Voler Systems Presents:
"Beyond the Click:
Perception-Based Haptics for the Next Generation of HMI"


YOU'RE INVITED!

Wednesday, June 10th, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Pacific Time/3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern Time

Online Webinar

 

Details:

Haptics is often treated as a simple confirmation mechanism: a click, a buzz, or a short vibration. But touch has the potential to communicate far more. From tactile speech systems to emerging platform-level haptic APIs, new approaches are showing how haptics can become a richer and more meaningful layer of human-machine interaction.

In this webinar, we will explore how perception-based haptic design can move interfaces beyond basic click effects toward feedback that is more expressive, scalable, and useful across devices. The discussion will cover why haptics remains under-utilized in HMI, what human perception teaches us about designing effective tactile feedback, and how advances in platform-level tools may enable more consistent and meaningful haptic experiences.

The session will also look ahead to applications where touch feedback may play an increasingly important role, including wearables, accessibility, medical devices, teleoperation, surgical robotics, industrial systems, and human interaction with physical AI.

 

Speakers:

  • Manuel Cruz, Operating Partner, Chief Scientist and Head of HMI Lab - Innovobot Labs
Manuel Cruz Headshot

Manuel Cruz is the Chief Scientist and Head of the Human Machine Interface Laboratory (HMI) at Innovobot Labs. He was also the president of the Haptics Industry Forum a not-for-profit organization to create and streamline haptics standards and adoption. As a pioneer of haptics, he helped develop some of the earliest haptic feedback technology for cell phones, medical, automotive, gaming, XR and mobility products. He is a prolific inventor named in over 250 US granted and pending patents in the areas of sensing, actuation, and control.

Innovobot-logo horizontal-1-1

  • Gnyanesh (Nesh) Gandhe, Senior Human Factors Engineer - Microsoft
Nesh Headshot

Gnyanesh (Nesh) Gandhe is a member of the Human Factors team at Microsoft, where he focuses on the research, design, and implementation of multi-modal experiences across Microsoft Surface, Xbox, and Mixed Reality. He is driven by a goal to augment visually dominant user interfaces with multi-modal feedback, enabling more confident and inclusive user experiences. Outside of work, Nesh enjoys watching soccer and cooking dishes from cuisines around the world. 

Microsoft Logo

  • Hong Z. Tan, Lead Haptics Scientist - Google, Android & Pixel

Hong Z Tan Headshot

Hong Z. Tan is an educator, scientist, technologist, and entrepreneur best known for her research on haptics psychophysics, taking a perception-based approach to developing haptic interfaces. She holds degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, and joined the faculty at Purdue University's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1998, with concurrent appointments in Mechanical Engineering and Psychological Sciences. A Fellow of the IEEE for her contributions to wearable haptics, she has maintained close industry ties throughout her career - including a four-year tenure at Microsoft Research Asia - and currently serves as a Lead Haptics Scientist at Google. With over 30 years of haptics R&D experience, she has led million-dollar collaborative projects delivering end-to-end solutions, including the TActile Phonemic Sleeve (TAPS), a forearm-worn tactile speech communication system capable of encoding up to 500 English words, and has trained leading haptic designers in the science and art of creating meaningful vibrotactile patterns for consumer products.
  
 

 

Please join Voler Systems at this insightful session on June 10th, 2026. 

Sign Up

Email: info@volersystems.com | 408.245.9844 | Privacy Policy
1021 S. Wolfe Rd, Suite 285 Sunnyvale, CA 94086

© 2026 Innovobot US Labs, doing business as Voler Systems