Victor Mateevitsi using the SpiderSense tech at UIC (via VMateevitsi & Lance Long)
It is no doubt that emerging technologies are now beginning to introduce sensory enhancing devices that drastically change the way humans perceive the world around them. Brain scanners that can detect stress-inducing information overloads, smartphone apps that detect emotion through voice recognition software, and the Army uniform of the future that can be used to alert soldiers to the severity of an injured teammate. What’s next, a full-body suit that artificially gifts its wearer with spider-sense? If you guessed yes, then you would be correct. A new suit, called SpiderSense, is next in line in the field of sensory augmenting technology.
Victor Mateevitsi, a PhD student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, developed the suit alongside fellow classmates to further enhance the immediate environmental perception of those wearing it. The smart sensors used in the suit allow for a directional awareness of objects around an individual through its strategically placed sensor modules around the body.
The suit is packaged with seven sensor modules and one controller box. Each of the seven modules contains an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor, a T-Pro Mini SG-90 9G-servo motor, and a small robotic pressure arm. The controller box, consisting of a series of switches powered by an Arduino Mega microcontroller, is hooked up to each sensor via a 10-pin connector. By sending out an ultrasonic pulse to scan environment, reflected waves are picked up by the sensors and transmit object distance data up to 200 inches away. This data is then sent to the controller box, which converts it into a rotation angle that is transmitted back to the appropriate sensor. The sensor module’s servo motor then turns the pressure arm, applying pressure to the human body.
Victor and colleagues hope that the technology will be useful for both compensating dysfunctional vision or hearing senses, and supplementing existing senses. For example, a person with impaired eyesight may enhance their ability to move around quicker. They also explain that the technology may be useful for bicyclists to feel the traffic around them as a safety measure.
The paper, dubbed “Sensing the Environment through SpiderSense," has been accepted to the 4th Augmented Human International Conference in Stuggart, Germany. The researchers’ presentation was held on March 7th, 2013.
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