About

Quanta & Qualia (Q&Q) is a Greek, deep tech SME established in 2017. It is located in Athens and currently operates in Athens Digital Lab. Q&Q aspires of a future where current user interaction devices, like joysticks in the extended reality(XR), will be replaced by a more intuitive one, entirely revolutionizing the interaction framework, providing an appreciably higher User Experience (UX) outcome. Its main focus and activity concerns the commercialization of MAGOS (patent pending (PCT/EP20200/73034) solution. Q&Q is multiple award winning startup: EIT health, XR4ALL, Trinity, Weld Galaxy, RIMA, SmartEEs2, DigiFED and has been selected by Invest Horizon, Startup3 & Mass Challenge 2021 (Houston) accelerators.

Solution & Product

Q&Q offers its MAGOS Platform, a combination of Hardware(HW) & Software(SW), an immersive Human Machine Interface (HMI).  Via this Platform an end user can interact with a virtual environment using her/ his fingers, tackling the technology limitations that restrict the physical touch interaction in eXtended Reality(XR). It uses a combination of IoT technologies, innovative mechanical and electrical design(the MAGOS Glove) & intelligent SW, to perform activities like pilot training or medical training enabling the digital transformation of the training procedures across multiple sectors. Magos, the next gen human-computer-interaction(HCI) solution, is coming to revolutionize the interaction framework in the XR. A solution that enables freedom of fingers movement has an important role to play. It is an essential aid especially for virtual simulations and training applications which prepare individuals to work and perform in highly demanding and stressful environments. Imagine that you could interact with every button in a virtual cockpit using your fingers instead of holding a pair of touch controllers or have a doctor to be trained in surgical procedure within a virtual operating room, at a medical university. The unique capabilities of Magos enable the development of training applications that can offer the muscle memory required to efficiently and accurately perform complex procedures, having a more intuitive, immersive and realistic interaction with the virtual world

Innovation & Scalability

Most of us have had an eXtended reality (XR) experience at some point and would agree that in most cases this experience is delivered by almost three of our senses – visual, audio and ‘somehow’ the touch sense. The limitations for sensation of touch in XR are clear. Let’s consider the extensively-used touch controllers which deliver life-like hand presence and enable basic interactions in the VR environment. These touch controllers try to simulate the touch sense, blocking natural interaction via fingers. And when it comes to doing things in a natural way, nothing can compete with the human hand. As a result, the users are unable to interact naturally as they would in the real world, something that significantly affects the overall user experience (UX) and especially the virtual training and simulation applications. Based on the studies and reports of high-profile organizations, the sense of touch in XR has not yet reached the desired level. The immersive technologies market is looking for solutions to enhance the immersion, e.g., head mounted display comfortability, haptics and peripherals, tracking systems. There are several components and functions whose improvement will benefit the XR ecosystem. However, there is one, the interaction via the user’s fingers, whose role is of major importance for XR to be more widely adopted.

Traction & achievements

MAGOS project is highly innovative and has attracted the interest by leading large global corporates (SIEMENS, PHILIPS, THALES). The goal is to drive such organizations to digitally transform their procedures via Magos platform. The added value is the introduction of a high-end tech solution via the UK establishment and the creation of high skilled working positions. Customers: UCD (IE), SIEMENS (DE) Potential customers: BLUE ORIGIN, PHILIPS, FAIRBANKS MORSE, TRINITY HEALTH, NASA, ESA, FLIGHT SAFETY, BRUNNER, LUFTHANSA, AEGEAN Q&Q team has already raised €750k in grants and awards for R&D purposes.

Team & Why Us

Our team, for sure, is our most valuable asset. We are a team of seven professionals with complementary backgrounds in extended reality (XR), hardware and software development, industrial design, robotics, marketing, project management and business development. All key competitors are grouped into four categories based on the technology (Inertial Measurement Units, Electromagnetic, Optical and Stretch) they use for tracking. All of them are unable to provide reliable data due to their technology limitations. The major problem in Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) solutions is the error accumulation, in electromagnetic is the interference by external environments, in wireless is the occlusion effect (imagine you place one hand below the other there is no tracking) and lastly, in stretch the usual problem is the erroneous data due to fitting constraints. Magos introduces a totally new approach that does not just overcome the existing technology drawbacks but enhances the performance of additional subsystems such as haptic and force feedback.

Funding Needs

Our leading team is seeking for an investment close to 1.9 million euros, with witch it aims to reach during 1,5 year period the mass production phase. This investment will help our team to finalize and commercialize our solution, as well as to set up the mass production line.