Our Team
Behind every great movement there is great team. At The Haptic 9 Co., we believe that the most sustainable path to achieving our mission is to grow together. We also believe that the best ways to achieve the best outcomes is to hire the best and support what they believe we need to do. We welcome collaborators, partners, employees, interns and funders to the same table, unified by one vision: Touch.
Meet the TEam
Meet the visionary humans pushing our mission forward.
Keith Kirkland
CEO + Founder
Keith is a mechanical engineer, accessories designer, and industrial designer turned award-winning haptics enthusiast, serial entrepreneur, and public speaker. His passion lay in developing haptic products and systems that reimagine touch as an intuitive communication interface—helping people embody information in new yet familiar ways. He is driven by the accessibility of touch, equitable business models, movement learning, wearable technology and educating the next generation of haptic designers. He is currently serving as the Leonard Pryor Fellow, a visiting artist and associate professor in Product Design, at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Movement 9 | Interns
Movement 9a is the hardware foundation of our Movement 9 platform—a smart knee sleeve built to enhance physical therapy and movement learning. Using IMUs and haptic actuators, the prototype tracks real-time motion and delivers vibrotactile feedback when users move outside of target form zones. Interns on this project help integrate wearable tech, develop sensor-UX and haptic interactions, and prototype early-stage rehab tools that could redefine how we learn and relearn, movement.
Hsiu Yu Lu
Wearable Tech Intern
“Lu” is a designer who is passionate about product design, fashion, and sustainability. She love exploring self-care, adaptive design, and recycled materials, creating everything from wearable technology to innovative textiles. Her goal is to merge functionality with creativity, crafting meaningful products that solve real-world problems.
Danielle Luyet
Haptic Design Intern
“Dani” is a product designer with a background in embedded systems electronics, and digital fabrication. Her experience spans both digital and physical fabrication, from parametric modeling to working as a wood shop technician at the Kansas City Art Institute. Additionally, she interns for the design team at The Haptic 9 Co. where she am passionate about exploring the intersection of IoT, creative technology, and product design in applications in movement learning.
Reimagining Accessibility | Interns
Reimagine Accessibility is a collaborative internship with The Haptic 9 Co., the Kansas City Art Institute, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The project invites student designers to reinterpret iconic works of art as tactile objects that make the museum experience more accessible for blind and low-vision visitors. From museum galleries to studio workshops, interns explore inclusive design, storytelling through touch, and the power of physical engagement to unlock new ways of seeing.
Emily Blaine
Sculpture
Emily Blaine was born and raised in the Ozarks. She is currently a junior at the Kansas City Art Institute, majoring in sculpture. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between digital and analog experiences, creating tactile pieces that emphasize sensory engagement, aligning with her mission to create more inclusive and immersive interactions.
Christian McMahon
Graphic Design
Chris McMahon is a graphic design student at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) with a passion for brand identity and experiential design. My design philosophy is to create a tangible impact by empowering audiences through emotional connection and accessibility. I believe that great design should evoke a response, making people feel understood and engaged. At the same time, it’s essential to ensure that design is accessible so that it reaches and resonates with as many people as possible, regardless of background or ability.
Brian Cummings
Product Design
As an intern at The Haptic 9 Co., partnering with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Brian researches accessibility challenges in museums and designs multi-sensory experiences for visitors with sensory disabilities. His work contributes to expanding the museum’s Accessibility Tours, enhancing inclusivity and user-centered design in cultural spaces.
Elle Staron
Product Design
Elle Staron is a first year student at the Kansas City Art institute and is excited to join the Product Design department in the fall. She was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado with a background in painting. Elle is eager to learn more about haptics and making art more accessible through her current position as an intern with The Haptic 9 Co.
Bridging the Digital-Touch Gap
The Haptic 9 Co. is dedicated to integrating touch into the digital world. Our mission is to create groundbreaking products that leverage the sense of touch for communication. By building ‘The 9 Bridges,’ we will revolutionize the digital landscape into one that values tactility. Join us on this inspiring journey!
work with us
We are always happy to hear from the curious, the impossible and the mundane. Reach out to us and let is know how we can help you bring touch experiences to the world. If you’d like to come work for us to support our mission, we are building a team and a culture that values the whole person, executes well beyond the status quo, and works on problems that have the potential to shift the world forward. Join us.
The Haptic 9 Co.