Professor Saakes studied Industrial Design Engineering in Delft University of Technology and graduated PhD in 2011. He joined the JST ERATO Igarashi Design Interface Project in Tokyo from 2011-2013.

He now works in Korea at KAIST as associate professor at the department of industrial design at My Design Lab. His research topic is personal ergonomics and health and his laboratory designs future products through highly interactive experiential prototypes made with 3D printers, robots and Augmented Reality.