Make: DIYSUPERHUMAN
SMART SHOES
Anirudh Sharma of India has
designed an open source vibrating shoe to assist blind people.
Named Le Chal, Hindi for “take
me there,” the system employs
a LilyPad Arduino, eight vibrational motors, and Bluetooth.
The user speaks a destination
using a smartphone, Google
Maps loads directions into the
shoe via Bluetooth, and when
appropriate, it vibrates in an
area of the shoe, indicating the
direction in which to turn.
makezine.com/go/lechal
—LC
Highly Textured
Experience the world of touch in a new and unique
way with the Touch Glove. Information from the resistive-fabric sensor in the index finger appears as light patterns
displayed on an LED grid sewn into the cuff. Designer Ally
Seeley wanted a way for people with impaired senses
of touch to interact with textures, in this case, visually
with lights.
makezine.com/go/touchglove —CC
86 Make: makezine.com/29
SUPER
SENSES
MAGNETIC TOUCH
Leigh Honeywell had a
manicurist apply tiny
parylene-encapsulated rare
earth magnet discs onto
her fingernails amid multiple
layers of nail gel, giving her
a sense most of us lack.
“I can feel ferrous materials
strongly and easily with the
backs of my fingers,” she
reported. “It’s a very gentle
pull and is totally fascinating.”
makezine.com/go/fingernails
