Calvin Chu and Ashish Bidadi, both 2013 mechatronics engineering graduates, are using old technology - buttons, dials and sliders - to make it easier and faster to use computers.
And, according to an article in the Waterloo Region Record, a lot of people think they're taking their startup, Palette, in the right direction. Chu and Bidadi recently raised $158,470 on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, far exceeding their $100,000 goal.
They developed a set of modules - dials, buttons, sliders and faders - that are joined together and linked to computers with a USB cable. After downloading the Palette app, any repetitive task on the Mac OS X, Windows and Linux operating systems can be remapped.
What used to take several movements of a mouse and lots of clicks, can now be done with the push a button or the twist of a dial.
"I have always been interested in human-computer interaction, the way we interface with technology," Chu said.
In addition to Palette, Waterloo Engineering's mechatronics program that combines mechanical, electrical and software engineering has produced some high profile local tech startups including Thalmic, Clearpath Robotics and BufferBox. [Record article]