Local Start-Up Novasentis is Leading the World into the Neo-Sensory Age through Haptics
Welcome to the neo-sensory age, a time in the history of humanity when innovative material dynamics will allow for expansion of man-machine interactions. It’s the result of haptics, the science of touch, and leading the charge is Novasentis, a company created in Innovation Park at Penn State, with offices in California, Japan, and Korea.
Haptics, as developed by Novasentis, is opening the world to the wonders of an incredible new electro-active polymer film that will literally transform industries like consumer electronics, medical devices and wearables.
The EMP -- electro mechanical polymer -- is the creation of Penn State professor Dr. Qiming Zhang. In 2006, Zhang’s research and discoveries became the basis for Novasentis. Bringing the technology to market required the skills and knowledge of a business leader, someone with vision and an understanding of risk. Enter Ralph Russo, long-time leader at Apple Corporation who had a distinguished 14-year career working with Steve Jobs.
“I worked my butt off and got along very well with Jobs,” Russo said. “I tried retiring in 2000, but it didn’t work out. I missed the action of the business world.”
To feed his need for “action,” Russo spoke to friends and colleagues about a variety of opportunities. He made a few angel investments before receiving a call from a friend who told him about Dr. Zhang’s work. “Dr. Zhang had created a polymer film that can hold ten times more energy that the nearest competitive film,” explained Russo. “It occurred to me that it might be a good investment.”
It took some time, but the Penn State intellectual property team, along with its technology transfer office, convinced Russo to get involved with the creation of a company called Strategic Polymer Sciences, later changed to Novasentis.
“I knew it was going to require a lot of time and money,” Russo said. “But we received a great deal of help from connections that were available through Innovation Park. We started working in Dr. Zhang’s lab as I raised capital.”
It didn’t take Russo long to see the many advantages of working in an environment like Innovation Park with ties one of the world’s top research universities and connections to the local tech and business community.
“I saw that I could get incredible technology for half the price of Silicon Valley,” he noted. So he left San Jose for Happy Valley
“Being at Innovation Park and working with their staff made it easy for me. They provided help in securing space, and in receiving a grant from Ben Franklin Technology Partners and the Life Science Greenhouse of Central PA. I am still here two weeks a month.”
Russo said that the company went through $10 million dollars to ensure that the new film would work. Now it has major investors including General Motors, Samsung, Chengwei Ventures from Shanghai and Penn State’s Research Foundation.
Major growth is predicted for haptics. “It’s a multi-billion dollar market, north of $15 billion. It’s used in smart phones, computers, keyboards, and tablets. It can also be valuable technology for medical devices. We have a keyboard that’s only a few microns thick. We are dealing right now with just about every computer and tablet company. We're putting energy into products the world has never seen before. It’s very exciting to be creating something new. That’s one thing I learned from Steve Jobs. He told me ‘If you don’t want to change the world, don’t join us.’ That appealed to me from the get go,” Russo said.
Novasentis is, in fact, changing the world. “We have trade secrets that would take would take years for a competitor to recreate,” Russo stated. By working at Penn State with Dr. Zhang, the company has had access to multi-million dollar labs. “They have every type of instrument. Without that assistance, this company never would have happened. Penn State has the brain power in the electro-mechanical engineering to help us. At Innovation Park, everything is at our fingertips. And, we are still able to be well-connected to Silicon Valley.”
In 2012, Novasentis welcomed Dr. Christophe Ramstein as its new President and CEO. Ramstein is a renowned expert in haptic and sensory technologies. He has spent his career developing and bringing to market technologies that improve device design and humanize user experiences. He was the Chief Technology Officer for Immersion Corporation.
“Ralph called to tell me about this really cool technology. He said ‘We want to take this to market.’ That was a very happy call. I was ready for something new. And there are not many people on the planet like Ralph Russo. It was a great coincidence that I was available,” Ramstein said.
Ramstein explained that Novasentis is not a software company. Rather, it is a company that creates components that are integrated into other companies’ products.
“Right now, the market does not know what it does not know,” said Ramstein. “So we are evangelizing, educating the market. This is tricky and requires a lot of connecting.”
When he came on board, Ramstein immediately set about securing patents. Now, Novasentis has 30 patents. “We want to protect our intellectual property,” he noted.
Like Russo, Ramstein notes the benefits of locating in Innovation Park.
“There is a great synergy with the people at Innovation Park,” he offered. “And Ben Franklin Technology Partners and the Life Science Greenhouse felt it was the right time to help us.”
Russo agrees. “Being here in Innovation Park we have access to the best and the brightest. Our turnover in State College is near zero.
“Material science is black magic to me,” Russo quipped. “The people at Penn State considered me a real live entrepreneur. I am glad they called.”
About Novasentis
As creators of the world’s thinnest haptic actuator and sensor technology, Novasentis (formerly Strategic Polymer Sciences, Inc,) is poised to usher in a new age for the consumer electronics world: the Neo-Sensory Age. Novasentis’ EMP technology is making history by expanding the sensory interactions of life. Through miniaturization and innovative material dynamics we are expanding and redefining the boundaries of man-machine interaction. In meeting the growing demand for lighter, thinner, smaller and more flexible devices, our ultra-thin, multi-functional materials will be able to transform digital information into 4D, spatial, and tactile experiences.
The company was founded in 2006 as the brainchild of entrepreneur and former Apple Corporation (NASDAQ: AAPL) executive Ralph Russo, and globally recognized researcher and inventor of EMP technology Dr. Qiming Zhang. The company spent six years researching and developing EMPs as the most advanced and innovative platform technology of its kind.
In 2012, experienced entrepreneur and recognized haptic leader Dr. Christophe Ramstein, from Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ: IMMR), joined as President and CEO. Almost immediately, Christophe and his team created the breakthrough vision for the neo-sensory age and created innovative product concepts demonstrating the novel use of EMP technology in consumer devices. Mass production is underway.
Today, Novasentis is experiencing steady global growth in four locations - California, Pennsylvania, Japan and Korea. The company has undergone multiple successful funding rounds and is looking toward continued expansion. The mission and vision of Novasentis is to shape the Neo-Sensory Age and to empower people to have a deeper physical and emotional connection to the world through their devices.