Hello! I am an Industrial Designer and Design Engineer specializing in interactive technology, environments, and experience design. I bring a design mindset and technical experience to multidisciplinary teams, telling stories with tangible electronics and delivering amazing user experiences. I’m currently based in Seattle, WA.
My past work includes haptic wearables and experiences at Disney Research, collaborating with space artists at the MoonArts Group, and developing new haptic experiences for AR/VR at PICO XR. My design and research interests include wearable devices, haptics, intelligent products, and multi-sensory entertainment technology.
EDUCATION
University of Colorado Boulder, Class of 2022
Master of Science in Creative Technology & Design
Boulder, Colorado USA
Carnegie Mellon University, Class of 2016
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
EXPERIENCE
Hardware Prototyper - PICO XR
July 2022 - December 2023 ; Seattle WA
Advanced development of novel haptics, sensing, and wearable technologies for AR & VR products.
Solved packaging, UX, human factors, and usability challenges.
Owned Industrial Design for several internal projects, including VR accessories, wearables, and AR prototypes.
Categorized and tested haptic actuators and other components.
Designed haptic media/effects, storyboards, interaction roadmaps.
Instructor - University of Colorado Boulder
January 2022 - June 2022 ; Boulder, CO
Taught university students Industrial Design and Engineering fundamentals, helping them develop CAD-based creative and technical workflows.
Research Assistant - University of Colorado Boulder
June 2021 - Present ; Boulder, CO
Helped design and engineer tangible experiences and haptic devices that enable multi-sensory remote communication in the Transformative Human Interfaces for the Next Generation (THING) Lab, directed by Daniel Leithinger.
Telepresence, Tangible Interaction, Haptics, Wearables.
Design Engineer - Amuneal Manufacturing Corporation
March 2017 - May 2020 ; Philadelphia, PA
Hybrid Industrial Design & Engineering Role. Designed architectural features for high end retail, hospitality, and residential spaces.
Performed site visits, meeting with clients and contractors, survey site conditions, supervise fabrication and installation.
Developed CAD models and drawing packages for manufacturing, proactively refined packages to meet manufacturing challenges.
Notable projects include The Empire State Building lobby, Ford Foundation restoration, MoMA renovation in New York.
Guest Lecturer - Avans University of Applied Sciences
February 2016 ; Breda, The Netherlands
Lectured students on emerging technology, haptics, and design. Presented attendees with a design workshop following the presentation.
Lab Associate - The Walt Disney Company, Disney Research Pittsburgh
June 2015 - July 2016 ; Pittsburgh, PA
Responsible for Industrial Design of wearables, games, and furniture with embedded haptic technology for touch-based VR & AR applications.
Designed haptic prototypes for user testing and data collection.
Co-Authored research papers, conference workshops, and patent applications which presented novel haptic technology in media,
entertainment and accessibility.
Assisted the design, fabrication, and testing of a diagnostic maintenance prototype for a new Disney Theme Park attraction.
Industrial Designer - Moon Arts Group
May 2014 - August 2016 ; Pittsburgh, PA
Supported principal designers and artists by modeling 3D and 2D prototypes for internal design review, fabrication, and press releases.
Involved with weekly design reviews, brainstorming sessions, conference calls, and outside presentations.
Researched various fabrication techniques and processes to determine their usefulness to the project.
Sketched, fabricated prototypes, & developed technical drawings to visualize design intent and further the project narrative.
Teaching Assistant, 51-434, Experimental Form - Carnegie Mellon University, School of Design
January 2016 - May 2016 ; Pittsburgh, PA
Provided teaching support for this advanced Industrial Design course, where students were challenged to design and fabricate beautifully crafted, highly interactive objects - Many assignments involving embedded electronics.
Assisted with Arduino troubleshooting and mentored students on an individual basis.
PATENTS
Haptic Effect Generation System
Granted - May 21, 2019; US 10,297,120
Inventors: Ali Israr (Monroeville, PA), Adam A. Fritz (Valencia, CA), Zachary T. Schwemler (Philadelphia, PA), Siyan Zhao (Pittsburgh, PA)
Dynamic Haptic Effects Generator
Granted - August 20, 2019; US 10,386,928
Inventors: Israr; Ali (Monroeville, PA), Hanamitsu; Nobuhisa (Kanagawa, JP), Schwemler; Zachary T. (Philadelphia, PA), Batts; Zachary T. (Pittsburgh, PA)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & CONFERENCES
Stereohaptics: A Haptic Interaction Toolkit For Tangible Virtual Experiences*
Conference Paper; HCI International Studio. Orlando, FL / July 26 - 31, 2019
Israr, Ali & Zhao, Siyan & Schwemler, Zachary & Fritz, Adam. (2019). Stereohaptics Toolkit for Dynamic Tactile Experiences. ISBN 978-3-030-22648-0 *BEST PAPER AWARD: Human Interface and the Management of Information Thematic Area
VR360HD: a VR360o Player With Advanced Haptic Feedback Conference Paper; The 22nd ACM Conference. Munich, DE / November 02 - 04, 2016
Israr, Ali & Schwemler, Zachary & Mars, John & Krainer, Brian. (2016). VR360HD: a VR360° player with enhanced haptic feedback. 183-186. 10.1145/2993369.2993404.
Stereohaptics: A Haptic Interaction Toolkit For Tangible Virtual Experiences Conference Paper; ACM SIGGRAPH 2016 Studio. Anaheim, CA / July 24 - 28, 2016
Israr, Ali & Zhao, Siyan & McIntosh, Kyna & Schwemler, Zachary & Fritz, Adam & Mars, John & Bedford, Job & Frisson, Christian & Huerta, Ivan & Kosek, Maggie & Koniaris, Charalampos & Mitchell, Kenny. (2016). Stereohaptics: a haptic interaction toolkit for tangible virtual experiences. 1-57. 10.1145/2929484.2970273.
Stereo Haptics: Designing Haptic Interactions Using Audio Tools
Conference Paper; TEI ‘16: Tenth International Conference. Eindhoven, NL / February 14 - 17, 2016
Zhao, Siyan & Schwemler, Zachary & Fritz, Adam & Israr, Ali. (2016). Stereo Haptics: Designing Haptic Interactions using Audio Tools. 778-781. 10.1145/2839462.2854120.
Po2: Augmented Haptics For Interactive Gameplay
Conference Paper; ACM SIGGRAPH 2015 Emerging Technologies. Los Angeles, CA / August 9 - 13, 2015
Israr, Ali & Zhao, Siyan & McIntosh, Kyna & Kang, JaeKyun & Schwemler, Zachary & Brockmeyer, Eric & Baskinger, Mark & Mahler, Moshe. (2015). Po2: augmented haptics for interactive gameplay. 21. 10.1145/2782782.2792489.
SKILLS
Software
Gravity Sketch VR Modeling, Procreate Digital Drawing, Wacom Cintiq Digital Drawing, Solidworks, Audodesk Fusion 360, SolidEdge ST10, Adobe Creative Suite, Epicor PLM Software, Microsoft Office, Javascript.
Physical Prototyping & Manufacturing
Project Management, Detailed Fabrication Drawing Packages Design of Complex Millwork Assemblies, Design of Sheet Metal & Welded Assemblies, Design of Machined Components, Material Processing & Finishing, Wearable & Soft goods Construction, Material Sourcing & BOM, Specialty Hardware & Adhesives.
Design Methodology
User Research & Data Collection, Design For Human Factors, Design For Manufacturing & Assembly, Exploratory Drawing & Storyboarding, Iterative Rapid Prototyping, Play-Testing & Workshops, Social & Environmental Sustainability, Critical Design Thinking