Born in Quito, Ecuador, Matias “Mats” Cevallos is a music technologist, composer, researcher, and founder of Sentia Instruments. Their work focuses on how physical interaction, interface design, and emerging technology can make digital experiences more expressive, intuitive, and human.

A professionally trained pianist, Mats has long been interested in the relationship between musicians and the tools they use. They hold a Master’s in Music Technology from Georgia Tech, where their research focused on accessible and multisensory musical interfaces, particularly haptics, tactile interaction, and new ways of designing for blind, low-vision, and neurodivergent musicians. This work shaped a broader design philosophy: accessibility is not an added feature, but a way to create better interfaces for everyone.

Mats is the founder and CEO of Sentia Instruments, where they are developing a new generation of expressive electronic instruments built around physical interaction. Sentia’s first product, TILES, grew directly from their research into haptics and accessible interface design, combining multidimensional sensing with localized tactile feedback to create a more embodied relationship with digital music. The underlying technology is currently patent pending.

Their broader creative technology practice spans interactive installations, audiovisual systems, computer vision, spatial media, and public art. As part of M.E.A.T. (Music Experiments in Emerging Arts and Technology), Mats has developed works including SURVEIL, an interactive audiovisual environment driven by human movement, and NUMINA, an AI-assisted interactive installation exploring language, prediction, and participation. Their work has also been supported through MARTA Artbound and presented across galleries, festivals, and public spaces.

Mats holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition for Contemporary Media from Universidad San Francisco de Quito, part of the Berklee Global network, and has created music and audiovisual work for organizations including UNICEF and international public-health initiatives. Across research, products, installations, and composition, their work is driven by the same question: how can technology feel less like something we operate, and more like something we experience?