The SHAPE Lab (Shaping Haptics and Programming Embodiments) is a research group at Stanford University led by Professor Sean Follmer. Amy worked in the lab as an undergraduate researcher.
What the Lab Does
The SHAPE Lab studies shape-changing interfaces, haptic feedback, and physical interaction design. Research areas include programmable matter, robotic skin, tactile displays, and tools that blur the line between digital design and physical objects. The lab sits at the intersection of mechanical engineering, HCI, and robotics.
Connection to Amy
Amy's time in the SHAPE Lab is the earliest documented instance of the interest that would define her career: the boundary between digital design and physical manufacturing. The lab's focus on making digital things become physical things is a direct precursor to her work at Taya (turning AI into jewelry hardware) and Vizcom (turning sketches into manufacturable renders).
She does not reference the SHAPE Lab in her diary or social media posts from 2026, but its fingerprints are visible in how she thinks about design. Her recurring emphasis on "factories don't care about your pitch deck" and "designing parts you've never actually made is how you get terrible DFM" reflects a worldview shaped by hands-on haptics research, not just coursework.
The Gap Year
After her undergraduate work, including time in the SHAPE Lab, Amy took a gap year (2021-22) to work at Apple before returning to Stanford for her MS in Mechanical Engineering. Apple hired her as a Product Design Engineer, the same title she now holds at Vizcom.
Significance
The SHAPE Lab represents the version of Amy's career that existed before co-founders, equity splits, and TechCrunch articles. It was research for the sake of understanding, not building a company. In this way it resembles Cute Ghostty and Hardware Craft Night more than Taya: work done because the questions were interesting, not because the answers would generate validation.