ProximityHat
September 11th, 2015 | Published in Research
ProximityHat is a wearable sensory substitution system, which uses pressure actuators around the head to convey spatial information. It was already shown that the sense of touch can be used to augment our perception of reality. Existing systems focus on vibration signals for information transfer, but this is unsuitable for constant stimulation in everyday use. Our system determines the distance to surrounding objects with ultrasonic sensors and maps this information to an inward pressure. It was already evaluated in a study with 13 blindfolded subjects in orientation and navigation tasks. The users were able to discern at least three different absolute pressure levels with high certainty. Combined with the sensors, they could also use continuous values to navigate hallways and find doors. Most users had only a few collisions, but a small group of three individuals struggled more. We are studying these issues and plan to improve latency and wearability of the system.
Research topics
- Haptic Feedback
- Spatial Interaction
- Sensory Augmentation
Contact
News
- ProximityHat in the media (Deutschlandfunk, in German): ondemand-mp3.dradio.de/file/dradio/20… and deutschlandfunk.de/orientierungsh… February 21, 2016
- Another article of the #ProximityHat including a self-experiment on the SWR Blog: swr.de/blog/diedurchb… February 3, 2016
- Radio (swr.de/landesschau-ak…) and video (swrmediathek.de/player.htm?sho…) report on #ProximityHat in the SWR Landesschau. February 1, 2016
- Some media coverage about #ProximityHat : ingenieur.de/Themen/Chips-S… scinexx.de/wissen-aktuell… January 8, 2016
- In a few minutes, Matthias will introduce ProximityHat in room 1+2. Join us! :) #iswc2015 #ubicomp2015 @ubicomp pic.twitter.com/8cqViObFdo September 10, 2015
- Get a sneak peek of ProximityHat! Matthias Berning presents it at ISWC: 10.09., 9:30. youtu.be/tiOQqkQ8PnU @ubicomp #ubicomp2015 #iswc2015 September 7, 2015
Selected Publications
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