Elitac Bv

Teijin Aramid B.v.

Wouter Karel Vos

Jorrit Jong De

Anneke Van Abbema

Tine Joke Spikker-Titsing

A navigation system for aiding a human navigating, the navigation system includes a belt having a belt length and opposite belt ends, and includes an elongated compartment; a belt coupling arranged to the belt for coupling the belt ends; a compass sensor arranged to the belt and for sensing the compass direction based on the earth's magnetic field; a tactile unit arranged for tactile communicating a direction to the human; additional tactile actuators arranged to the belt and for communicating a direction to the human. The additional tactile actuators are distributed over the length of the belt. An elongated mesh is provided for arranging the elongated mesh inside the elongated compartment, the additional tactile actuators being arranged to the mesh. A processing unit is configured for controlling the navigation system.

Navigation system and method

Bilateral vestibular loss is a chronic condition of which the causes can be ototoxic, infectious, traumatic, autoimmune or congenital. An object of the invention is to improve the effectiveness of a vibrotactile feedback arrangement. The current invention provides a vibrotactile feedback arrangement for use arranged to a human body, comprising: a sensor arranged for sensing a current attitude of the human body relative to the environment; tactile actuators arranged for allowing the human body to perceive an attitude deviation; an elongated carrier for holding the tactile actuators and the sensor in tactile communication with the human body and for holding the tactile actuators and the sensor substantially fixed relative to the human body; and a processing unit configured for: receiving the current attitude from the sensor; determining the attitude deviation based on comparing a desired attitude of the human body with the current attitude; and transmitting an actuation signal to one or more of the tactile actuators based on the attitude deviation; wherein the tactile actuators are arranged to the carrier such that, when the carrier is used, the tactile actuators are arranged substantially in a reference plane; wherein the reference plane is functionally perpendicular to a central axis of a torso of the human body and the reference plane intersects the torso to define a circumference, wherein the tactile actuators are arranged to the circumference; and wherein the carrier comprises stretchable material such that the relative distance between the tactile actuators and/or between the tactile actuators and the sensor is maintained independent of the length of the circumference.

Vibrotactile feedback arrangement

A tactile assembly for a vehicle seat or for a cover placeable on a vehicle seat including at least one tactile actuator, at least two support layers and a matrix layer including at least one cavity, wherein the tactile actuator is arranged on a first support layer and the first support layer is arranged to extend into the cavity without being in contact with the bottom of the cavity and the actuator is arranged on the first support layer in the cavity such that it makes substantially no contact with the side walls or bottom of the cavity, and the opening of the cavity is covered by a second support layer, and to a tactile system and vehicle seats including the tactile assembly or the tactile system.

Growing community of inventors

Utrecht, Netherlands

Wouter Karel Vos