Eric Takei

About

I build physical products end to end: circuit design, firmware, mobile and web apps, and cloud backends. My work sits where AI, IoT and robotics meet, turning sensors and actuators into products people actually use.

I hold a master's degree from Toyohashi University of Technology, where I specialized in human-robot communication and received the 11th Human Interface Society Paper Award. Since then I have shipped consumer hardware at volumes in the hundreds of thousands, designed enclosures in 3D CAD, and written everything from BLE firmware to AWS infrastructure.

I have been the founding or first engineer several times, most recently as founder of HAPT Lab. I am happiest joining early, when the product is still a sketch, and building the first version with a small team.

Experience

1. 2019 – Present

   HAPT Lab, LLC · Founder & CEO

   Hands-on product studio building software, hardware, IoT and AI systems from concept to deployment.

   • IoT sanitary-napkin dispenser system running at about 4,000 locations across Japan: PCB and mechanical design, firmware, mobile app, AWS backend and device operations.
   • High-speed web crawling platform on AWS monitoring nearly 5,000 sites.
   • “Shiritori”, one of Japan's most-used Alexa skills, with over 200 million voice interactions.
   • AI companion products: KAIUN, Katally Life and Katally Sense, a wearable context sensor with camera and microphone.
2. 2020 – 2023

   Tellus (acquired by AIP Healthcare) · Principal Hardware & Software Engineer

   Camera-free elderly monitoring with millimeter-wave radar: PCB design and the first Python AI models estimating user state from radar point clouds, taken from prototype to product in real homes.

3. 2018 – 2020

   All Turtles · Hardware & Software Engineer

   AI startup studio. Took portfolio startups, including Tellus, from concept to prototype across hardware, embedded systems, sensing, AI and cloud.

4. 2012 – 2019

   Beatrobo, Inc. · Co-founder & CTO

   Co-founded a music social network, then designed PlugAir / BeatPlug: a headphone-jack gadget with a SHA-256 crypto chip that lets a smartphone authenticate the device and unlock digital content.

   • Core technology patented in Japan, the US and China.
   • Set up mass production in China; more than 200,000 units shipped.
5. 2012

   Yukai Engineering Inc. · BLE Device Engineer

   Bluetooth Low Energy device development.

6. 2009 – 2011

   KLab Inc. · Application / Hardware Engineer, R&D

   Lead engineer on “Cheerz”, a social-layer browser extension; also social games, iOS/Android apps, and an MFi Bluetooth accessory that drove Mini 4WD cars from a phone.

7. 2007 – 2009

   Toyohashi University of Technology · M.Eng., Human-Robot Interaction (Okada Lab)

   Knock-based communication between people and tabletop robots. 11th Human Interface Society Paper Award.

8. 2005 – 2007

   Toyohashi University of Technology · B.Eng., Human-Robot Interaction

Patents

1. 2022

   Method and System for Processing Item Attachment and Detachment of NFT-Based Wearable Models · Patent

   Attaching and detaching NFT items on wearable avatar models.

   Cork, Inc. · JP 2022-009407 · Inventors: Hideyuki Takei, Kosuke Shindo

2. 2021

   Golf Club Grip · Design registration

   Industrial design of a golf club grip.

   HAPT Lab, LLC · JP Design No. 1700638 · Inventors: Kosuke Shindo, Hideyuki Takei

3. 2020

   Manga Playback System, Method, Computer Software Program, and Manga Data Used Therein · Patent

   Playing back manga as timed, animated sequences built from structured manga data.

   Yoshimoto Integrated Fund, Inc. · JP 2021-517507 · Inventors: Kosuke Shindo, Hideyuki Takei

4. 2015

   Authentication Information Generation Device and Transaction System · Patent

   Generating authentication data from a physical device to authorize transactions.

   Beatrobo, Inc. · JP 2015-227411 · Inventors: Makoto Saito, Hideyuki Takei

5. 2014

   Application Program and Content Acquisition System · Patent

   App-side flow for acquiring content tied to a physical PlugAir device.

   Beatrobo, Inc. · JP 2014-224241 · Inventors: Hideyuki Takei

6. 2012

   Connection Device, Application Program, and Content Acquisition System · Patent

   The core PlugAir technology: a headphone-jack gadget with a crypto chip that a smartphone authenticates to unlock music and other content.

   Beatrobo, Inc. · JP 2012-176354 · Inventors: Hideyuki Takei

Papers

1. 2010

   Sociable Dining Table: Toward a “Knock-Knock” Interface Based on Mutual Adaptation

   Transactions of the Human Interface Society

2. 2009

   Sociable Dining Table: A Study of Mutual Adaptation Methods for a “Knock-Knock” Interface

   Human Interface Symposium

3. 2009

   Sociable Dining Table: A “Knock-Knock” Interface Proposal for Bringing Families Together

   IPSJ Symposium

4. 2009

   GamagoriMikanRobot: Toward a Social Mediator that Draws Out Connections Between People

   Human Interface Symposium

5. 2008

   Sociable Dining Table: Toward a Literacy-Free “Knock-Knock” Interface

   Human Interface Symposium

6. 2005

   Locomotion Characteristics of a Spherical-Wheeled Omnidirectional Vehicle Using Fuzzy Control

   SICE Kansai Branch Student Research Presentation

Contact

Email · GitHub · LinkedIn · HAPT Lab