Haptic Language
The Power of Touch and the Language of Contact
Strap Tech has developed first of its kind innovative technology based on haptic language to be able to grant real autonomy with a universal understanding.
The word haptic is not included in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy and comes from the Greek word háptō (to touch, relative to touch). However, some theorists such as Herbert Read have extended the meaning of ‘haptic’ to convey the whole array of non-visual and non-auditory sensations that an individual experiences.
The touch information that reaches our thalamus (the part of the brain located in the central area of the base of the brain) is transmitted to the cerebral cortex with great precision and that allows us to immediately detect the area that is receiving the stimulus.
The language of Strap
Tactons, or tactile icons, are structured, abstract messages that can be used to communicate messages in a non-visual way. A range of different parameters can be used for the construction of a tacton, including: frequency, amplitude and duration of a tactile pulse, in addition to other parameters such as rhythm and location.
Our own language consist that through these tactons, we developed a proprietary technology to create “animations” that are patterns of different sets of vibrations meant to alert a user of the physical context and surroundings, with what the user will be able to intuitively make decisions in certain situations or when faced against certain types of obstacles: going up or down stairs, when there is an obstacle at medium height, diagonally, above one’s head, or below the waist line whether it’s a hole or a type of object that one would need avoided. Strap is placed at the chest level and has 10 vibratiors (6 on the device and 1 on each strap), these will give you 6 types of vibrations or “animations” that will cue the user on what movement is recommended to perform.
For Strap, this universal language is like a dance, which intuitively guides the user towards a much more constant and, of course, safe movement. We don’t know exactly what obstacle is in front of you, but we know the type and we will help you to make a better decision on the fly to reduce by up to 80% accidents that the blind and visually impaired face on a daily basis.
Better understanding of the Haptic concept:
- Haptic means related to the touch: the sense that enables the perception of sensations of temperature, pressure and contact when palpating or touching.
- The haptic system allows each subject to perceive the environment by privileging the use of his or her own body. This sense is part of the essential tools for survival.
- Haptic language is universal.
- Strap's technology allows blind or visually impaired people to interact in a better way through the vibrations they receive from the device fastened to their chest. By means of sensors, the device relays "animations" to the user, these are patterns from a set of our different types of vibrations so that individuals can perfectly identify the type of obstacle and the reaction they need to perform to not only have greater and better mobility but also to considerably reduce any risky situations.
- The early days of haptics can be traced back to the military field, more precisely, aviation. This was one of the first applications, and consisted on replicating the resistance forces of aerodynamic control in remote operation controls. In this way, the pilot felt an escalating representation of the phenomena that were taking place to react accordingly.
