Hardware is hard - is it worth it?

Within the field of technical human-computer interaction (HCI), there is a community of researchers who innovate in hardware: they build new device form factors, experiment with sensing, actuation and displays, and they deploy and study novel devices. Their work underpins many new and inclusive user experiences. A common perspective is that developing hardware is hard, especially in comparison to purely software-based activities. It typically involves a multitude of disciplines in addition to software, likely relies on third parties such as parts suppliers and manufacturing partners, has inherent delays that stifle agility, and it costs more. Is hardware really 'harder' though? And if it is, is innovation in hardware a worthwhile endeavor for the HCI community? This panel will discuss these topics with the aim of giving attendees a deeper understanding of the difficulties and benefits of hardware research in an HCI context.