Headband Gives Wearer "Sixth-Sense"

An anonymous reader writes "New Scientist reports on a headband developed at the University of Tokyo that allows the wearer to feel their surroundings at a distance — as if they had cats whiskers. Infrared sensors positioned around the headband vibrate to signal when and where an object is close. There are also a few great videos of people using it to dodge stuff while blindfolded."

Re:Augmentation of senses

[adamstew]

This seems to make sense for those who are blind. Instead of using the walking stick/cane (not sure what it's called). Just strap one of these things to their head/chest/belt and let them walk on. It could vibrate to indicate steps, objects, drop offs, etc.

I don't know why this hasn't been thought of before...perhaps it has been, but not that i've heard of.

Re:Augmentation of senses

[Xiph]

Actually, one of the main features of the walking-stick/cane is that it helps detect features just above ground level, such as curbs and stairs. A band wrapped around the head would help against trees and walls, but not against the curb.

Made the same thing at Towson University

[IceCreamGuy]

I made almost exactly the same thing at Towson University last semester with a research grant. I have a Daventech SRF04 ultrasonic rangefinder mounted on a baseball cap which is polled by an Acroname Brainstem PIC module. That data is averaged over a short time and sent out to a servo that is strapped to the user's palm. The end result is that the servo presses against the user's palm with a pressure inversely proportional to the distance read by the rangefinder. It really does work very well, it's very responsive and it's not too dificult to at least avoid bumping into things. The only problem is that it's not in stereo; I would eventually like to add more rangefinders and more servos. The other problem is that the user has to move their head around constantly to get distance information; I talked this over with a blind friend of mine and he suggested that the sensor be mounted on the hand or wrist along with the servo, this way it's a little more intuitive and less cumbersome/dorky-looking/tiresome. I really wish I'd published at least something somewhere; when my advisor was talking about it (it wasn't my idea, I just designed and built it) I remember thinking "I can't believe nobody else has made something like this before." Ah well.

Re:Augmentation of senses

[salec]

...features just above ground level, such as curbs and stairs.

Then this sensory aid should be mounted on the shins, set to observe forward\downward slope.

In anecdotal evidence (as well as my own experience) contactless "feel" of objects in total darkness is most desirable in your hands and fingertips, or there goes the flask, glass, lamp, heavy loose objects leaned on the wall...with lots of noise in the middle of the night, of course. After all in the dark we do wave hands in front of us to explore surroundings.

All things considered, this sensor type seems like a cool idea.

Re:Augmentation of senses

[Satorian]

Well, time for some buzzing shoes with forward looking IR then. Shouldn't be much of a problem to put the electronics and battery into the soles and attach the sensor at the front.

Re:Already have that

[Anonymous Coward]

No. A sense is a modality by which the brain receives information about the external world.

Senses: vision (three senses, if you like), 5 tastes, many many odors, hearing, heat, pain(s), sharp pressure, dull pressure, proprioception, balance, etc.

Not-senses: any memory systems.

"Intuition" for any non-psychic/ESP definition must be a memory system, not a sensory modality.

Re:Augmentation of senses

[TheCarp]

Heh, but we have been doing this for years. What is my car but an augmentation to my ability to move?

It took moments to begin, but nearly 10 years or so to rewire my brain, but its pretty good at both cars and motorcycles now. Whens the last time you really had to think about it? I don't think "Ok 4k RPMs, lets toss it into the next gear". No, I press the gas, the car speeds up and I just do it.... information comes in via my senses (vibration being a real key, more than most) and I do the right thing, the same thing, over and over.

Even if I spin out, its not like I think "ok, I am sliding, what do I do in a slide, steer into it..." no. the car starts to slide, and I just react, do the right thing, and continue on my way. The adrenalin doesn't even hit anymore. My brain has done it, learned it, and is ready to do it again as needed.

Its no different from mastering any skill. Think how well your brain is wired to use a mouse, a keyboard. Ever seen someone sit down for the first time and see how unskilled they are with the mouse?

I am not really surprized, but I do think that realizing this explicitly and looking at how we can use these aspects of our minds is quite a neat area of research. I hope we see a lot more of this sort of thing.

how about heat vision? sensor to track where the eyes are focused, take a surface temp reading, and use some sort of vibrational or sensational output so you can feel the temperature. No longer would hot glass look like cold glass, you would cast your eyes upon them and know. Could be useful with peoples body heat too. Liars? Sexual arousal? Illness? so many uses!

-Steve

Re:Augmentation of senses

[Oktober Sunset]

Why do nerds insist on constantly trying to reinvent the wheel? IR shoes are a rubbish substitute for a cane. They would only indicate the presence of an obstacle, they wouldn't have any information about it, concrete block would seem the same as a piece of cardboard, you would have to make a detour for every bit of litter. And you wouldn't know what was on the other side of an obstacle, a curb could have a nice wide pavement on the other side, or there could be a brick wall, or a ditch, but you wouldn't know until you put your foot over it. Also, a came tells you what the ground is like, if it is a loose surface, or if there is a huge mud puddle in front of you, IR shoes could never tell you that stuff as easily as a cane could.

Re:Well, almost good enough

[mastergoon]

Finding this funny is what fundamentally separates the average person from a slashdot reader.

Re:Augmentation of senses

[fractoid]

Also the cane, combined with dark glasses, is a big, obvious "get the fuck outta my way I can't see you" which probably helps a good deal in navigating crowds. But still, stuff like this (IR shoes, sensor headband) is definitely hella cool, I'd want that stuff if I were blind. Who's to say blind people can't be geeks too?! :)

Re:Augmentation of senses

[Anonymous Coward]

The Farce is strong in this one.

Re:Augmentation of senses

[alcmaeon]

Actually, this reminds me of a system I have seen construction workers use. But they went the Japanese one better by transferring the senses of one person to another person. For instance, the construction workers, without mechanical aids, were able to transfer the visual sense of one worker to the auditory sense of another worker who was effectively blinded.

One day, I saw this truck driver trying to back a truck through a very narrow garage door. This other worker would stand there and yell things like "left," "right," "'mon back" and the truck driver was actually able to translate these aural signals as though they were vision and back the truck through the doorway without hitting it. It was almost like science fiction, except it was real!