HAPTic NAVigation Overview
My bike has been my primary mode of transportation for a decade. I've tried many forms of directions over the years: paper maps in my pre-cell phone days, a GPS designed for a car, and audio directions received from my cell phone.
All of these forms of directions require my eyes or ears to intrepret. However, I want to reserve my senses of sight and hearing to pay attention to cars and other objects in my surrounding while I'm riding. I'd rather use a different sense to interpret map directions, so I began designing a navigation system that feeds information to the user via haptic feedback instead.
I began working on this concept in 2012 (possibly sooner) and submitted a patent for it through Vecna in 2014. At that time, the only other haptic feedback navigation systems I had found were larger systems integrated into a vest, which was not at all similar to my vision.
System Design
HaptiNav
Summary of the Invention (from the patent submitted):
A method and device for providing information to a user are provided. The
method includes providing at least one user indicator device in operable communication with the user for providing non-visual and non-verbal communications to the user, and enabling information to be received by the user indicator device from a remote source. The method further includes communicating information to the user via the user indicator device in a non-visual and non-verbal ay that may be substantially indicative of at least one instruction for the user so the user can operate in one or more environments in conformance with the information provided.
Fig. 1 generally illustrates a block diagram of the device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
Fig. 2 generally illustrates users traveling within an area in accordance with one
embodiment of the invention
Fig. 3 generally illustrates a soldier moving through an area in accordance with
one embodiment of the invention
Haptinav is a haptic feedback navigation system that provides the user with navigation directions similar to those of a GPS device; however, the instructions are delivered via a series of buzzes that are felt by the user.
Other haptic navigation systems require that the user wear a vest. Instead, Haptinav consists of a smartphone, the HaptiNav app, and 2 wristbands:
Haptinav utilizes a smartphone to obtain mapping instructions. Haptinav then converts these text directions into a buzz pattern.
The user wears one left wristband and one right wristband that connect via bluetooth to the smartphone. As the user approaches a turn, the appropriate wrist band buzzes to communicate the directions to the user.
The HaptiNav app parses the mapping instructions and translates them into a pattern of buzzes.