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Work
Team HART
innovation Space
Provime
Work
Why
Since the age of sixteen, I became increasingly more interested in how we perceive our reality and how technology could possibly expand our perception. So when Victor Brouwers approached me in July of 2020, asking whether I would want to join a new project related to human augmentation and sensory substitution, I did not hesitate for a second to come on board.
Snakes can see in infrared. Pigeons can sense magnetic waves. Dogs can smell a thousand times better than humans can. What if we could too? Why are we limited by the senses that we have? This simple reasoning became the foundation of HART's goal: to expand human perception.
What
We have developed four iterations of our haptic sleeve prototype. This prototype has 24 integrated vibrational motors that can vibrate in a practically unlimited amount of patterns. These patterns can be learned and understood by the human brain, given enough time and practice.
This has already allowed us to convert language into vibrational patterns - thus enabling people to feel language. Imagine the possible applications for the hearing impaired, for example. And language is merely one form of data stream, in theory any data can be communicated through this sleeve.
Highlights
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The experience of founding a student team
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Being the first person to test the first prototype
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Winning the TU/e Contest 2021
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Witnessing the media outburst in November 2021
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Presenting at the Philips Innovation Award 2022
Original six founders
Team picture
Original six founders
Learning points
My experience at team HART has shown me and involved me in the multi-disciplinary process of realizing a prototype that is at a state-of-the-art level of quality and innovation, where I was mostly involved in aesthetics, early-stage electronics, and production design.
Co-founding Team HART showed me all the things I had done wrong when founding Provime. Instead, I was part of a structured approach to defining a vision, working in a team, and undergoing growth. I took a leading role in building the business side of the team which offered me the opportunity to learn how to build partners.
My favorite lesson has been to witness how seemingly small beginnings can become a seed for big achievements later down the road. To see where HART is today and where it is going, and to have been part of that journey from the beginning, has been nothing but an honor.
Why
innovation Space is part of the Eindhoven University and is arguably one of the coolest places on campus. It is the place where any student of the university can go to receive support and access to resources to further develop their idea. It offers challenge-based learning courses, includes different types of work and meeting spaces, and hosts dozens of innovative student teams.
Being part of an organization that actively tries to innovate our form of education and meeting the talented community within were the foremost reasons for joining innovation Space.
What
Starting in November 2019 as a student assistant in Community & Communications, I was co-responsible for pushing out all that was happening in innoSpace through its existing channels and for building a sense of community among students, staff, teachers, and experts (event organization, workshops, etc.). At first, I did the execution of tasks, but later I took on more responsibilities like chairing company-wide meetings and setting up new projects.
Highlights
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Being the youngest employee
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Organizing multiple community events
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Winning the Higher Education Award 2021
Learning points
Working at innovation Space had a big effect on my work ethic. It was the right type of organization and environment for me to learn the fundamentals of planning, communication, responsibility, leadership, and teamwork. My role as a graphic designer for promotional materials gave me hands-on practice with Adobe Illustrator and other graphic design tools.
And I got to witness and learn from students far more experienced than myself in their approach to engineering, design, and innovation.