Ricoh will present SynTact, a new interactive prototype developed in collaboration with Ars Electronica Futurelab, at Ars Electronica Festival 2026, which will be held in Linz, Austria from September 9 to 13. SynTact explores how smart environments could transform the way people interact with technology, physical spaces and each other.
Developed using Ricoh’s proprietary sensorization and machine learning technology, SynTact shows how physical surfaces and objects could evolve beyond their role as passive tools to become intelligent interfaces capable of understanding and responding in real time to human interaction.
SynTact technology can recognize touch interactions at a high level of detail, identifying what is being touched, how it is being done, and the nature of the interaction itself. This ability opens up new possibilities for developing environments capable of perceiving and responding more accurately to people.
At the center of the installation is a living plant equipped with robotic tendrils that react differently depending on how visitors interact with it. As participants experiment with SynTact, they can move closer to a possible future where workplaces, public spaces, and connected environments are able to adapt to human presence and behavior in a more intuitive and meaningful way.
Yasuyuki Nomizu, Senior Corporate Officer and CTO of Ricoh Company, Ltd., said: “For decades, Ricoh has focused on improving the relationship between people and technology. As AI, robotics and digital twins continue to evolve, the opportunity is no longer just to develop smarter technologies, but to create experiences that are more natural, intuitive and meaningful.
SynTact allows us to explore that future in a tangible way. By inviting people to interact with emerging technologies in a real-world environment, we can better understand how interaction, perception and feedback can shape the next generation of environments and help guide our long-term research and development.”
Work environments with activity and interaction
The project reflects the research that Ricoh is developing in sensorization and feedback technologies that, in the future, could serve as the basis for smart workspaces, digital twins and environments capable of responding to people. Although SynTact is an experimental prototype and not a commercial product, it offers a tangible demonstration of how advances in these technologies could make it possible for environments to respond not only to activity, but also to interaction.
SynTact investigates new forms of communication and connection between people and the different entities that surround them
As organizations continue to rethink their workplaces to respond to new employee expectations, AI adoption, and sustainability goals, understanding how people interact with physical spaces becomes increasingly important. In this context, proposals such as SynTact allow us to explore new forms of relationships between people, technology and the environments that surround them.
Many organizations already use sensors to measure occupancy, energy consumption and space usage. SynTact explores what could be the next step, expanding the traditional approach from Human-Computer Interaction to More-than-Human-Computer Interaction, which encompasses interactions involving non-human entities, such as plants and robots.
Through these experiences, SynTact investigates new forms of communication and connection between people and the different entities that surround them, offering a vision of future environments capable of promoting more enriching experiences for customers and responding more naturally to human needs.
Since 2022, Ricoh and Ars Electronica Futurelab have been collaborating on projects that explore the future of work from technology, creativity and a social perspective. SynTact is the most recent example of this collaboration and brings together advanced sensorization, robotics and design technologies to open the debate on the future relationship between people, technology and the spaces they inhabit.
