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Shock Me The Way: Directional Electrotactile Feedback under the Smartwatch as a Navigation Aid for Cyclists

Published: 24 September 2024 Publication History

Abstract

Cycling navigation is a complex and stressful task as the cyclist needs to focus simultaneously on the navigation, the road, and other road users. We propose directional electrotactile feedback at the wrist to reduce the auditory and visual load during navigation-aided cycling. We designed a custom electrotactile grid with 9 electrodes that is clipped under a smartwatch. In a preliminary study we identified suitable calibration settings and gained first insights about a suitable electrode layout. In a subsequent laboratory study we showed that a direction can be encoded with a mean error of 19.28\,° (σ = 42.77°) by combining 2 adjacent electrodes. Additionally, by interpolating with 3 electrodes a direction can be conveyed with a similar mean error of 22.54° (σ = 43.57°). We evaluated our concept of directional electrotactile feedback for cyclists in an outdoor study, in which 98.8% of all junctions were taken correctly by eight study participants. Only one participant deviated substantially from the optimal path, but was successfully navigated back to the original route by our system.

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  • (2024)A Touch of Gold - Spraying and Electroplating 3D Prints to Create Biocompatible On-Skin WearablesAdjunct Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3640471.3680227(1-7)Online publication date: 21-Sep-2024

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  1. Shock Me The Way: Directional Electrotactile Feedback under the Smartwatch as a Navigation Aid for Cyclists

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        cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
        Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction  Volume 8, Issue MHCI
        MHCI
        September 2024
        1136 pages
        EISSN:2573-0142
        DOI:10.1145/3697825
        Issue’s Table of Contents
        This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.

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        Association for Computing Machinery

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        Published: 24 September 2024
        Published in PACMHCI Volume 8, Issue MHCI

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        Author Tags

        1. bicycle
        2. cycling
        3. electrode grid
        4. electrotactile feedback
        5. navigation
        6. smartwatch

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        • (2024)A Touch of Gold - Spraying and Electroplating 3D Prints to Create Biocompatible On-Skin WearablesAdjunct Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3640471.3680227(1-7)Online publication date: 21-Sep-2024

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