Shape-shifting navigation device points you in the right direction

<!DOCTYPE html> <html data-environment="production"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/","20150905052421","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1441430661"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <title>Shape-shifting navigation device points you in the right direction</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"> <meta name="description" content="Combine mechanical engineering, experimental theater, and an old dark church, and you’re bound to get some interesting results — a new navigation device, for instance."> <meta name="keywords" content="Navigation, Haptics, Yale"> <meta name="news_keywords" content="Navigation, Haptics, Yale"> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@gizmag"/> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Shape-shifting navigation device points you in the right direction"/> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Combine mechanical engineering, experimental theater, and an old dark church, and you’re bound to get some interesting results — a new navigation device, for instance."/> <meta name="twitter:image:src" content="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/shape-shifting-navigator@2x.jpg"/> <meta name="twitter:domain" content="gizmag.com"/> <meta property="og:type" content="website"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://images.gizmag.com/hero/shape-shifting-navigator@2x.jpg"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Shape-shifting navigation device points you in the right direction"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Combine mechanical engineering, experimental theater, and an old dark church, and you’re bound to get some interesting results — a new navigation device, for instance."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/"> <link rel="image_src" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_lrg/shape-shifting-navigator.jpg"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="//web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://production-assetsbucket-wvksza8x3q2f.s3.amazonaws.com/ico/favicon.feae52afa635.ico"/> <link href="//web.archive.org/web/20150905052421cs_/http://production-assetsbucket-wvksza8x3q2f.s3.amazonaws.com/COMPILED/public.cb6e783c49ce.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <script type="application/javascript" src="//web.archive.org/web/20150905052421js_/http://production-assetsbucket-wvksza8x3q2f.s3.amazonaws.com/COMPILED/public.2624c987c052.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; (function() { var gads = document.createElement("script"); gads.async = true; gads.type = "text/javascript"; var useSSL = "https:" == document.location.protocol; gads.src = (useSSL ? 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Enter the Animotus, a wirelessly-connected, 3D printed cube that acts like a sort of haptic compass. Developed by Yale engineer Adam Spiers, the device literally changes shape to point you in the right direction.</p> <p> Spiers designed Animotus when he was involved in a performance of <em>Flatland</em>, an interactive play based on Edwin A. Abbott's 1884 story of a two-dimensional world. As part of the stage production, audience members – both sighted and visually impaired – were kept in complete darkness and walked four at a time though the performance space with narrative voice overs and sound effects telling the story as they wandered through.</p> <p>In their hands, each participant held an Animotus that guided them by changing shape to point them in the right direction. With a multi-sectioned body created in a 3D printer, that Animotus alters shape in response to wireless instructions to indicate the user’s position in their environment. To do this, the top half of the cube twists around to point users toward their next destination and then slides forward to give a relative indication of the distance to get there. As a result, rather than having to look at a device, such as the screen of a smartphone, the user was able to determine their path by touch.</p> <p><div class="inline-item"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/pictures#2" target="_blank"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://images.gizmag.com/inline/shape-shifting-navigator-3@2x.jpg" alt=""> </a> </div> </p> <p>"The simple idea is that when you’ve arrived at your target destination, it becomes a little cube again," said Spiers.</p> <p>A postdoctoral associate in the robotics lab of associate professor Aaron Dollar at Yale, Spiers worked with Extant – the London-based company that put on the play – to produce the Animotus to add to the interactive nature of the production. Originally Spiers named his device the Haptic Sandwich, but is now more accepting of the name Animotus, which is the name that it assumed in the <em>Flatland</em> story.</p> <p>Taking quite a degree of trial and error to get right, particularly as there has been little previous study into shape-shifting haptic devices, the Animotus has been created to communicate with the user relatively inconspicuously. This, according to Spiers, is because <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/haptic-tech-vr-wearables-games-sightlence/35616/" target="_blank">most haptics-based devices rely on vibration</a>, which can get annoying. Location devices with audio prompts can be even more distracting. </p> <p>"Shape-changing is pretty new in haptics, so not a lot of people have done it before," said Spiers.</p>Audience members in the production of <em>Flatland</em> also wore suits equipped with devices to monitor and track movements through the performance space. This, in turn, supplied data to the Animotus via a wireless connection accessing a computer-based map. Spiers was impressed by the speed audience members traveled between way points on their routes using the hand-held device – even in complete darkness they only slowed their pace by just a few inches less per second than their average, fully-lit path speed. <p>"That implies that they were pretty confident as they were moving around," said Spiers. "They only slowed down a little bit, despite being guided through an unknown dark space by a wholly unfamiliar technology."</p> <p>Spiers believes that the Animotus has wider potential in the world outside the theater as a silent guide for walkers or trekkers that would let them appreciate their environment rather than be distracted by obtrusive vibrations or sounds.</p> <p>"I'd like to try this out for the outdoors hook it up to Google Maps and see what happens," said Spiers.</p> <p>The short video below shows the Animotus in action.</p> <p>Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://news.yale.edu/2015/08/26/shape-shifting-navigation-device-both-sighted-and-visually-impaired" target="_blank">Yale University</a></p> <p><div class="inline-item js-article-video"> <iframe src="//web.archive.org/web/20150905052421if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/GpcHXzJxhYY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> </p> </div>  <div class="page-section"> <ul class="list-ui list-ui--horizontal share-bar"> <li> <div class="fb-like" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> _ga.trackFacebook(); </script> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="gizmag" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/">Tweet</a> </li> <li> <div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/"></div> </li> <li> <iframe style="overflow: hidden; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421if_/http://badge.stumbleupon.com/badge/embed/5/?url=http%3A//www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/" width="50" height="60" id="iframe-stmblpn-widget-1" name="iframe-stmblpn-widget-1"></iframe> </li> <li> <div class="pin-it-button" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/" data-image="http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_lrg/shape-shifting-navigator.jpg" data-description="Combine mechanical engineering, experimental theater, and an old dark church, and you’re bound to get some interesting results — a new navigation device, for instance."></div> </li> <li> <script type="IN/Share" data-counter="top"></script> </li> <li class="js-share-reddit"> <script type="text/javascript"> reddit_newwindow='1' </script> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="ad "> <div class="ad-label">Advertisement</div> <script async src="//web.archive.org/web/20150905052421js_/http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle ad-article-bottom" style="" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1607124478120364" data-ad-slot="6055296962"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div>  <div class="page-section"> <div class="OUTBRAIN" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/" data-widget-id="AR_1" data-ob-template="Gizmag"></div> <script type="text/javascript" async="async" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421js_/http://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js"></script> </div>  <div class="page-section media"> <p class="h2 title-standout">About the Author</p> <a class="media__right" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/author/colin-jeffrey/"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://images.gizmag.com/CACHE/images/avatars/216.16df7274140d.jpg" alt="Colin Jeffrey"/> </a> <p>Colin discovered technology at an early age, pulling apart clocks, radios, and the family TV. Despite his father's remonstrations that he never put anything back together, Colin went on to become an electronics engineer. Later he decided to get a degree in anthropology, and used that to do all manner of interesting things masquerading as work. Even later he took up sculpting, moved to the coast, and never learned to surf. </p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/author/colin-jeffrey/"> All articles by Colin Jeffrey </a> </div>  <div class="page-section"> <p class="h2 title-standout">Tags</p> <ul class="list-ui list-ui--horizontal article-tags"> <li>» <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/navigation/" rel="tag">Navigation</a></li> <li>» <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/haptics/" rel="tag">Haptics</a></li> <li>» <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/yale/" rel="tag">Yale</a></li> </ul> </div>  <div class="page-section"> <p class="h2 title-standout">10 Comments</p> <ul class="list-ui list-ui--vertical word-wrap"> <li> <p>Think if it could be set to point to one person. If you have a group where people tend to drift apart, if they had one of these it would be easy to find the group leader again. It feels like it has lot of potential, just can't think of to many specifics yet.</p> <span class="strong">telocity</span> </li> <li> <p>"Shape-shifting navigation device points you in the right direction". That's NOT Shape Shifting. It's a cube with an arrow that just points.</p> <span class="strong">kingofassholes</span> </li> <li> <p>Hi guys if you want to find out more about this collaborative project between Ad Spiers, Extant and Open University here's a link to all the info <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://flatalnd.org.uk/" rel="nofollow">flatalnd.org.uk</a></p> <span class="strong">EXTANT</span> </li> <li> <p>Do you want Cenobites? Because this is how you get Cenobites.</p> <span class="strong">Ichabod Ebenezer</span> </li> <li> <p>I'm a bit lost with this one. To me it doesn't seem to change shape but rather the cube is constructed in two layers with the top layer orientating in relation to the bottom layer. Presumably that change of orientation/direction is the means the device uses to indicate the direction and distance of the target. So how does Animotus receive instructions...typed in, spoken to ? Is it the movement 'forward' of the top section that indicates distance and if so is it calibrated to a standard or always having to be interpreted through feedback ? It seems to me that while a compass uses NORTH as a constant and finds the target in relationship to that, the Animotus uses the target as the constant ? ? </p> <span class="strong">icykel</span> </li> <li> <p>Wow, I like it !! Its such an innovative use of haptic feedback. With further development I think there is huge potential for it's use. </p> <span class="strong">stingray</span> </li> <li> <p>Hi, I'm the creator of the device and would be happy to answer these comments.</p> <p>the.other.will - the neck is less sensitive to touch sensations than the hand, making multi-dof feedback difficult. Some work has been done on haptic devices worn on the neck, but these tend to only be able to provide alerting feedback. I chose a handheld interface based on the success of the mobile phone compared to a long history of wearable interfaces. </p> <p>Bob Flint - the device is built with a number of tactile features (such as the raised triangle on the top) that permit correct orientation without the use of visual cues. This permitted the device to be correctly orientated by visually impaired persons during testing. Though you claim visual is still fastest, this is not the case if you cannot see.</p> <p>Freyr - A compass only points north. This points to wherever you tell it you want to go (for example, a particular cafe). In addition, the device also tells you how far away you are from your target. In addition, you cannot use a compass if you are blind.</p> <p>Feel free to ask me questions about the device directly on twitter: @AdSpiers Thanks for your interest in the Animotus!</p> <span class="strong">AdSpiers</span> </li> <li> <p>A good start but something hands free would be ideal. Maybe something worn around the neck?</p> <span class="strong">the.other.will</span> </li> <li> <p>If you picked this up without any explanation or instructions it fails. Ever pull out your phone an need a visual cue to orient to proper position could be with tactile only but visual is still the fastest.</p> <span class="strong">Bob Flint</span> </li> <li> <p>How is it better than a compus, which requires no electronics and no battery?</p> <span class="strong">Freyr Gunnar</span> </li> </ul> </div>  <div class="page-section"> <a name="comment-form"></a> <p class="h2 title-standout">Post a Comment</p> <div data-article="39130"> <form class="login-form form-full js-login-form" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/login/" method="post"> <p class="strong">Login with your Gizmag account:</p> <p class="js-login-error"></p> <input type="hidden" name="csrfmiddlewaretoken" value="92fuuzJo9VLXQF68kDCgOBbiy95jNfzN"/> <input type="hidden" name="next" value="/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/"> <tr><th><label for="id_email">Email:</label></th><td><input id="id_email" maxlength="254" name="email" type="email"/></td></tr> <tr><th><label for="id_password">Password:</label></th><td><input id="id_password" name="password" type="password"/></td></tr> <button class="btn btn-primary btn-lg pull-right">Log In</button> <div class="pull-left"> <a class="small" href="/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/register/">Register here</a><br/> <a class="small" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/password-reset/recover/">Forgotten your password?</a> </div> </form> <p class="strong">Login with Facebook:</p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/login/facebook?next=/navigation-haptic-yale-animotus/39130/" class="facebook-login-button" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </div> <div class="page-section"> <p class="h2 title-standout">Related Articles</p> <ul class="list-ui list-ui--vertical related-articles"> <li class="media"> <a class="media__left" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/lechal-haptic-feedback-navigation-shoes/30939/" title="Lechal haptic footwear guides you by buzzing your feet"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://images.gizmag.com/hero-related/lechalshoes.jpg" alt="Lechal haptic footwear guides you by buzzing your feet"/> </a> <a class="h3 title-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/lechal-haptic-feedback-navigation-shoes/30939/"> Lechal haptic footwear guides you by buzzing your feet </a> <p class="related-article__date"> February 21, 2014 </p> </li> <li class="media"> <a class="media__left" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/haptic-steering-wheel-navigation/22351/" title="Vibrating steering wheel gives directions and keeps drivers' eyes on the road"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://images.gizmag.com/hero-related/hapticsteering.jpg" alt="Vibrating steering wheel gives directions and keeps drivers' eyes on the road"/> </a> <a class="h3 title-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/haptic-steering-wheel-navigation/22351/"> Vibrating steering wheel gives directions and keeps drivers' eyes on the road </a> <p class="related-article__date"> April 30, 2012 </p> </li> <li class="media"> <a class="media__left" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/le-chal-haptic-shoe-for-blind/20186/" title="Haptic shoe could replace the white cane"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421im_/http://images.gizmag.com/hero-related/lechal.jpg" alt="Haptic shoe could replace the white cane"/> </a> <a class="h3 title-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/le-chal-haptic-shoe-for-blind/20186/"> Haptic shoe could replace the white cane </a> <p class="related-article__date"> October 17, 2011 </p> </li> <li class="media"> <a class="media__left" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905052421/http://www.gizmag.com/smarthalo-bicycle-navigation/39095/" title="Need directions? 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