Hybrid Body
Hybrid Body develops a wearable device that uses haptics and robotic sensing to help users "see" their surroundings!
Background
Unlike other animals, humans mostly rely on visual information when interacting with environments. What if we can augment our capabilities with robotic sensing and perception? What if we can harvest energy to power the device from our movement? What if we can feel the objects around us like cats using whiskers?We're developing a wearable device that uses haptics and sensing technology from autonomous robots to help users "see" their surroundings.
Goals
We will explore various intelligent sensing technologies for real-time object detection, localization, and mapping. We hope to alleviate some of the cognitive load during locomotion by providing haptic feedback. We will prototype the device by components and integrate everything with intuitive interactions. By the end of the year, we hope to have a functional product that can be tested in real-world scenarios. This wearable device would be especially useful for visually impaired individuals to navigate safely.
Relevant Skills
Experience with microcontrollers, IoT, sensors (camera, radar, lidar), haptics, computer vision, autonomous navigation, ROS, Python, C++, 3D printing, CAD modeling, human-centered design, UI/UX.