SpiderSense: Human Augmenting for the Future

Our research draws inspiration from comic books, in which the heroes can interpret the world using special senses. For example, Spiderman feels a tingling feeling at the base of his skull when there is imminent danger, a power known as SpiderSense. We are doing research on Human Augmentics (HA), which is technologies for enhancing and expanding the capabilities, cognitive abilities, and characteristics of humans. The above image shows "SpiderSense," a tactile vest that gives the wearer the ability to localize obstacles and objects by feeling the environment around him. It consists of 13 sensors, strategically placed around the body to provide full 360o coverage. Using the principals of echolocation, the sensors scan the environment for obstacles and provide distance information via variable pressure on the skin feedback. Our research focuses on experimenting with different sensor placement techniques, cognitive learning curves, and distance to pressure mapping algorithms. Wearing SpiderSense, the wearer can feel threats from blind spots, and in low-light conditions. The impact of this technology is huge: Imagine walking down the street and feeling a potential attacker that is sneaking behind you, or biking down the road and sensing the incoming cars. We are also submitting a paper for this project at the 4th Augmented Human International Conference.