GPS Vibrating Belt Guides Cyclists

January 25, 2013 - By GPS World Staff

A new vibrating navigator belt guides cyclists by tickling them with buzzes and with directional nudges, according to a report by NDTV Gadgets.

The “vibrobelt,” proven successful in early tests, uses vibrating actuators that indicate left, right, backward and forward turn directions. Developed by Haska Steltenpohl of the Intelligent Systems Lab at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the system aims to give cyclists a “heads-up” navigator, allowing them to keep their eyes on the road after they have chosen their destination on a GPS smartphone.

The researchers plan to reveal their system and research results at the annual Intelligent User Interfaces conference in Santa Monica, California, in March.