Cognitive modelling and multimodal interaction * Context-aware modelling * Cross-cultural design and evaluation * Gesture, touch, and haptics * Healthcare, assistive technologies * Human communication dynamics * Human-robot/agent multimodal interaction * Human-centred AI and ethics * Interaction with a smart environment * Machine learning for multimodal interaction * Mobile and wearable multimodal systems * Multimodal behaviour generation * Multimodal datasets and validation * Multimodal dialogue modeling * Multimodal fusion and representation * Multimodal interactive applications * Novel multimodal datasets * Spoken/visual behaviours in social interaction * System components and multimodal platforms * Virtual/augmented reality and multimodal interaction Commitment to ethical conduct is mandatory, and submissions must adhere to ethical standards, in particular when human-derived data are employed. Authors are encouraged to consult the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (https://ethics.acm.org/). *** Important Dates Abstract deadline April 13, 2026 Paper Submission April 20, 2026 Rebuttal Period June 1, 2026 Paper notification July 6, 2026 Camera-ready paper July 23, 2026 Presenting at the main conference October 6-8, 2026 *** ACM Publication Policies ACM's New Open Access Publishing Model. Starting January 1, 2026, ACM will fully transition to Open Access. All ACM publications, including those from ACM-sponsored conferences, will be 100% Open Access. Authors will have two primary options for publishing Open Access articles with ACM: the ACM Open institutional model or by paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). With over 1,800 institutions already part of ACM Open, the majority of ACM-sponsored conference papers will not require APCs from authors or conferences (currently, around 70-75%). Authors from institutions not participating in ACM Open will need to pay an APC to publish their papers, unless they qualify for a financial or discretionary waiver. To find out whether an APC applies to your article, please consult the list of participating institutions in ACM Open and review the APC Waivers and Discounts Policy. Keep in mind that waivers are rare and are granted based on specific criteria set by ACM. Understanding that this change could present financial challenges, ACM has approved a temporary subsidy for 2026 to ease the transition and allow more time for institutions to join ACM Open. The subsidy will offer: * $250 APC for ACM/SIG members * $350 for non-members This represents a 65% discount, funded directly by ACM. Authors are encouraged to help advocate for their institutions to join ACM Open during this transition period. This temporary subsidized pricing will apply to all conferences scheduled for 2026, including ICMI.