Abstract:
A tactile-based guidance system incorporating tactors in headgear, such as a hat, helmet, or hood. Tactors may provide tactile sensations at different places about the head to convey information to a person such as direction, bearing, movement, orientation, and the like, of the person wearing the tactors. The system may also include an optional multi-dimensional sound mechanism which provides indications of direction, bearing, and other information. One or more tactors may be resorted to for resolving any ambiguity in the sound indications.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The invention pertains to guidance systems and particularly to sensor based guidance systems. More particularly, the invention pertains to multi-sensor based guidance systems. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention is a tactile-based guidance system. The system may incorporate tactors in head-gear, such as a hat, helmet, protective hood, or the like. Tactors may provide tactile sensations at different places about the head to convey information to a person such as direction, bearing, movement, orientation, targets, routes, destinations, and other information. The system may also include an optional multi-dimensional sound mechanism which provides indications of direction, bearing, movement, orientation, targets, routes, destinations, and other information. One or more tactors may be resorted to for resolving any ambiguity in the sound indications. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of a head-gear based tactile and sound guidance system; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of a tactor; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram of an illustrative interface circuit for tactors; 
         FIG. 4  is an example placement of a tactor on a person&#39;s head; and 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of a person having a hat-based tactile guidance system capable of communicating with a remote station. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Firefighters and other emergency responders, military personnel, construction workers, miners, or anyone requiring a hard hat or helmet, may need information on location and direction of themselves or other members of their team while in the field. Not only is directional information provided to find another person but emergency and alarm information where direction and distance is important may be provided. For instance, a helmet may give alarm signals to the wearer if that person gets too close to a ledge at a construction site or is standing in the way of a construction vehicle that does not see the person. 
     Some technologies may exist for determining the position of people in a building, or notifying someone of emergencies or critical conditions. However, displaying this information to an individual may be difficult. Visual and auditory displays may have multiple problems and have not necessarily been accepted by users. Visual displays may require either a hand held device or need to be mounted to a visor and may be obscured by moisture caused by condensation, especially for firefighters. They may also occlude part of the user&#39;s normal visual field. 3D auditory displays may suffer from front/back confusion that can be difficult to resolve or they may interfere with the user&#39;s ability to hear environmental sounds. Another display is needed that does not suffer from these issues. 
     The present invention may use a tactile display in either stand-alone mode or in conjunction with an auditory display. In standalone mode, tactors in the helmet headband may use a vibrating element to indicate the direction and distance to a target of interest. Also the identity of the person or target may be encoded as a unique vibration pattern or signature. In a hybrid mode, an auditory display may give a target name, and use 3D audio to give some indication of direction. The tactile display may give either a redundant directional cue or be used to remove the front/back confusion inherent to a headset-based 3D audio system. On the other hand, tactile may be better in indicating direction but audio can provide much more information as to relative altitude (up/down) and also identification of the object/person to which one is getting the distance/direction (e.g., ringtone). 
     When one says “3D audio”, it may mean “directionalized” or “spatialized” audio tones or speech. “Spatialized” audio in the form of speech might be more effective than pure audio tones for giving bearing information. The term may be derived from the redundancy provided by spoken words (“go left 45 degrees”) emanating from a perceived direction of left 45 degrees. Another item is that 3D audio may use just one transducer. For the one transducer, the 3D effect may be created artificially in software through a model of the human ear. The modulated sound may then sent out over the headphone. 
     A strictly tactile system may be noted. Tactors, vibrating elements similar to those used in cell-phones, may be mounted in the headband of a user&#39;s hat, helmet or protective hood. An array of eight tactors, more or less, may be connected to a D/A board that receives commands from an embedded processor that interfaces to a location/tracking sensor system. 
     Automatically, or at a user&#39;s selection, the system may provide a tactile indication which conveys information to a person such as direction, bearing, identity, movement, orientation, targets, routes, destinations, and other information. For instance, tactile patterns may provide identification of a target. The target may be a specific person, multiple exits from a dark chamber, landmarks, or other items. The system may also provide a tactile indication of the direction and distance of each target of interest. Multiple targets may require the directions to be indicated in a D/A series to prevent confusion. 
     A hybrid tactile multi-dimensional (e.g., 3D) audio system may be noted. In an illustrative example, two tactors may be used in the headband, at the front and back of the helmet. When the 3D audio system is triggered, the appropriate tactor may be turned on so as to give the user a better sense of front-back orientation of the 3D audio signal. The tactor signal may occur at any time from before the onset of 3D audio to any time during the 3D signal. The tactors may be driven in much the same manner as in the tactile only system. 
     To provide 3D audio, one may need only one audio transducer. That is, the 3D effect may be created artificially by a model of a human so that the 3D audio is actually simulated rather than being real. 
     Automatically, or at user selection, the system may provide a multi-dimensional, e.g., 3D, audio indication which conveys information to a person such as direction, bearing, identification, movement, orientation, targets, routes, destinations, landmarks, and other information. For instance, audio patterns may provide identification of a target. The target may be, for example, a specific person, multiple exits from a dark chamber, or other items. The system may also provide an audio indication of the direction and distance of each target of interest. 
     In both systems, in addition to direction and distance, other information as indicated herein may be displayed to the user. For example, a tactile or audio signal might indicate direction to a fallen firefighter. This might be in the form of an audio icon, earcon, synthetic speech, or a vibration pattern. In another approach, a tactile or audio signal might give an indication of an alarm where the alarm indicates a dangerous situation together with the direction to the danger such as a piece of equipment or ledge that may result in a fall. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram of an illustrative example of a tactile guidance system  10 . In symbol  11  is the system  10  as it may exist when placed on a person, such as a firefighter or other person needing navigational guidance when in limited visibility situations. Guidance may be effected on a person with tactile impressions, such as vibration, placed on the flesh or skin of the person. In the present example, the impressions may be made about the head of the person. 
     There may be a head mount or other structure  12  which holds one or more tactors  13 . A tactor  13  may be a miniature vibrotactile transducer which is designed to provide a strong localized sensation on the body of a person. The tactor  13  may be a linear actuator which incorporates a moving contactor that is lightly preloaded against the skin. When an electrical signal is provided to the tactor  13 , the contactor  14  may oscillate perpendicular to the skin, while the surrounding skin area is shielded with a passive housing  15  (see  FIG. 2 ). The actuator for contactor  14  may be enclosed in a case  16 . An electrical signal for excitation of the actuator may be provided via a flexible wire  17 . Wire  17  may be supported with a strength member  18  mounted securely to case  16 . A tactor  16 , as an example, may be available from Engineering Acoustics, Inc., in Casselberry, Fla. Other kinds of tactors may be used in the present system and be available from various vendors. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , tactors  13  may be driven by an interface module  21 . Module  21  may include driver circuitry  22  connected to tactors  13 , and a microcontroller  24 , if desired, connected to the driver circuitry  22 . Examples of a tactor interface module or circuitry  21  may also be available from Engineering Acoustics, Inc., and other places. On the other hand, circuitry  21  may be custom designed by a producer of system  10 . 
     One or more receiver/transmitter units in communication module  26  may provide signals for tactors  13  from an external station  27  (see  FIG. 5 ) via radio frequency (RF) radiation  28 . Information may be provided to station  27  by transmitters in communication module  26 . Such information may include several RF radiation  29  transmissions from two transmitters, respectively. The transmitters may be separated by a certain distance such that their transmissions provide a basis for triangularization by station  27  so that a location of system  10  or structure  12  may be determined. Also, orientation or direction of system  10  or structure  12  may be determined by station  27 . 
     Structure  12  along with tactors  13  attached to structure  12  may be placed in a helmet or hat  31 . Structure  12  may be attached to hat  31 . When a person  32  puts on hat  31 , the tactors  13  may come into contact with the person&#39;s head. Structure  12  may need to be adjusted for a particular person so that tactors  13  are in appropriate contact with the surface of the person&#39;s head. The number of tactors  13  on structure  12  may vary. The present approach shows eight tactors but the number of tactors selected may range from one to more than eight. 
     The interface module  21  and communication module  26  may be situated inside of hat  31 . Also, there may be a multi-dimensional sound module  33  associated with system  10 . Module  33  may be optional and in many tactor  13  approaches, module  33  is not necessarily present. If module  33  is present, then it may provide 3-D or surround sound to indicate a direction to the person  32  wearing a hat  31  equipped with mechanism  33 . In this version, structure  12  may have just one or two tactors  13  for disambiguating the sound signal so that person  32  may perceive the appropriate one of two different directions indicated by the sound. The correct direction of the sound may be indicated to person  32  by a tactor  13  sensation signal. Sound transducers  35  connected to a mechanism  34  may be situated in the vicinity of the ears of person  32 . The sound transducers  35  may be speakers, earphones, bone conduction devices, or the like. Earphones over or in the ears may not be permitted or desired in some applications of the present approach. For instance, a fireperson might not be allowed to wear anything that obscures his or her hearing of the ambient environment. 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram of person  32  with a tactor  13  situated on his forehead. Tactor  13  may be held in place with structure  12  as described in  FIG. 1 . There may be more tactors  13  situated at various places about the person&#39;s head. 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram of person  32  wearing hat  31  with components shown in symbol  11  situated within hat  31 . Communication module  26  within hat  31  may communicate with station  27  via RF signals  28  and  29  being received from and transmitted to station  27 , respectively, to provide geographical directions, bearing, distance and direction of movement for going to certain objects or targets. 
     Communication module  26  may have direction-finding electronics which can provide geographical directions, the bearing of the person&#39;s face, movement information, and so on, to person  32  via tactors  13  and/or the multi-dimensional sound module  33 , without RF contact with station  27 . Communication module  33  may determine such information with its internal electronics such as magnetic sensors, gyros, accelerometers, and the like. On the other hand, communication module  33  may obtain such information from an internally installed GPS system or other location reckoning system. 
     There may be several locating approaches; one that covers a built-in RF location/orientation device that could use one of several RF location technologies that include angle-of-arrival, time of flight or signal strength. Other sensors might be used here to detect the relative direction to a dangerous situation such as being in the way of a moving vehicle or approaching a cliff. Another approach may describe the direction and orientation information that is provided from an external source over an RF link. 
     There may be two or more frequency transmitters and one or more radio frequency receivers associated with a helmet worn by some person. A station at another location may determine a direction, location and/or movement of the helmet from signals emitted by the two or more radio frequency transmitters. The station may provide signals for reception by the one or more radio frequency receivers. The one or more frequency receivers may provide the signals to a signal source. The signal source may provide perceptible information to the one or more tactors. Such information may incorporate directions to safety, to a person in need of rescue, and so on. 
     There may be an electronic positioning system in a helmet, for providing location, direction and movement information of the person wearing the helmet. The positioning system may provide signals to tactors in the helmet. The person wearing the helmet may receive tactile signals from the tactors indicating the location, directional and/or movement information including increasing or decreasing distance from a designated location such as a place of danger. Such information may be accompanied by a danger warning to the person approaching such place. The place may instead be a location of a person in need of help or rescue. 
     With sound module  33 , if incorporated in system  10 , station  27  may communicate messages to and receive messages from person  32  under certain circumstances. In other circumstances, tactile communication via tactors  13  may be the only reasonable way for person  32  to receive information, such as for personal navigation. Up-and-down movement and various body orientations may be communicated to person  32  from station  27 . Orientation information may be particularly useful to a diver in opaque water or a pilot flying via VFR (visual flight rules) suddenly caught in a massive cloud. 
     Relevant patent documents may incorporate: U.S. Pat. No. 7,420,510 B2, issued Sep. 2, 2008, and entitled “Location and tracking of People with Combined Use of RF Infrastructure and Dead Reckoning Modules”, which is incorporated herein by reference; U.S. Pat. No. 7,545,263 B2, issued Jun. 9, 2009, and entitled “Audio-Based Presentation System”, which is incorporated herein by reference; and U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2007/0201421 A1, published Aug. 30, 2007, and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Location Estimation”, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     In the present specification, some of the matter may be of a hypothetical or prophetic nature although stated in another manner or tense. 
     Although the present system has been described with respect to at least one illustrative example, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification. It is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications.