Touchwaves Partners with GA-ASI to Bring Wearable Haptic Technology to UAS Operators
- Editorial Team
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
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Selected through GA-ASI's Blue Magic Netherlands programme, the Dutch deep-tech company brings wearables for situational awareness to the world's leading unmanned aircraft platforms
Eindhoven, Netherlands – 19 June 2026
Touchwaves, a Dutch deep-tech company developing wearable haptic technology for aerospace and defence, has been selected by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) through its Blue Magic Netherlands venturing initiative.
The partnership will bring Touchwaves' tactile communication systems — wearables designed to support Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) pilot situational awareness under high cognitive load — to GA-ASI uncrewed platforms.
Touchwaves is one of six companies selected from a pitch event attended by more than 350 people from the Dutch aerospace, defence, and high-tech community.
Considering the use of tactile cues
A UAS operator on a long-duration mission manages flight path, sensor feeds, datalink, airspace, and radio communications simultaneously, all through sight and sound. Beyond a certain threshold, those channels saturate.
The most critical alert no longer competes for attention. It is simply missed.
Adding a brighter warning light or a louder tone does not solve cognitive overload in UAS operations. It adds to it. Touchwaves found a different way in: the skin.
Its textile-integrated systems translate critical data into precise tactile cues delivered directly to the operator's body, a directional signal for an approaching threat, a distinct pattern for an aircraft drifting off-course. Touch is processed through the somatosensory system, a pathway that stays open when vision and hearing are spent.
What comes next
GA-ASI will evaluate Touchwaves' haptic technology for use in remotely piloted UAS (such as GA-ASI’s MQ-9 Reaper) environments to determine the potential benefits to long-duration missions and aircrew information overload.
"Unmanned aircraft are advancing faster than the people who operate them, and no brighter screen or louder alarm will close that gap. Touch will" , said Martin Romero, Co-founder of Touchwaves. "Partnering with GA-ASI puts wearable haptic technology on the platforms shaping the future of unmanned aviation."
"The next decisive advantage will not come from the machine", added Charlotte Kjellander, Co-founder of Touchwaves. "It will come from the human in the loop, and that is exactly where we are designing."
“Blue Magic Netherlands is our window into the Dutch innovation ecosystem", said Brad Lunn, Managing Director, GA-ASI.
The oldest sense may be the newest edge: touch.
About Touchwaves
Touchwaves is a Dutch deep-tech company and TNO spin-off based in Eindhoven, developing wearable haptic technology for aerospace and defence.
Its systems deliver information through touch — bypassing saturated visual and auditory channels — to support situational awareness and cognitive overload management in high-workload environments.
In January 2026, Touchwaves raised €1.5M in pre-seed funding led by SecFund (Dutch MoD), with participation from TNO Ventures, imec.istart, Joanna Invest and the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The company works closely with the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force, and the Centre for Man in Aviation.
About General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and Blue Magic Netherlands
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, with more than nine million flight hours logged across its platforms.
Blue Magic Netherlands is GA-ASI's venturing initiative for identifying and scaling breakthrough technologies from the Dutch innovation ecosystem, providing capital, platform access, and technical collaboration to accelerate dual-use technologies from concept to capability.
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