Locomotion is a vital activity for human beings. When walking through unfamiliar places such as a large convention center, we usually rely on visual information from a map or a compass. In contrast, kinesthetic cues are intuitive for all users to indicate a certain direction such as lead-by-hand navigation or a guide dog for people with visual impairment. However, mobile devices have not provided a stable pulling or pushing force feedback because both the user and device must be physically connected to an external ground to provide it. Over the last several years, we have designed and developed several prototypes to generate asymmetric oscillation [Amemiya et al. 2006], and succeeded in creating a sensation of being pulled without grounding by using a sensory illusion produced by the asymmetric oscillation [Amemiya and Sugiyama 2010].
['Tomohiro Amemiya', 'Hiroaki Gomi']
Active touch sensing of being-pulled illusion for pedestrian route navigation