- Keith Kirkland, Co-Founder,
Head of Sales + Haptics - wear.works, @WearWorksInc
- Founded 2015
- SOSV, URBAN-X
Profile 37 : WearWORKS
About
Based in New York, WearWorks is a haptics design company that designs products and experiences that deliver information through touch and vibration.
Their first product is a wearable haptic navigation device for the blind and visually impaired called WAYBAND. It guides users to an end-destination using only vibration. WAYBAND lets its users gain a sense of autonomy to explore new and unfamiliar environments. Milestones for the company include: enabling a blind runner to complete the New York City Marathon and being a Fast Company Innovation by Design – Social Good finalist.
Founder Story Nugget
“Me and my two co-founders, we all walked into this [company] through different doors. My personal door was…I basically spent the previous year of my life trying to build this suit that you can download Kung fu into. And then the suit would teach you using vibration. So that was the door that showed me the opportunity of what haptics could do
…And so we realized we needed a language to communicate information through touch…that’s when we all came together and said, ok, let’s build out this product and let’s start it in a much simpler form of movement – navigation…”
~ from ZDNet Interview, by Tanya Hall, August 2019