So this only vibrates when it faces north. I wonder if that is more or less useful/comfortable/noticeable than the belts[0] or anklets[1] that always have a vibration in the direction of north.
Haven't had much time since then to update the instructions on how to build it or make significant improvements, but I personally thought the hat form factor was better than the anklet or belt. Even in my prototype version it's pretty hard to tell it's anything other than a normal hat.
Yeah, was hoping it actually would connect to something and give of different sensations based on direction, which in time the body/mind might recognize. This seemed more like an art-experiment than something cool.
AIUI people who wore the anklet version found they quickly ceased being conscious of the vibrations per se, and just had a sense of which way was north. ISTR people learn to see via a camera connected to a pad of electrodes on their tongue. The brain is pretty good at adapting to sensory input, it doesn't have to be wired directly to your nerves or anything.
Years back I wore the Northpaw anklet for a few weeks. I found that it was certainly possible to determine north with it, but never got from feeling vibrations to some "sense of which was is north". In fact, I found that it sometimes took a bit of turning around to get a feel of the direction.
I did not find it a very helpful tool for navigation. In my experience I orient myself by landmarks and constantly knowing exactly which way is north was not that useful, even when walking in nature. I did not try it in a completely unknown place though. Perhaps the most interesting part was how it corrected the intuitive picture of how my home city is oriented - the anklet clearly showed that streets that I always associated with straight north-south and east-west lines were curved and not so perfectly aligned.
When I lived in the Bay Area, my mental map was rotated by about 90 degrees clockwise. It was constantly annoying to be driving a different direction than I thought, and made actual map use really awkward as I'd search for basic landmarks for a full minute before my mental map would "reset" to match the physical map. Since then, I've wondered if something like this would help keep my mental map more aligned with reality.
I don't think it's a coincidence that I started using GPS navigation heavily around this same time. My mental mapping in general has degraded a lot since I started relying on turn-by-turn magic for all non-familiar navigation.
edit: Is there an off-the-shelf solution like the Northpaw that looks less like a house arrest cuff? I can't imagine wearing something that clunky as a usual thing. The market demand for this in a sleek package is probably close to zero, though.
I see no implementation details. How do I know the accuracy of the compass? It would suck to be passively sent directional information that was even slightly off. What if I don't calibrate it for a few weeks? What happens if I'm not standing straight, instead laying down? Does it go off randomly?
Also, I don't see how this qualifies as an implant? In their defense, I can't obviously see anywhere they call it such; the title is just wrong here.
It's just a device that sits on top of a couple barbell piercings and vibrates. To be honest, I'm far from impressed. The seemingly new-age-hocus-pocus-spirituality bullshit branding and wording doesn't help either.
For 250 quid why not get a watch that provides wrist-facing haptic feedback, maybe attach it via bluetooth to a digital compass?
To me, it seems more like a product that's "testing the waters". I agree it's not actually that impressive, or even an implant, but it's softly treading on politically/ethically dangerous grounds. Most of the "upgrades" we've seen so far are for people who have had accidents/damage. This is the first "optional" off-the-shelf product that I know of.
> I see no implementation details
I am excited that we're moving this direction in our society, but I strongly think this is where we need open-source hardware and software. I really don't like the idea of giving control of my physical self to a company, even for something as silly as telling me where north is.
I don't really see how this is treading politically/ethically dangerous grounds, definitely not like those magnetic finger implants people have been getting for a few years[0] (I would also say that those are probably one of the first 'off the shelf' upgrades).
Totally agree with you about the need for open-source hardware and software, especially for devices that become part of our selves! That's one of the many reasons this device bugs me.
> I don't really see how this is treading politically/ethically dangerous grounds...
I see it similar to self-driving cars: No matter how good or useful they will be, there will be people who "don't want no robot driving me around". Likewise, there will be people who think that implanting ourselves with computers is an "abomination".
From reading that link, it doesn't sound like those are "smart" devices? I think that's where we will see people start to have strong opinions about this.
> From reading that link, it doesn't sound like those are "smart" devices?
You are correct; they are not. The compass device in this story isn't implanted either, it sits atop some piercings on the chest. No smart device is being put under the skin here, either.
Food for thought: I met a guy who made an earring that vibrated when he got an incoming SMS. That was a 'smart' device that sat atop a piercing too...
I thought this had some kind of electronics in it though? Maybe I'm mis-understanding the product.
> I met a guy who made an earring that vibrated when he got an incoming SMS. That was a 'smart' device that sat atop a piercing too...
What makes this product interesting to me is that it's "off-the-shelf". The earing, while cool, is a home-made solution (I'm guessing). And to be clear: I don't think this product is revolutionary, I just find it interesting that things have become so small and cheap that we can do this en-mass.
While technically an 'implant', it seems more like this device sits on top of an implant (the barbells). No device is actually being embedded under your skin.
But I guess we're just playing with definitions now and not talking about the product itself. :P
Looks like I'm the only one, but I think this is pretty nifty. Then again I had someone cut open my hand to shove in an rfid chip 10 years ago, which wasn't everybody's cup of tea either.
What I'm most worried about is battery life. If I have to recharge every week (or more), I would give up after a few weeks. Also, what risk is there snagging this thing on your shirt when you get dressed, or crushing it under a barbell when working out? Doing any sort of fighting sport would be impossible too I guess, even if you could take the actual sensor/vibrating thing out.
The battery situation worries me too. Then again, I've been OK with taking off a phone/watch and putting it on a charger on a regular basis for a few years now, so one more item wouldn't be a huge burden.
As bizarre as it may look, it's still a small step towards something. Internet-of-Things(buzzword), smart appliances - it's already entering our lives in some fashion. And so will cybernetics. There has to be trendsetters that start with simple things. First car wasn't exactly a modern day Tesla, first airplane did not have peanuts served by beautiful young ladies, first implants and steps towards cybernetics may seem foolish and toy like, but who knows where it will lead us in 10 years
> Cyborg artist with an internet enabled antenna implanted in his skull that allows him to perceive colours beyond the visual spectrum and connect to satellites to sense colours from space.
I find the compasses in most phones seem almost useless, as they are confused by themselves, and other electronic devices which are nearby.
Will this be any more accurate? I would choose a phone specially for a better compass, as I often find google maps less useful in cities until I figure out which direction is north.
I've used expensive ($1-2 thousand USD) compasses that work really quite well, particularly if you don't suddenly spin around. So the tech exists, at least if you ignore power and size restrictions and up the price range a little. I imagine cellphones don't bother to get a good compass.
External metals are always a problem, though. You can incorporate accelerometer data which kinda helps to protect against quick transients.
It should be mentioned that there are multiple "norths." And while it's generally not a big deal for most uses, if you feel that you need a compass so bad that you have to implant it into yourself, you probably want the most accurate system that you can have. I don't see anything about this on their website. Such as how do you set Magnetic declination? (My guess, you don't).
The earth's magnetic filed is an incredibly complex system. I know this is more about the "implantability" rather than the compass, but still, something to keep in mind.
I'm really struggling to see why you'd want to install this in your body rather than just having it on your person. Is vibration really enhanced by implanting it?
Also, this won't be you "closer to nature" because humans are not naturally attuned to physically know when we are facing north.
Perhaps more importantly, how annoying would this be if every time you rolled over at night, you faced true north and got a nice vibration to wake you up.
I think it's more of a convenience thing, to be honest.
We're not attuned to be able to see where we're going via sonar, sense magnetic fields, etc. On the other hand, we're great at learning, and at adapting to when a sense is lost or added.
And the vibration really won't be that significant, it only has to be enough to get some feedback from it.
A modicum of awareness suffices to keep anyone informed of the cardinal directions, in most situations not involving subway travel. This is more about "Cyborg" than "North".
While this is trivial for some people, it is extremely difficult to infeasible for others.
Taking advantage of people's passive integration of sensory input into their perception of the world around them seems like a reasonable aid for people who have difficulty with things of this nature.
You people, some SV quacks could come up with a device that sends you a tweet when you need to take a shit and you'd still be telling me how it's making the world a better place.
Some people do end up with nerve damage that impairs their ability to know when they need to empty their bowels. What you describe may indeed be useful for them.
I was in New York a short time ago, and though I was outside, in daylight, I had absolutely no sense of direction. I came out of the wrong exit from Grand Central, and had to pull out my phone's compass (after reviewing the map) just to get a sense of which direction I had to go.
It's still very easy to lose your sense of direction in unfamiliar territory, even when you're paying attention.
Hi there, Liviu from Cyborg Nest. Thnx for this! Yes, this is not a full implant, because at this stage we saw the mind change as the important thing and less the body change.
This is somehow still a limited market in general, we do hope to do the best and try to bring technology integration into the mainstream, the world is ready.
I read about someone who wore a belt with a bunch of vibration motors, where the one that pointed north would vibrate. Lots more space for battery life and accuracy. From what I heard he developed an extremely good sense of direction in a very short time.
Let me just be the first to say that I'm not stuffing anything in my body that was created by someone who's identity isn't firmly nailed down. I'm not against anonymity by any means, but infrastructure needs to be 99.999% trustworthy and transparent.
> Liviu was the COO of Videre est Credere, featured in the WIRED as 'Carlos', due to security restrictions at the time the article was published.
Don't people know most of the time to what direction is north? you just look at the sun imagine it's trajectory and you have enough information for 90% of the use cases. Or stars...
This seems... incredibly silly. Not crazy or wrong, just silly. This feels like a child walking out of a movie theater like a cowboy, because they just saw a western.
I don't want an implant to achieve something I can manage with a needle and a bowl of water.
There is a difference between having something permanently giving you feedback, and being able to get some information on demand. It's easy to conceive that being quietly reminded of which direction you're travelling every time you turn a corner could change the way you see the world.
On the other hand, it does seem to be a pretty rubbish implementation. A dongle that you have to anchor to your chest with piercings, and whose idea of "really, really small" is an inch square seems significantly behind where I believed implant technology was.
I might be tempted to try this if it was a tiny, surgically implanted chip that had no other effects, but having some huge trinket dangling off my chest getting stuck in things seems like it would only be attractive to people who wanted something to act as a replacement for an interesting personality in conversation.
Maybe if you are blind, this could be helpful to not get lost and get a sense of the direction you are facing. But I guess there are already less invasive solutions (and other sensory inputs like the sun on your skin).
Usually wearables refer to things you can easily take off, like a watch. This thing looks pretty permanent -- though maybe it flips open like an earring to be removed and serviced?
This is not about the compass per se, it's about adding an extra sense. The article that made me interested in these kind of things was in Wired about 10 years ago: http://www.wired.com/2007/04/esp/ . Well worth the read in my opinion.
Totally agree. They want to `design the future` and the first thing they do is to make a device that was rendered obsolete 10 years ago... What next? a device that makes you sense time? or something that makes you feel that someone's trying to reach you?
I'm not a fanboy, but you've missed the point entirely.
It's not the same thing at all. It's about being able to sense north all the time.
Not getting a compass out, or your silly solution of a bowl of water and a needle. About just knowing which direction north is. There's been (well received) articles here before about people wearing haptic belts that did the same thing.
But it doesn't do that, it just alerts you when you face north.... the rest of the time, you'll have no idea if your east, south or west... I would assume you'd have an always-present general force towards the North to make sure you always know your orientation; this is not like that; it just alerts you whenever you happen to face North.
Yeah, but when you are getting hints about direction of North while moving around, you'll subconsciously be aware of orientation all the time. Your spatial orientation would improve dramatically.
For me this looks too bulky and inconvenient to actually use.
This is my understanding as well. There are tribal groups of people even today whose communication depends largely on cardinal directions. They don't use the concept of left or right, they use a cardinal direction. As a result, they are always aware of which direction they are facing. This implant would be essentially training you to do the same, and possibly wouldn't even be needed eventually.
Alright, I can see the appeal for hikers and long walkers, urban explorers, and a whole subset of hobbyists that I didn't appreciate before. Thanks for the interesting read, and the context.
[0]http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Tactile-Feedba... [1]https://sensebridge.net/projects/northpaw/