In November 2019, Ethan Castro and Valtteri Salomaki, students at UCR, co-founded EDGE Sound Research. In only two months, they are finalizing the prototype of their first product, “ResonX”, with a team of engineers from UCR. Before the summer they hope to pilot their product with their first B2B customer and be accepted into an accelerator program.

“ResonX” uses revolutionary tactile audio that turns sound into vibration to provide immersive experiences for media enthusiasts. The all-in-one module can be attached to any piece of furniture, such as a gaming chair or couch and provides both hyper-immersive vibrations and high-definition audio allowing consumers to live in their entertainment experiences. 

Thanks to Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at UCR, EDGE Sound Research was chosen as one of six university startups to be pitched in the CES TechStars University Pitch Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is one of the largest technology trade fairs in the world with over 170,000 people in attendance from over 160 countries. 

Ethan and Valtteri made the most of this opportunity by networking with hundreds of companies, testing new technologies, and finding potential strategic collaborators. With experience pitching at CES under their belt, they now begin to accelerate the development of EDGE Sound Research.

EDGE Sound Research originated from Ethan Castro’s life experiences as a hard of hearing music producer and engineer. He was born hard of hearing, but fell in love with sound early on. Ethan remembers laying down next to the subwoofer and feeling the bass and drums travel through the floor across his body. It was the only time he felt truly connected to the music. As this love affair with sound continued into music production, Ethan started to use different speakers as studio monitors, including a small coaxial speaker that he would place under his seat, facing up, so he could feel what he thought he was hearing. 
 
Ethan Castro is a PhD student in Digital Composition at UCR. He is a prolific music producer, songwriter, engineer, and inventor. Ethan serves as Vice President of EDGE Original Inc., Graduate Studio Manager of UCR’s EARS facility, and was previously the Vice President of the Riverside Philharmonic. 

Valtteri Salomaki is an MBA student at UCR’s School of Business, concentrating in Information Systems and Marketing Strategy. He is a co-founder of Free Logic Media, which builds digital strategies and integrates technologies for startups and small businesses in the Inland Empire. He also works as a student technician at ESRI for the Integrated Marketing and Digital Performance Management teams. 

Ethan and Valtteri began working together in spring 2019 to produce and promote promising musicians at UCR in a collaboration between EDGE Original Inc. and Free Logic Media. They have formed a strong relationship over the past nine months working on various projects and new business opportunities in the entertainment industry. 
 
The next steps for EDGE Sound Research is to recruit a full team needed to build the company and to secure funding for further R&D and business development. Ethan and Valtteri will be presenting at multiple events and showcasing their technology throughout Southern California.