Smart garments: an on-body interface for sensory augmentation and substitution

Abstract

The human sensory network provides an immediate interface by which to gauge ambient properties of the environment, registering pressure, sound, odor, etc. However, sensory loss can drastically diminish one's ability to process such ambient information, exposing an individual to potentially harmful situations. Smart Garments, capable of computation, communication, sensing, and actuation, have the ability to offset potentially hazardous circumstances associated with sensory loss by augmenting the human sensory capabilities. This research explores how Smart Garments can support those with a hearing impairment by leveraging the proximity and surface area of the human skin to provide contextual information (vibrotactile cues approximating the direction of critical environmental sounds) to a user.