Improving Human Connection Using MEMS Sensors
ABSTRACT
Loneliness is one of the greatest life hazards of our time. With over two billion people world-wide feeling disconnected from others, there is a need for new technologies and products to provide the sense of presence and connectedness across distance and time. Emerge, a startup consumer electronics company, is solving this problem by building a multi-sensory communication platform powered by next-generation sensors and immersive technologies that will enable digital communication of sight, sound, touch and brain activity, providing human presence when physically separated by distance and time.
This presentation will focus on the first step of this journey - the creation of digital touch. Emerge has developed the Wave-1, a product that creates mid-air touch using ultrasonic force fields, enabling immersive tactile experiences in virtual reality (VR). The presentation will describe the methods for creating tactility using air-borne ultrasound and the design challenges for MEMS ultrasonic emitters and phased arrays which are at the core of the product. Finally, a glimpse into the future of sensor development to improve human connection will be provided.
BIOGRAPHY
Jamie is Chief Technology Officer of Emerge, a consumer technology company based in Los Angeles that is developing a multi-sensory communication platform to bridge distance and time. Prior to Emerge, he has held executive and leadership roles in medical device, consumer electronics and aerospace companies, and is a former startup founder. Jamie earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from the University of Rochester.