Photo: Tanya Snowdon
Rob Gorbet is a frequent collaborator with Gorbet Design, Inc.
A tenured professor of mechatronics engineering at the University of Waterloo, he teaches courses in Robotics, Control Systems, and Microprocessor Interfacing. He is a director of the facility for Theoretical and Applied Research in Smart Actuators and Sensors (TARSAS).
His pioneering research explores the use of shape memory alloy "memory metals" as actuators, with applications for MEMS devices and embedded systems in areas such as biomedical robotics, automotive design, and satellite communications.
Rob is also a technology artist, with a practice in interactive technology-mediated artworks. His collaborations with artists, designers and architects have been shown in many venues internationally. Rob was recently co-recipient (with architect and artist Phillip Beesley) of the Far East International Digital Architecture Design award of merit (FEIDAD) for Hylozoic Soil, a responsive architectural textile environment.
He is a Director of the Contemporary Art Forum, Kitchener and Area (CAFKA), and he co-teaches a unique studio course in Technology Art at the University of Waterloo which brings together students from Fine Arts and Engineering to collaborate in exploring the fusion of technology and art.
Rob holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario and a member of the IEEE.
Susan mentors organizations on integrating design and business thinking. Most recently, she has developed a transformative program to bring design thinking and facilitation to the sales arm of a Fortune 50 software company. She holds a Master of Design from OCADU's Strategic Foresight and Innovation Program, and she has both studied and taught experience design, strategic foresight, design thinking, facilitation, creative thinking, innovation, design process and improvisation.
Susan has been transforming cutting-edge technology into compelling experiences since the early '90s. In Toronto, she co-founded an art & design firm that creates connections between people and ideas by building large-scale interactive installations. Susan spent many years designing software in Silicon Valley where, after graduate research at Stanford, she evangelized experience design at Oracle, Silicon Graphics, Excite@Home and Snapfish.
Matt Gorbet is an interdisciplinary technologist, researcher and artist who specializes in physically interactive technology experiences.
Before founding Gorbet Design, Inc., Matt was a researcher at PARC, the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, where his team designed and studied new document genres enabled by emerging technologies. Matt earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from MIT and a Master of Science from the MIT Media Lab. He has several patents on novel interaction technologies.
Matt's Doctorate of Design at FIU CARTA is focused on control strategies for interactive objects and environments. He works closely with the Living Architecture Systems Group and has exhibited technology artwork worldwide.
We provoke people to see new possibilities. Our innovative experiential art and design transforms and invigorates environments. For restaurants and retail, in airports and museums, on hotels and hilltops, inventive forms of interactivity bring audiences surprise and delight.
From the intimate to the architectural, we create experiences that...
...bring a space to life
...make a connection between people and ideas
...offer something unique to a sophisticated audience
We collect inspiration and innovations in art, technology, design, architecture, psychology, and materials. Blending this knowledge with the ability to listen to both clients and audiences, we create rich and meaningful experiences that are unforgettable.