#50 Exploring the Future of Digital Interaction with Afference CEO Jacob Segil

Jake Rubin is the Founder & CEO at HaptX. HaptX invents and builds wearable technology that simulates touch with unprecedented realism, enabling natural haptic interaction in virtual reality and robotics. The multidisciplinary HaptX team includes mechanical, software, electrical, and biomedical engineers and human-machine interaction experts. We’re pioneering a new approach to haptics to crack the toughest problems in human-machine interaction. Their mission is to bring lifelike touch to digital experiences, and hope to one day make reality indesqutinsable from virtual. For more information about HaptX, visit their official website

Femke van Beek works as a postdoc with Irene Kuling, in the Dynamics and Control Group of the Department of Mechnical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Her current project is part of the 4TU Soft Robots Program, in which soft robots are developed by taking inspiration from nature, like octopus arms and elephant trunks. She uses these soft robots for creating haptic feedback, i.e. touch feedback, in Virtual Reality and tele-operation applications. By using these novel soft haptic feedback displays, she investigates which haptic stimuli are vital to unlock more intuitive interactions with simulated systems. Femke holds an MSc in sensory biology and biomechanics from Wageningen University, after which she changed her focus from animals to humans in her PhD. In her project, she worked on haptic perception for tele-operation applications, under the supervision of Astrid Kappers and Wouter Bergmann Tiest at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Next, she moved to Seattle for a postdoc at Oculus Research/Facebook Reality Labs, where she worked on using haptics together with visuals and sound to create tangible, interactable objects in Virtual and Augmented Reality. After 5 years of research in this industry setting, she returned to the Netherlands and to academia at the TU/e. For more information about Femke, visit the TU/E official website.

David Resnick is involved with The Walt Disney Company as a Senior Product Design Manager, focusing on Interactive & Gaming for Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+. He is a multisensory creator, involved in developing and creating immersive, interactive and engaging products for a broad audience across Disney’s streaming platforms. David is also a Mentor, Speaker, and Workshop Leader specializing in Human-Computer Interaction, Design Thinking, and Empathy through Technology, including at various institutions including UC Irvine, UCLA, TEDxCulverCity, and the National Stuttering Association. To learn more about David, visit his Linkedin.

Tune in as we interview David Parisi, Dibner Chair at NYU Tandon, the Editor at ROMchip Journal, and author of renowned haptics book "Archaeologies of Touch: Interfacing with Haptics from Electricity to Computing." In this episode we talk about the current state of haptics in academia, and David's latest theory - technohaptic real. As one of the most outspoken experts in the industry, you won't want to miss this. Learn more about David at https://engineering.nyu.edu/faculty/david-parisi

Guess who's back? Simon Frübis returns, this time to discuss his work as an XR interaction designer at Doublepoint (formerly known as Port 6). Doublepoint is recognized for its WowMouse app, which is now compatible with Google Pixel Watch 2. Simon has over six years of expertise in interaction design, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship, coupled with more than three years of experience as a VR/AR prototyper utilizing MRTK, Interaction SDK, and Unity.  Join us for an insightful interview with Simon as we explore the latest advancements in UX and interactive technology, as well as the future landscape of wearables and haptics. For more information about Simon and Doublepoint, visit their website at https://www.doublepoint.com.

Shan-Yuan Teng 鄧善元, a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Chicago under Prof. Pedro Lopes, focuses on developing the next generation of haptic interfaces for enhanced mobility and availability, similar to mobile phones and wearables. With 14 papers published in top HCI conferences like ACM CHI & UIST, including two Best Paper Awards and four Honorable Mentions, Shan-Yuan's contributions are notable in the field. This interview with Shan-Yuan will discuss his innovative projects, including the collection of kinetic energy from VR users and the development of a foldable haptic actuator, along with his perspectives on the evolution of haptic technology. For additional information about Shan-Yuan, visit their website at https://tengshanyuan.info.

\Tune in as we interview Philipp Sachs, COO of Xeeltech. XeelTech is a company that focuses on the development of haptic and adaptive damping technologies. The company offers smart rotary haptic actuators with programmable feedback, designed to enhance user interaction with products, and adaptive damping systems. This interview with Philipp Sachs will provide insights into XeelTech's vision for the future of haptic technology and its role as a founding member of the Haptics Alliance. For additional information about XeelTech, visit their website at https://www.xeeltech.com/hapticore

Join Haptics Club for a live session featuring Jacob Segil, CEO of Afference. Afference specializes in the development of The Phantom, a haptic glove designed to deliver feedback with precise finger-level detail through direct interaction with the nervous system. Founded by neural engineering specialists, the company draws upon a wealth of research in neural interfaces to enhance digital interaction experiences. This interview with CEO Jacob Segil will offer a deeper understanding of Afference's technology and its innovative contributions to the field. For additional information about Afference, visit their website at https://www.afference.io/.

Manuel has developed haptic technologies for the medical, automotive, gaming, XR, and mobility industries. His work has led him to be named as an inventor in over 250 US granted and pending patents in the areas of sensing, actuation, and control. Manu works at Innovobot Labs as Chief Scientist, responsible for developing their Human Machine Interface (HMI) Lab, and was recently announced as the new President of The Haptics Industry Forum. For more information visit the Innovobot website.

Haptics Club is joined live with Craig Shultz and Joe Mullenbach of Fluid Reality, which recently showed its electroosmotic device that uses an electric field to create feedback. Craig is co-founder and CTO of Fluid Reality, a spinout commercializing his post doctoral work at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in the Future Interfaces Group. He's the inventor of Flat Panel Haptics and specializes in interactive embedded systems and haptic actuation. CEO of Fluid Reality Joe Mullenbach discusses how Fluid Reality created a miniature actuation platform that brings the power and flexibility of hydraulics to human scale devices. Contact info https://fluidreality.com - contact form at the bottom https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmullenbach/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigdshultz/ Articles https://www.fastcompany.com/90978057/this-groundbreaking-tech-could-finally-bring-a-sense-of-touch-to-virtual-reality https://www.popsci.com/technology/fluid-reality-haptic-glove/ https://gizmodo.com/carnegie-mellon-touchscreen-pop-up-buttons-1850377517