CCC is happy to announce our sponsorship of another Blue Sky track. We’re supporting bold, out-of-the-box ideas at the 28th annual Association for Computing Machinery International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, taking place in Napoli, Italy in October 2026. Paper submissions are open until May 8, 2026. If you are interested in submitting a paper, please see the submission details below or check out the conference website for more information.
Call for Papers: ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction
Track: Blue Sky Ideas
Date: October 5-9, 2026
Location: Napoli, Italy
Website: https://icmi.acm.org/2026/call-for-papers-2/
Aims and Scope
The Blue Sky Ideas Track at the ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction seeks visionary contributions at the intersection of multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) and social interaction. This track encourages submissions that push the boundaries of conventional research, challenging existing methodologies, proposing novel theories or applications, and presenting high-risk, controversial ideas. Papers should exhibit deep, interdisciplinary insights, robust argumentation, and a synthesis of ideas from various methodologies.
This year’s theme is “Context and Cultural Awareness for Multimodal Interaction.” A unique aspect of ICMI is its multidisciplinary nature, bringing together research in AI, multimodal data processing, and human-human and human-computer interaction to bridge behavioural understanding with technology, with an eye towards impactful applications that benefit people and society.
Why Submit?
Shape bold, long-term research visions in multimodal AI and human-centered computing
Engage with leaders across the computing field
Gain recognition through CCC and ACM-sponsored awards
Submission Guidelines
Submissions must be no more than 4 pages, excluding references
Please use the double column ACM conference template
Author names and affiliations should be not included
Submit via: https://new.precisionconference.com/submissions/icmi26a
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2026
Notification of Acceptance: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Camera-Ready Papers: Friday, July 10, 2026
Presentation Dates: October 6-8, 2026
Publication Policies
As of January 1, 2026, ACM has fully transitioned 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.
Awards
The first, second, and third place winners will have the opportunity to present their papers at the conference and will be included in the proceedings. Travel grants will be awarded to support their travel to the conference. CCC sponsors awards to honor the first ($1,000), second ($750), and third ($500) place winners in the form of travel grants. In addition, we will further distribute and publicize the three Blue Sky award papers.
Questions?
Contact the organizers at: icmi2026-blueskypapers-chairs@acm.org
Blue Sky Paper Chairs:
Catherine Pelachaud (CNRS – ISIR, Sorbonne University)
Timothy Bickmore (Northeastern University)
