At last month’s Human Computer Interaction Conference in Orlando, FL, research psychologist Dr. Linda R. Elliott reported on a DARPA funded project known at the “haptic belt” (haptic means touch).  This is a device designed for soldiers to wear around their waists.  It has eight vibrating motors that indicate a direction for movement-ahead, back, or at angles-which receive input from a GPS locator.  The military’s aim with this is to advise soldiers how to move about in darkness or when they are lost, but the concept is adaptable to eldercare, the visually impaired, and to physical rehabilitation. MORE

Image Credit:  SmartPlanet and DARPA