A pragmatic approach to the design and implementation of a vibrotactile belt and its applications

A human centered pragmatic approach to the design and implementation of a vibrotactile belt is presented in this paper. Based on (a) extensive usability feedback we've collected over the past year, and (b) a thorough survey of existing design guidelines from the literature, we propose a set of design guidelines for the development of haptic belts that can span seamlessly across various applications. These guidelines cover three important aspects for haptic belts: functionality, performance and usability, which are vital for longitudinal use by end users. Taking a human-centric approach from these design guidelines, we demonstrate the construction of a wirelessly controlled haptic belt design that is versatile, usable and practical. Implementation details of the belt are given, along with a preliminary usability study and a brief review of some of the important application areas of haptic belts. Results from the usability study reveal that participants were very pleased with the proposed haptic belt, and found it to be easy to wear and use.