team

Alex has a background in mechanical engineering and brings a unique combination of experience in haptic device design, testing, and fabrication. He has spent the last 5 years as CEO of NewHaptics leading the team in the pursuit of the Holy Braille.

Sile is currently an Associate Professor of Information Science at University of Michigan with over 25 years of experience in designing and prototyping haptic and tactile interfaces. She is one of a very small number of blind researchers with deep experience in this field as a researcher and as an end-user of many of the electronic braille displays currently on the market.

Brent is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Michigan with nearly 30 years of experience as a researcher in the field of haptics, designing and developing tactile displays for a range of applications including telerobotics, automotive, and medical devices and accessible interfaces for blind computer users.

Thomas is Head of Product at NewHaptics, bringing with him over a decade of experience working with assistive technology. He has held several management positions including Worldwide Product Manager at ViewPlus Technologies, Director of Marketing at Irie-AT, and most recently VP of Marketing and Sales at HIMS, inc. Thomas oversees product development and commercialization at NewHaptics.

Collin has a background in electrical engineering with broad entrepreneurial experience in R&D, strategic planning, IP, and operational activities at various life-science start-ups. His past 22 years of experience include microfluidic subsystems in the semiconductor processing, histology, immunology, and clinical lab spaces. At NewHaptics, Collin assists with the development of several electro-pneumatic support technologies while also providing guidance to various aspects of the overall R&D effort.

Greg brings two years of hands-on experience to NewHaptics, where he focuses on hardware and its fabrication processes. Armed with a background in mechanical engineering, he spearheads the development and testing of the physical multiline braille device. His commitment lies in delivering innovative solutions that will bridge the accessibility gaps for users at an affordable price.

Derek began as an intern with a background in Electrical Engineering. Working closely with Alex, he initially focused on characterizing the behavior of the fluidic system and conducting in-house fabrication. Since transitioning to a full-time role, Derek has worked on the creation of internal test software, developed low-level control firmware, made a graphical desktop application for controlling and simulating the device, and created an onboard operating system with drivers to use screen reader software.

Hrishi has a background in Human-Computer Interaction and Mechatronics Engineering. He is a UX researcher with over 5 years of experience in the design of assistive technologies such as tactile graphics, refreshable braille displays, and screen reader scripts for educational contexts. At NewHaptics, Hrishi is responsible for shaping the interaction design and user experience of our new device.