>>New haptic PND research could result in steering wheels that physically pull at your hands according to pre-programmed routes, or canes for the sight-impared that could help users navigate by touch. The University of Utah study, led by mechanical engineer assistant professor William Provancher, attempts to bypass the already overloaded senses of sight and sound by instead using touch: in the prototype, users rest their index-fingers on IBM TrackPoint nubbins which then slightly pull the fingertip in the direction the GPS system wants them to turn.
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During driving, the TrackPoints would rotate in the direction the driver was supposed to go, gently tugging on the skin of the driver’s fingers in the process.
In four six-minute driving scenarios — two without cell phones involved, and two with — the researchers found the following:
- Without cell phone conversation: Voice accuracy, 97.6 percent; tactile accuracy, 97.2 percent.
- With cell phone conversation: voice accuracy, 74 percent; tactile accuracy, 98 percent.
But it’s not just in the car that this tech could be used (though if so, it would appear in three to five years) — it could also be used for video games, portable media players such as the iPod, the military, air traffic controllers and emergency responders.
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