Within the industry, most vendors view Haptech Inc.’s technology as the future of military weapons training. But Kyle Monti, founder and CEO, would be the first to tell you that it took a lot of time and effort to make that statement the reality it is today. The technology-driven company solving modern-day problems has had its highs and lows, but over the past ten years it has fought hard to win industry credibility.
The son of an entrepreneur, and a graduate of Hahnville High School and the University of New Orleans with a degree in physics, Monti and his team create problem-solving technologies specializing in electronics and motor-driven haptic simulation. Monti’s innovations and Haptech patents have built hyper-realistic gaming and U.S. Military training environments that are quickly outpacing existing tech, with less expensive and smarter equipment that is both adaptable and easier to maintain.
Haptech’s founding in 2014 came about when Monti was inspired by an existing problem with pneumatic simulators in training weapons. He put his analytical skills to the test to find a way to create an electrically based technology to simulate recoil. In other words, he wanted to create an industry game changer.
In three years, he had the patents and prototypes with the linear motor technology ultimately used for the application. But there still lay the obstacle of getting the defense industry to adopt the technology. With a brilliant pivot, Monti and his team decided to develop blasters for the VR gaming market. These first products made up StrikerVR—now a Haptech subsidiary. If you’d like to see this tech in action on the silver screen, check out the 2020 movie Max Reload and the Nether Blasters starring Kevin Smith.
Just a few years later in 2018, Haptech had an opportunity to place the technology into an ongoing U.S. Navy program—their first military success. They have been refining their products for the defense industry as Haptech Defense Systems, and gaming with Striker VR, ever since. Haptech continues to work to integrate their proprietary systems in more applications and devises for the U.S. Military and beyond.
Born and developed in New Orleans, Haptech has grown a lot in ten years, but has managed to do so organically which allows them to add capability at a rate that can be supported locally. The company sees itself as an active participant in helping make the dream of New Orleans as a national innovation hotspot a reality.
“We have certainly pressed the area for more and more sophisticated talent,” Monti says, “and we plan to continue this moving forward. We’re here to help. It will take many more years for this vision to fully come into focus, but we’ll be around to see it through.”
Haptech was confident their system would be a drastic upgrade from the antiquated pneumatic training weapons the government had been using for almost 50 years. But it took patience and tenacity to get their technology in front of the right people to begin securing larger government contracts. In 2023, they landed their first significant U.S. Army contract, which all together totals over $11 million dollars. They are currently in the research and development phase of these contracts.
You may be wondering how Haptech’s Electromagnetic Recoil System works and Kyle Monti can break it down so anyone can understand. In grade school, many students learn about electromagnets by winding a copper wire around a nail, running a current through the wire, thus creating an electromagnet strong enough to pick-up paperclips.
“Our motor is based around a similar idea,” Monti explains, “but with multiple coils and permanent magnets. Instead of the current only being applied in one direction, it can be applied in reverse to produce opposite motions. So, when you pull the trigger of a Haptech training weapon or a StrikerVR gaming blaster, you feel a recoil which is dynamic in nature just like the real thing. There are no bullets, no blanks and no projectiles – just electromagnetics applied in a new way.”
Beyond weapons training and gaming, Monti reminds that haptics are part of the technology in our everyday lives. Like the buzz you feel when you text or dial on a modern cell phone, and it’s moving in new domains every day, he tells us.
“Right now, somewhere in America, a surgeon is using haptics in robotics to perform a delicate operation, while a member of the U.S. Coast Guard is using that same technology in training simulations to intercept illegal drug trafficking in the Gulf of Mexico, and a small business owner is opening a location-based entertainment venue to transport gamers into immersive virtual experiences using the products they hold.”
It is that drive to discover more ways in which technology can enrich our lives that keeps Haptech Inc.’s wheels turning. “The applications of this technology are limited only by our imagination and as a creator,” Monti adds, “that’s an exciting space to be a part of.”
