Call for Work-in-Progress

Work-In-Progress Track

Key dates:

  • Submission Deadline: April 6th April 10th, 2026
  • Decision Notification: April 29th, 2026
  • Camera Ready Submission: May 7th, 2026

Selection: Juried
Physical and in person conference.

All deadlines are at 23:59 Anywhere on Earth

Online Submission

Overview

The ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX) focuses on challenges and innovations across diverse forms of media engagement and experience. The aim is to provoke and promote discussion and the sharing of exciting ideas amongst researchers, industry practitioners and the academic community in all forms of media: VR, AR, MR, XR, 360°, live-streaming, online media content, authoring and production, TV as well as multimodal content. IMX 2026 will be held in Athlone, Ireland, from June 9 to 11, 2026. The theme of the conference is towards interactive media experiences that are empathic, multimodal, co-created and accessible.

We encourage researchers, students and practitioners to submit Work-in-Progress (WiP) papers based on their recent viewpoints, new discoveries, and early-stage design and development in disciplines that are in line with the areas of interest of ACM IMX. The WiP track is intended for thought-provoking and out of the box ideas, possibly with early proofs of concept or prototypes, as well as position papers. The WiP session is geared towards early career researchers, but also caters to seasoned scholars for the presentation of unfinished projects. The WiP track thus provides a unique opportunity for exchanging brave new ideas, for receiving feedback on projects currently in progress and for fostering collaborations. We thus encourage submissions that are not merely a report of work done but an input for discussing with fellow researchers at the conference.

Accepted submissions will be presented as a (1-minute) video presentation and a physical poster at the conference. Authors of accepted WiP papers are also invited to bring a demo. The WiP posters will be presented as part of the conference. The accepted WiP papers will be included in conference proceedings (indexed in the ACM Digital Library).

When submitting your work-in-progress paper, you will have to choose one of the following areas to submit your work in:

New Forms of Media Experience

We welcome papers where the primary contribution is the introduction of novel ways of experiencing media content, including those driven by novel hardware or software implementation. This includes experiences harnessing new forms of media content (e.g. VR, AR, MR, XR, 360°, live-streaming, haptics, olfactory, gustation, etc.); those that are consumed in diverse ways including across multiple screens, platforms, modalities, and in immersive theatres; and those that arise from contemporary developments in AI. Application areas could include entertainment and information including interactive and generative documentaries, transmedia storytelling, volumetric filmmaking, live performance broadcasts and object-based media productions. Papers in other application areas, such as education, healthcare, wellbeing and governance and decision-making, are also welcome.

Advances in content, platforms and devices are rapidly changing how audiences engage with media. We welcome contributions that seek to understand audiences using a rich variety of analytic approaches including sensing audiences, sentiment analysis, and measuring and monitoring quality of experience, including ones inspired by psychophysics approaches. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, consumption trends and behaviours in young audiences, sharing practices and communication strategies, identifying engagement patterns across diverse genres, platforms and demographics, scheduled versus on-demand content consumption, binge viewing, and multi-platform engagement. Papers exploring AI techniques for understanding audiences are encouraged, e.g.: monitoring media bias, misinformation and fake news, predictability of real-world events.

This topic focuses on technologies, systems, and interfaces that enable new, or improve and advance our existing interactions with media content online, at home, or on the move. We encourage submissions describing technical advancements in streaming systems, content synchronisation for multi-platform delivery, and recommendation and companion apps. Additional areas for consideration include games engines for content delivery, location-based and context-aware applications and services and object-based media.

We invite papers describing advances in the preparation, design, and development of media experiences. Areas of interest include new production processes for TV, online video, VR, AR, XR, and 360° formats. Novel tools and workflows using motion/volumetric capture, render engines,LED volumes and/or generative AI  are encouraged, as are the presentations of innovative authoring and data-driven tools for interactive or multi-platform content development. In addition to papers describing technical innovations, we are also interested in innovations originating from design and humanities perspectives detailing the authoring process for writing interactive content and the human-centred design methods used to realise these narratives. We are particularly interested in papers exploring use of artificial intelligence techniques to generate or support the creation of novel media experiences.

This topic focuses on the new business, marketing, purchasing, subscription, and monetizing strategies arising from and enabling the creation and consumption of innovative media experiences. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, targeted advertisements, freemium products, programmatic media buying, in-programme recommendations and purchases, exploiting consumption data, monetizing second screen experiences, and social media influencer strategies.

The impact of the contemporary developments in media on cultures and societies is powerful and raises many important and challenging topics for consideration. We welcome papers from a wide variety of theoretical and analytical perspectives examining structured reality TV, social media manipulation and targeting, media convergence and platform monopolies, intellectual property, remix culture, fan culture, media activism and participation politics, or tactical media practices. In addition, research concerning media violence, social media addiction, or issues of bias and ethics would also be appropriate for this topic.

We invite submission of research and practice on disruptive media concepts that seek to challenge traditional consumption patterns and expand spectator experiences. This includes cultural, artistic, and creative multimedia experiences that go beyond the scope of entertainment. Technologies, interfaces, and experiences in application domains including but not limited to interactive art, digital performance & opera experiences, online learning/e-learning, musical festivals, museum exhibitions, and digital humanities.

IMX is an inclusive, growing, interdisciplinary community, so if you aren’t sure whether the specifics of your research are in scope then (a) they probably are, and (b) please email wip@imx.acm.org and the chairs will do their best to advise you.

Instructions

Work-in-Progress should be submitted through the PCS submission system in the form of a maximum 3,000 word paper using the New SIGCHI Proceedings Format. Work-in-Progress paper submissions are not anonymised, and should include name, affiliation, and contact information of all authors. This word count limit is referred to all text, except the following parts:

  • The ACM copyright block (found only in the LaTeX template)
  • The contents of the section “ACM Reference Format” (found only in the LaTeX template)
  • Text included in tables, figures and their captions
  • The reference list
  • Authors Info

Please ensure that you use the right templates available from the ACM; a single column format must be used for the reviewing phase. Word authors should use the single column Word Submission Format. In the LaTeX format, use \documentclass[manuscript,review]{acmart}. Use of different templates or formats may result in a desk reject.

We highly encourage authors to prepare accessible submissions. Please check out this guide to get more information on how to make your submissions more accessible. If you have any questions, please contact our accessibility chairs at accessibility@imx.acm.org.

Authorship

Text generated from a large-scale language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT must be clearly marked where such tools are used for purposes beyond editing the author’s own text. While we will not be using tools to detect LLM-generated text, we will investigate submissions brought to our attention and will desk reject papers where LLM use is not clearly marked. You may also read the SIGCHI blog post on the topic.

Review process

Your submissions will be reviewed by a panel in a non-blind manner based on originality, creativity, impact, relevance to the topics of IMX and the quality of presentation. The review process will strive to select papers that present novel ideas and approaches, with the potential to spark discussions and interactions at the conference.

At the conference

To maximize the visibility of your work, accepted submissions will be presented as:

  1. a short 1-minute live pitch of the paper ahead of the poster session
    AND
  2. a poster (details on the specifications coming soon)

Authors of accepted papers must give an oral presentation of their work at the conference in person in Athlone. Authors of accepted contributions will receive the indications of how to present their work at the conference. At least one author must register to attend the conference to give this presentation.

After the conference

Work-in-Progress papers will be published in the main conference proceedings, indexed in the ACM Digital Library.

ACM's Publication Policy

Important update on ACMs new open access publishing model for 2026 ACM Conferences!

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.

Work in Progress Chairs

For further details on scope, submission route or any other issues, please get in touch with the Work-in-Progress Chairs at: wip@imx.acm.org. 

Toinon Vigier

Nantes Université

Ibrahim el Shemy

Norwegian University of Science & Technology