A vibrating vest that writes messages on its wearer's back is being tested by researchers in the US. In future, it could be used to send important commands to soldiers or fire-fighters, warning them of imminent danger when ordinary radios cannot be used, for example. The vest is made from black spandex Oooooh. and fastens around a person's lower torso with Velcro. An array of 16 small vibrating motors is embedded in the back of the vest and connects to a control unit on one side. This unit contains a wireless transceiver linked wirelessly to a controlling computer. Commands sent from the computer are translated into patterns "displayed" – like Braille-on-the-back – by the vibrating motors. The wearer's back was chosen to receive messages because it is a relatively large area that is also less likely to sustain damage.
The US army is part-funding the research: "They are interested in a way to communicate simple commands in situations when the hands are doing other things, or radios can't be used," explains Lynette Jones, the MIT engineer leading the project. Along with colleagues Brett Lockyer and Erin Piateski, Jones has been testing different symbols on volunteers wearing the vest. "We have created 15 with very high recognition," Jones says.
Stop and go. Eight of the symbols are derived from hand signals already used by the US military. "They communicate things like stop, look left, run, proceed faster or proceed slower," explains Jones. When four corners of the array vibrate, for example, this means stop. And a vibrating column, moving from one side to the other, means turn left or right.
Five volunteers were asked to follow the tactile symbols while being directed around an obstacle course. They were also sent signals meaning "raise arm horizontally", "raise arm vertically" and "hop". Out of the five, only one volunteer made a single mistake during the tests. The vest was also shown to work while worn under a backpack. "This is best suited to command-based situations like the military or fire-fighters," says Jones. "It could also be used to direct blind people around a city, but because their path is less defined, that would be more difficult." The vest could operate continuously for around 5 hours, Jones says, which should allow it to function for several days under normal conditions, as messages would not be relayed continuously.
Researchers have previously tried integrating tactile displays into pilots' seats or astronauts' clothing, says Steven Wall, who works on tactile displays at Glasgow University, UK. "Because they use a different channel of communication, they don't take up the very valuable channel of visual processing," he explains. Danial Siewiorek, who works on wearable computing at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, US, agrees that the vest has promise, but says producing a version that is robust enough for general use could be a challenge. "When I have worked with the military, sound is a problem," he told New Scientist. "In the high desert at night sound really carries, so anything that vibrates needs to be silent." Siewiorek adds that the system would need to be tested to ensure it works in all circumstances, especially when the wearer is being very active or is carrying a heavy load.
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