SolidSpace: A Device for Redesigning Perception

Abstract:

The Redesigning Perception Project is an attempt to create non-invasive wearable technologies that expand aspects of our human perceptual systems. Our perceptual systems are the gateway to our understanding of the information of the universe, so by expanding our potential to absorb information from the world around us we in turn expand our potential to grow as individuals and as a species. By intelligently analyzing the current limitations of our perceptual systems and removing these barriers through technology we can surpass the genetic constraints passed down to us through our ancestors and perceive the world in a new and unique way. The Solidspace Glove is the first of these devices, a haptic feedback device that allows the user to touch at a distance. By sampling the space in front of the user with ultrasonic rangefinders and mapping these contours to the user’s fingertips, the user can feel without physical contact.