HAPMAP: Haptic Walking Navigation Systemwith Support by the Sense of Handrail	  Yuki Imamura

Hironori Arakawa

Sho Kamuro

Kouta Minamizawa

Susumu Tachi

Keio University
Yokohama, Japanyuki.imr@gmail.com

Keio University
Yokohama Japanlamza@kmd.keio.ac.jp

The University of Tokyo
Tokyo, Japankamuro@tachilab.org

Keio University
Yokohama, Japankouta@tachilab.org

Keio University
Yokohama, Japantachi@tachilab.org	  Figure 1. The method of displaying

Figure 2. Displayed 3D content fromsensation which sliding virtual curving

different points of view.	  

Figure 3. Experimental Route	  handrail by hand.	  	  Introduction
In this study, we propose a method of displaying unaware-usage
haptic sensation of navigation. People view a map when they visit
an unfamiliar place, but when they are taken away their eyes fromthe map, their attention is diverted and margin of the heart.
However, when we are relaxed and do not worry about getting
lost, we can discover the intrinsic beauty of the unfamiliar land.
Therefore, we have focused on the sense of touch and ensured
security by using a support such as a wall or a handrail in thestreets, along with the sense of touch. Therefore, we propose ahaptic navigation system to release human eyes from therequirement of constantly looking into a map in order to enhancethe experience of our daily walk or sightseeing.
We designed and implemented a prototype of a navigation system
for walking with support by the support of a wall or a handrail,
which contains a haptic display that can direct the use in any
direction and control of the haptic display with an analog value.
We also implemented the system, which allows to automaticallydirecting the course we set. We confirmed its effectiveness withrespect to navigation.

Mechanism
For the haptic display, the device should deliver a sensation of asliding handrail and a sensation of a sliding curved handrail inorder to inform the user of a change in direction. Hence, we havedesigned a haptic display resembling a seesaw in order to push theuser’s palm to reproduce the pressure distribution of a sliding
handrail.
When the seesaw-like-display of the device does not turn, it
informs the user to go straight. When the display tilts right, it
informs the user to change direction to the right, and when it tilts
left, it informs the user to change direction to the left.
In this sense, HAPMAP is able to present not only right and leftturn navigation cues, but also subtle navigation cues fornavigating a winding road and/or path. Conventional navigation
systems tell users to “Go Straight”, even when the road or pathcurves in one direction or another.

Imprementation
The prototype device developed in this study should be able to fit
in a user’s hand. In this study, we used a servo motor GWS/PICO,Arduino Fio, SFE-PRT-00341/860 mAh lithium-ion battery.
For the control of the haptic display, in order to operate the hapticdisplay, we made a system by using infrared camera OptTrack.
It allows to recognizes and mesures the position of the user, sothat the system is able to control the users by sense of walking
along the curved railing which displayed in analog value.

Conclusions
In this study, we developed an unaware-usage haptic display inorder to deliver to the user a sensation of walking with the supportof a virtual wall or handrail. This haptic device suggests new
possibilities for guiding users by delivering a sense of sliding
along a virtual handrail with their hand and its curving rail forchanging direction. In future, HAPMAP will be able to use
conjunction with the general route search system in thesmartphone and GPS.

References
Taro Maeda, Hideyuki Ando, Tomohiro Amemiya, Masahiko Inami,Naohisa Nagaya, Maki Sugimoto, "Shaking The World: Galvanic
Vestibular Stimulation As A Novel Sensation Interface", ACM
SIGGRAPH 2005 Emerging Technologies, 2005.
T. Amemiya, H. Ando and T. Maeda: “Lead-Me Interface” for a Pulling
Sensation from Hand-held Devices, ACM Trans. On Applied Perception,
Vol.5, No.4 (2008)