1st Place

SpiderSense

My research is at the intersection of humans and technologies and explores how technologies can augment and enhance humans and human interactions. The field, known as Human Augmentics, looks into how to increase human agency through the use of technology. In this picture, I am assembling SpiderSense, a wearable haptic jacket that allows wearers to feel the environment on their own body. SpiderSense consists of 12 sensors that scan the environment using echolocation and project it into the user's body using haptics. As the wearer gets closer to an obstacle, the intensity of the vibration increases and decreases as they get further away. For this project I have to combine textiles with electronics and study how to communicate messages through the skin. This technology can be life changing for the blind, as now they can "see" through their own skin. Future applications include firefighters, policemen and soldiers. Photo credit: Luc Renambot