Touch - Ivan Isakov & Yulia Sion

Join Sight and VR Expert Samantha Wolfe as she interviews Dana Ware, Chief Creative Officer at ARound. In this interview, they discuss Dana's background in AR & VR and how she has been able to connect her work to the entertainment industry.  Dana Ware is a creative innovator and leader in immersive technologies, blending her expertise in augmented and virtual reality with a passion for diversity and inclusion. As Chair of Women in Games+ IGDA SIG, Dana champions opportunities for underrepresented groups in gaming and tech. She is currently the Chief Creative Officer of ARound and an Advisor for The VOID. Spearheading cutting-edge projects that merge storytelling and technology, including partnerships with leagues, theme parks, and major global brands. An advisor for GDC’s Future Realities Summit and The Webby Awards, Dana also developed Utah's first Immersive Technology class at the University of Utah. A UCLA graduate and member of the Producers Guild of America and TV Academy, she continues to influence the entertainment and technology industries with visionary leadership.

Join Smell Expert Sofia Ehrich as she interviews Emanuela Maggioni, CEO and CTO of OW Smell Made Digital. In this interview, they discuss Emanuela's background in smell research and how she has been able to adapt her research across multiple fields.  Emanuela has over 16 years of experience in research and consultancy related to smell, including working with Unilever, Benetton and IFF. With over 45 scientific publications and a PhD in Psychology of Smell Perception and Emotions, she is also a Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellow and Honorary Research Fellow at the UCL Department of Computer Science. Her work and research have led to two invitations to exhibit novel smell technology at the World Economic Forum.

Join Haptics Expert Yulia Sion as she interviews Marina Toeters, Co-Founder of the Fashion Tech Farm and Owner of by-wire.net. In this interview, they will discuss the accessibility of fashion and how her research has created new types of garments. Marina Toeters is a Red Dot winning Fashion Tech Designer. She operates on the cutting edge of technology and fashion design. Through her business by-wire.net she stimulates collaboration between the fashion industry and technical innovators for a relevant fashion system and supportive garments for everyday use. She advises on product development via prototyping and a research through design approach. She designs and develops concepts to inspire the world how fashion could be.As a teacher, coach and researcher, she works for the fashion department (HKU) and the industrial design department (TU/e). In 2019 Marina edited the book Unfolding Fashion Tech: Pioneers of Bright Futures and recently opened the Fashion Tech Farm, a studio, incubator and small-scale production facility for innovative fashion, based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.Check out more of her work below:www.by-wire.net www.fashiontechfarm.comwww.bilihome.org

Join Tyler Heaton as he interviews Tom Fritz, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. In this interview, they discuss the influence of sound in research techniques and how music of other cultures influences Tom's work. Prof Tom Fritz is leader of the work group "Music Evoked Brain Plasticity" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig and visiting professor for Empirical Music Research at the Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM) at the University of Gent. He has published a wealth of research interest about the psychology and brain physiology of music processing, and sports neuroscience. He is an internationally known specialist in musical immersion with novel types of musical interfaces, and founder of the Max Planck research spinoff JYMM. 

Join Haptics Expert Yulia Sion as she interviews Ivan Isakov, Co-founder and CTO of Valkyrie Industries. In this interview, they will discuss Ivan's background in haptics work and the groundbreaking studies of Valkyrie Industries.Dr Ivan Isakov is a creative technologist, mentor and speaker. In his company, Ivan develops advanced human-computer interaction systems based on muscle haptics and motion tracking, creates immersive applications and pushes forward the state-of-the-art of virtual reality. Ivan works with doctors, academics, artists, engineers and designers to make immersive technology valuable.

Join Haptics Expert Yulia Sion as she interviews Ali Israr, haptics scientist, engineer and architect. In this interview, they will discuss how haptics research has shaped Ali's career and how he has implemented this research into his newest venture. Ali Israr is an Engineer and a Researcher, expanding the utility of haptic IO technologies in both academics and industrial applications. With more than 20 years of experience, He has engineered core infrastructures, software tools and hardware technologies to build interactive immersive experiences for entertainment, assistive, educational, social, therapeutic, virtual and everyday settings. Ali also led the Haptics and Interactive Sensing team in Pico Lab, a R&D division of Bytedance focusing on AR and MR applications and products. Ali has also led a haptics research group in Meta 's (formerly, Facebook Inc., USA) Reality Labs and as an Imagineer in Disney Research, USA.  Ali received his PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, USA.

Join Sight and VR Expert Samantha Wolfe as she interviews Tupac Martir, Founder of Satore Studio.In this interview, they discuss how Tupac got his start in visual design and the groundbreaking work being done at Satore Studio. Tupac Martir is an awarded, multi-disciplinary, digital artist with a portfolio that ranges from lightning design to performative reality using ad-hoc, fast-forward technological solutions in music, theatre, fashion, opera and exhibitions.After decades exploring technology, science and art, Tupac's recent works have delved into LLM, VR and VP to expand and blend boundaries in entertainment, media, theatre and art with pioneer pieces such as “UNIQUE.” In lighting design, Tupac has recently been awarded with the Profile Awards in Outstanding Achievement in Innovation for his work in “Find your Eyes,” from the British choreo-photolist Benji Reid.

Join Smell Expert Sofia Ehrich as she interviews Keith Kelsen, CEO of Inhalió, Inc.  In this interview, they discuss Keith’s journey into scent technology and how Inhalió is driving the Digital Scent Transformation into Automotive and the Connected Home. Keith Kelsen, CEO Inhalio, Inc. is a digital media expert on content - Visual, Audio and Scent. Mr. Kelsen is a speaker, author, innovator, and c-level executive. He holds numerous patents and is considered a technology leader. His blog Keith Kelsen’s Scent Narrative https://inhalio.com/topics/blog/ (https://inhalio.com/topics/blog/) is a thought provoking, informative world view on scent and the possibilities.

Join Smell Expert Sofia Ehrich as she interviews Ashok Masilamani, Chief Technology Officer & Founder of Noze. In this interview, they discuss the groundbreaking technology Ashok is working on at Noze.   Ashok spearheads the technology and engineering teams at Noze, and leads the company’s efforts to revolutionize healthcare through the digital sense of smell. Since founding the company in 2014, Ashok has been instrumental in developing and securing patents for several groundbreaking inventions, including the world’s first aroma monitoring application and the first digital olfaction-powered product—an AI-driven Air Intelligence Device. With 12 years of experience as a deep-tech startup CTO and over 20 patent filings under his belt, Ashok continues to drive innovation and excellence in the field. Prior to this, Ashok worked as a deep tech CTO at Applied Nanotools where he orchestrated the development and shipment of cutting-edge products like X-ray lenses and Silicon Photonics chips. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta where he authored 25 publications after receiving his Master of Engineering from the National University of Singapore. His undergraduate work was completed at the Madras Institute of Technology in India.

Join Sight and VR Expert Samantha Wolfe as she interviews Michaela A. Ternasky-Holland, Emmy Award-Winning & Peabody Nominated Director. In this interview, they discuss Michaela’s work in immersive storytelling using technology. Michaela A. Ternasky-Holland is a Peabody-nominated and Emmy award-winning director who specializes in creating impactful stories using immersive and interactive technology. She is one of the first directors to create and premiere a short film utilizing Open AI’s SORA platform, which screened at Tribeca Festival 2024. As a nominee for the Producers Guild of America’s Innovation Award, she is also a consultant, speaker, and thought leader, who has been recognized as one of the 100 Original Voices of XR and listed as one of Blooloop’s 50 Immersive Influencers.