Haptic Compass gives you sense of direction, not style
By Donald Melanson 
posted Feb 9th 2009 4:12PM
posted Feb 9th 2009 4:12PM
While most folks can get by just fine by simply looking at a compass, Eric from Monkeys & Robots decided to see just how just how far he could push things and ultimately arrived at the Haptic Compass, which he says roughly simulates the magnetic orientation in migrating birds. To do that, Eric made use of a digital compass, twelve vibrating pager motors and, of course, an Arduino, all of which got brought together in belt form. When switched on, the belt simply buzzes the appropriate motor to indicate which way is north, and it can also be paired with an iPhone (or other device, presumably) to direct the wearer to a specific destination. Unfortunately, Eric doesn't seem to have yet provided a complete how-to, but those with the requisite skills should be able to pick up most of the necessary details by hitting up the read link below.
[Via MAKE:Blog]
[Via MAKE:Blog]
Earth to Eric - stay away from the airport. I repeat - stay away from the airport.
This is THE REAL NORTH POLE DOWN HERE BABY.
Artificial pants bulge detected.
jealousy detected...
For the intrepid blind.
If your reading this, you are not offended by this joke.
I'm "reading" this, and I'm blind, and offended by your assumption that people who are blind don't read; don't use computers, etc. how stupid can you be???
what am i supposed to be looking at? cuz all i see it's bulge
does that make you point north?
Yep, it makes you point north. Just like a divining rod.
Nice arms and package. ;-)
agreed...
I've read about someone doing this before; IIRC, it was a German student experimenting with extra senses. He wore the belt all the time, and his brain wound up interpreting the buzzes, not as vibration, but as direction. He didn't perceive vibration; he just always knew which way was north.
that is very cool, how else could you develop this?
maybe you get a twinge everytime you hear motown hits, i know i do already
i read the same thing years ago about the german student. it's a cool idea but far from original.
Yeah i read about a while back. It might have been a WIRED article but I'm not sure.
I remember by the end of the experiment the guy could find tell which direction without the belt.
I always wanted to do it because I already have an awesome sense of direction and would love to boost it even more.
This thing is way too geeky. As an uber-geek myself I can testify to its true intrinsic geekiness.
I suppose once the motor over your crotch starts to vibrate you will be facing north. I can see a lot of computer desks turning northwards after this.
Unfortunately, this compass only points to San Francisco.
That colourful ribbon cable says it all!
And the hint of leather and steel means South of Market...
I read about something similar in wired magazine, long ago. They did this to soldiers. They were able to hand draw better maps of cities and had an easier time finding things. Also when they took the belts away it gave them an uneasy feeling (they wore them constantly for weeks). The study was about how the brain is able to adapt to more than just the 5 senses, if provided with something new. Cool stuff.
He feels so proud he's got a mini boner.
He only has a boner cause he keeps facing north - damn thing doesn't stop vibrating!
noice
Unfortunately, this compass only points to the gun show.
"are you going up north or are you just happy to see me?"
That belt is terribly tacky.
so is your hat
Thought I somehow got redirected to 4chan after reading these comments O_o
come on dude 4chan or engadget you know that more then half the people on here do both.
...in my pants
Funniest comments I've seen in a while.
But there really is something to this; it's a great way to communicate directions without the need for a visual or audible cue. There's tons of legitimate applications for this technology.
Could lend a whole new meaning to the phrase "I'm getting buzzed..."
Thunderbuck said, "...it's a great way to communicate directions without the need for a visual or audible cue..." hence the boners! LOL!
As disgustingly obvious as it is...I think everyone pretty much said it all. What has my life come to? =D
and it also doubles as a chastity belt!!!
For a second I thought the compass was in his pants and that he was wearing a really ugly belt.
Ugh... At times like that I feel like my age is my shoe size.
Honestly - is that thing attached to his belt with a zip strip!?
I start facing north, everytime you're next to me... and when we're holding hands, it's like magnetic north in me... Because I point, with, my pants...
in fact, as some mentioned already, this same idea is a 3-year old student project called "feelspace" of the cognitive science departement of the university of osnabrueck/germany.
there's a press release in german from january 2006
http://www.uni-protokolle.de/nachrichten/id/111266/
and for the english readers, there's more info here
http://feelspace.cogsci.uni-osnabrueck.de/en/index.html
so either this guy reinvented the wheel, or he just copied the student's ideas without even mentioning them...
Is it just me or is that data cable rainbow colored?
Not to be a homophobe or anything.. but the bulging crotch shot and all the erection references are making me a little uncomfortable.