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The 2022 agenda has been released! Join Google, Meta, Woven Planet, Grewus, Boréas Technologies, FundamentalVR, Sensoria Health, Ultraleap, Elitac Wearables, PSYONIC, InterDigital, and many more this December 7-8 in Seattle, WA as they present leading insights into the evolving haptics industry.
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Smart Haptics is a technical conference focused on the commercialization of haptic technology. This year’s event will explore how haptic technologies are changing the ways in which we interpret and interact with our world – and each other.
Since 2017 Smart Haptics has provided this growing industry with a forum dedicated to exploring the future of haptic technology. This conference encourages important conversations about emerging applications, innovative ideas, and opportunities for collaboration across the supply chain. Presentations are designed to engage and inform the haptics industry through case studies and panel discussions that provide the opportunity for attendees to both experience and explore the latest technologies and emerging applications.
Simon Chaput is the founder and President of Boréas Technologies Inc., a company developing novel miniature low-power piezoelectric actuator drivers for the haptic market based on its proprietary CapDriveTM technology. CapDriveTM was invented by Mr. Chaput during his Ph.D. at Harvard University. Over the years, Boréas Technologies built an internal team of mechanical engineers to develop novel system integration solutions for piezo actuators. In 2019, Boréas Technologies introduced SmartClik, a buttonless concept phone. In 2021, Boréas released the Boréas Piezo Haptic Engine and NexusTouchTM. Mr. Chaput holds a B.Eng (2011) and an M.A.Sc. (2013) from Université de Sherbrooke.
Jas Brooks (they/them) is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the University of Chicago. Their research expands the computer interface to engage with the chemical interactions of our bodies and investigates what this paradigm enables. These chemical interfaces have given rise to new I/O methods (e.g., low-power thermal/tactile experiences and stereo-smell) and are uniquely situated to help with smell and taste disorders. Jas has published work at top Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) venues, including ACM CHI and UIST, of which 2 received Best Paper Awards. Their work has also been awarded an Honorable Mention in the Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards for Experimental Design and covered in media publications like WIRED, Fast Company, Digital Trends, and IEEE Spectrum. Jas is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a UChicago Media Arts, Data, and Design Graduate Fellow.
During their free time, Jas documents the history of scent technologies and media. They are currently revisiting the story of Behind the Great Wall in AromaRama, conserving the last known Smell-O-Vision system and Scent of Mystery fragrance from 1960, and interviewing stakeholders from companies like DigiScents, Inc. Their curatorial work has been recognized internationally.
Vicky Smalley has extensive experience working with AI and a passion for big data, working at companies including Sony, Climax, Kuato Studios and If You Can.
She started her career specializing in Artificial Intelligence for PC and Console titles and in 2011 took a change in direction, switching platform to mobile and focusing on the educational sector.
She is a strong technical lead with a history of managing teams who can deliver complex products to ambitious timescales while maintaining high production values. She is passionate about using cutting edge VR and haptic technology to deliver immersive training that will improve surgical outcomes.
Richard has 20+ years’ experience of building international businesses and has throughout his career sought opportunities for positive market disruption through technological application.
It was this desire that led him to co-found FundamentalVR to help address an age-old problem for the medical market; how to create safe, realistic, measurable spaces to learn and develop skills.
In his role as CEO Richard is responsible for building a world class team of medical, learning and technologist who together can realise the company’s ambition of creating the world’s first global, haptically enabled, low cost ‘flight simulator for surgeons’.
Peter Cooney is the founder of SAR Insight & Consulting. Peter has been tracking, analysing and commenting on technology markets for over 15 years. In that time he has headed practices at a number of leading analyst firms, managing teams of analysts across the world.
Peter has covered a diverse range of markets including audio & voice technologies, MEMS sensors, microprocessors, haptics, and wireless connectivity ICs.
Peter has been widely quoted in the press and has serviced a wide range of clients including most of the top 20 largest semiconductor companies and many others, including numerous citations in client press releases as an industry expert.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Sheffield, his intial career was as a process engineer, responsible for the CVD process for production of DRAM for a major electronics company.
Nicholas Colonnese is a Research Science Manager at Facebook Reality Labs Research, working on novel interfaces for mixed reality. He leads a multi-disciplinary team which includes researchers with expertise in haptics, soft robotics, computer vision, machine learning, estimation, optimization, and functional garments and textiles. His research interests center on how the intersection of a broad range of academic disciplines: from haptics, to sensor fusion, to human computer interaction paradigm design, can define and then improve mixed reality interaction in the coming revolution of augmented and virtual reality. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
Bio Coming Soon
Nicholas Colonnese is a Research Science Manager at Facebook Reality Labs Research, working on novel interfaces for mixed reality. He leads a multi-disciplinary team which includes researchers with expertise in haptics, soft robotics, computer vision, machine learning, estimation, optimization, and functional garments and textiles. His research interests center on how the intersection of a broad range of academic disciplines: from haptics, to sensor fusion, to human computer interaction paradigm design, can define and then improve mixed reality interaction in the coming revolution of augmented and virtual reality. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
My bio: Hong Z. Tan is an educator, scientist, technologist, and entrepreneur. She is best known for her research on haptics psychophysics, taking a perception-based approach to developing haptic interfaces. Throughout her academic career, Hong has kept a close tie with industry through her consulting activities, a four-year stint at Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing, and currently as a lead haptics scientist at Google. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for her contributions to wearable haptics.
Hong received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After two years as a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab, she joined the faculty in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University in 1998. She holds concurrent courtesy appointments in the School of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University.
Eric is a haptics enthusiast breaking the barriers for haptics to scale.
Eric designed the haptics architecture of Interhaptics, lead a team of engineers and marketing colleagues to the launch of the Haptics Composer: the first multiplatform Haptics Design tool on the market.
He co-founded Go Touch VR exploring skin indentation technologies for haptics applications in VR. Go Touch VR raised 2 m $ to create new technologies for XR.
Eric was the CTO of Hap2u in charge of the software team designing the rendering stack to drive surface haptics technologies at full capabilities. Hap2U raised 6 m $ from Daimler and it is going to revolution mobile haptics as we know it.
He published 20 + scientific papers on haptics and human-machine interactions and deposed 5 patents on haptics technologies and applications.
Since 2007, Stella has been working as a development engineer at BMW, with a focus on haptics and future interior concepts.
J. Edward Colgate received a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering in 1988 from M.I.T. He subsequently joined Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he is currently the Allen and Johnnie Breed University Design Professor and a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Colgate's principal research interests are haptic interfaces and human-robot interaction. He and collaborator Michael Peshkin are the inventors of a class of collaborative robots known as “cobots” and a suite of technologies for bringing programmable haptic feedback to touch screens. Dr. Colgate was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Haptics. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and the National Academy of Inventors, and a member of the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Dr. Colgate was one of the founding co-directors of the Segal Design Institute at Northwestern University where he directed the Master of Science in Engineering Design and Innovation, which combines graduate-level engineering courses with a broad exposure to human-centered design. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Colgate has founded three startup companies the most recent of which, Tanvas Inc., is commercializing innovative surface haptics technologies.
