Scaling Haptic Intelligence: Touchwaves Joins EUDIS Cohort 2
- Editorial Team
- Mar 27
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
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The gap between advanced defense systems and human cognitive limits is widening.
As platforms become more complex, the bottleneck is no longer the machine’s performance, but the operator’s ability to absorb and act on data under extreme stress.
Touchwaves is focused on this bottleneck.
Today, we are announcing our selection for Cohort 2 of the EUDIS Business Accelerator, the European Defence Innovation Scheme’s primary vehicle for integrating disruptive dual-use technologies into the EU’s defense ecosystem.
The Competitive Landscape
The European Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS) Business Accelerator is a flagship initiative of the European Defence Fund (EDF), designed to lower the barriers for "non-traditional" defense companies, fostering an ecosystem of cutting-edge, dual-use technologies that strengthen European sovereignty.
Selected as one of only 20 companies from more than 450 candidates, Touchwaves will receive €120,000 in non-dilutive funding, alongside tailored support over an 8-month programme, including access to defence stakeholders, testing facilities, and strategic guidance across the European ecosystem.
Beyond funding, the value of this program lies in structured collaboration. It creates opportunities to validate technology in realistic operational contexts, refine solutions based on user feedback, and accelerate the transition from concept to capability.
This milestone signals a shift from development to deployment. It reflects the growing readiness of Touchwaves’ haptic technology to move from the lab into operational environments, where clarity, speed, and reliability directly influence outcomes.
Why EUDIS Matters Now
The European Defence Innovation Scheme was designed to bridge one of the most persistent obstacles in deep-tech innovation: the transition from promising prototype to operational capability.
For Touchwaves, participation in the program means:
Operational Validation: Direct collaboration with military end-users to refine haptic feedback for specific mission profiles.
Sovereign Scaling: Strategic funding and mentorship to ensure our supply chain, production, and IP meet the rigorous security requirements of European defence.
Dual-Use Synergy: Strengthening our technology for the defense sector simultaneously enhances its value in high-stress medical and industrial environments.
EUDIS is more than an accelerator. It is a proving ground where technology is tested against reality, shaped by users, and prepared for deployment.
The Mission: Human-Centered Defense
The EUDIS mission recognizes that the human remains the core of defense, and modern warfare demands human-centered technologies that elevate endurance and survivability.
Touchwaves is tackling this through three technological pillars aligned with the program’s focus on next-generation human performance and protection.
Wearable Adaptive Equipment
Integrating haptics into smart textiles, allowing for a "tactile language" that provides navigation, threat alerts, and system status without requiring visual or auditory channels.
Discover why this matters and how Touchwaves does it.
Cognitive Load Reduction
Offloading information to the sense of touch reduces sensory saturation, helping pilots and operators maintain awareness and make faster, more accurate decisions under pressure.
Learn about all the advantages of tactile language.
Fatigue & Stress Regulation
Embedded sensors monitor physiological state and provide haptic cues that help an operator regulate breathing and maintain focus during critical manoeuvres.
In hypoxia, seconds determine the margin between recovery and failure.
Through the EUDIS program, we are accelerating the deployment of this technology within the Next-Generation Human Performance, Training & Protection category.
Our goal is clear: provide operators with an intuitive, non-visual sense of situational awareness and physiological state.
The Roadmap
Over the next eight months, the EUDIS Business Accelerator will guide our team through a series of European bootcamps and testing phases.
We are moving from controlled laboratory environments toward rugged, field-ready applications designed for operational reliability.
The journey officially begins next week.
On Monday, March 30th, the Touchwaves team will join the EUDIS cohort in Belgium for the official program kickoff, a symbolic step from a high-tech spin-off to a strategic partner in European sovereign defense.
The future of the European defense landscape relies on maintaining a technological edge.
At Touchwaves, we believe that edge is found where the human and the digital interface meet: not on a screen, but on the skin.
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