HAPTA, Computerized Makeup Applicator For People With Limited Hand Mobility

We regularly cover L’Oreal‘s tech innovations, such as the smart Kerastase Hair Coach or the YSL Lipstick Pod (Ubergizmo’s Best of CES 2021). The cosmetics company is coming to CES 2023 with HAPTA, an AI-driven handheld makeup applicator that will help people with limited hand and arm mobility.

HAPTA integrates a technology developed by Verily Life Sciences, which is Alphabet’s research organization dedicated to life sciences. Also known as Verily, the company created a stabilization technology for utensils to help people with limited hand and arm mobility to eat more easily.

L’Oreal claims that its goal with HAPTA is to apply this technology to makeup, which can be a challenge, even if you do not have any mobility issues.  (It took me years of practice to apply my eyeliner reliably).

The device I saw at CES Unveiled was a prototype (photo above) and L’Oreal will launch a product later, that will use machine learning to enhance the experience by monitoring each person’s specific motion pattern.

The prototype combines built-in smart motion controls and customizable attachments that give the user an improved range of motion.  The magnetic attachment allows enables 360 degrees of rotation and 180 degrees of flexion. Once the right position is defined, users can lock in customized settings for future use. HAPTA delivers one hour of continuous use on one charge, which allows for 10 applications. The built-in battery takes three hours to fully recharge.

It is encouraging to see devices like HAPTA prioritizing accessibility. Accessible technology has improved over the years but is often insufficient when it comes to everyday tasks that non-disabled people take for granted. The self-stabilizing smart utensils could be a more “practical: application, but makeup is also an art form that anybody should be able to access for self-expression.

“Inclusivity is at the heart of our innovation and beauty tech strategy,” said Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology at L’Oréal. “We are dedicated and passionate to bring new technologies powering beauty services that augment and reach every individual’s ultimate desires, expectations, and unmet needs.”

 “With HAPTA we are going one step further by making beauty more accessible to use because everyone should have equal access to it,” said Françoise Lehmann, Lancôme Global Brand President. 

Piloted by L’Oréal-owned Lancôme in 2023, HAPTA’s first iteration is focused on lipstick and will be followed by additional makeup applications.

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