Humans rely heavily on vision to perceive and navigate their surroundings. When visibility is reduced, spatial awareness accuracy (measured by a person’s ability to correctly identify the presence and direction of nearby objects) decreases significantly, as important environmental cues become difficult or impossible to detect. This loss of awareness increases the risk of collisions and danger, especially for visually impaired individuals or people alone at night. 

This project aims to reduce these risks by investigating whether directional haptic feedback through vibrations can act as an additional “sense” to improve awareness. Inspired by Spider-Man's "spider-sense," the system I developed for this study, called V.I.S.I.O.N. (Vibrational Interface for Surrounding Impact and Object Notification), uses distance sensors and vibration motors integrated into a custom 3D-printed glasses frame to warn users of approaching objects before they reach them. 

The research question explored in this project was:

Scientific Background

The hypothesis was that users wearing the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses will demonstrate significantly higher spatial awareness accuracy compared to those without them.

This hypothesis was reached since this project is based on the scientific concept of sensory substitution, where information that is normally received through one sense gets translated into another. In the case with my V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses, the environmental information that you would visually perceive gets converted into directional tactile feedback, through vibrations. Considering that vision is the dominant sensory system, spatial awareness should decrease in low visibility environments, thus hindering the accuracy of detecting incoming objects. However, vibrations are tactile, and can be felt without vision. Therefore, if we receive directional vibrations from incoming objects, this should increase our spatial awareness accuracy, even without vision. Neuroscience research suggests that the brain is capable of adapting to new sensory input through neuroplasticity, which is the ability for neural networks in the brain to adapt and change based on new sensory information (Rugnetta, 2026). This would allow tactile information to become associated with spatial awareness and environmental perception over time. 

Research by Lescal from the University of Sherbrooke (2104) explored a similar idea by transforming visual information into sound to help visually impaired individuals better understand their surroundings. Their experiments found that blindfolded users wearing their device were able to locate objects on a table with an 88% success rate (Lescal, 2014, p.49). This demonstrates that the human brain can learn to use alternative sensory input as spatial information. Inspired by this concept, I investigated whether vibrations could also serve as an intuitive guide in low visibility conditions.

In the Spider-Man films and comics, Spider-Man is portrayed as having an instinctive ability to detect nearby danger and attacks before they occur. This ability is commonly referred to as his “spider-sense.” Inspired by this concept, I wanted to investigate whether wearable technology could recreate a similar form of environmental awareness using directional haptic feedback.

Haptic feedback uses technology to communicate information through the sense of touch. The engineering and functionality behind the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses were largely based on concepts presented in the book Engineering Haptic Devices. The book argues that the user is an integral mechanical component of any haptic system (Kern et al., 2022, p.110), meaning that effective haptic devices must be built around the humans that use them. This is why I designed custom frames for these glasses that embed the required sensors and motors inside them, so they aren't pressing into the user's head during use. These glasses rely on infrared Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensors to detect nearby motion, and vibration motors to communicate directional information to the user. The system continuously measures changes in distance over time to calculate whether an object is approaching, from which direction, and at what speed. This information is then processed through my Python code that activates the corresponding vibration motors around the glasses frame, scaling the vibration intensity to match the speed of approaching objects. 

Methods & Approach

Even if the glasses functioned technically, that alone would not make them scientifically useful. If users could not naturally interpret the feedback as spatial information, then the system would simply create extra stimulation and distraction rather than improve spatial awareness. Therefore, I conducted an experiment to determine if users could naturally interpret the directional vibrations as spatial information in low visibility environments; effectively testing whether haptic feedback could compensate for reduced vision.

The independent variable in this investigation was the presence of directional haptic feedback, while the dependent variable was spatial awareness accuracy, measured by the participant’s ability to correctly identify the direction of an approaching object before contact. All testing was conducted under identical low visibility conditions using a blindfold to remove visual input. 

Participants completed two types of object detection trials: one while blindfolded without the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses, and another blindfolded while wearing the glasses. Each type of trial was repeated 20 times per participant to improve reliability. During each trial, a confederate approached the participant from a random direction while holding a soft object (such as a balloon). As the object approached, the V.I.S.I.O.N. system detected the movement using infrared sensors and activated vibration motors in the corresponding area of the glasses frames. If the participant successfully blocked the incoming object before contact, the trial was recorded as a “pass.” If they failed to block the object or reacted in the wrong direction, the trial was recorded as a “fail.” 

A control condition without the glasses was necessary to ensure that the only difference between both trials was the presence of directional haptic feedback. By comparing the success rates with and without the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses, it was possible to experimentally determine how much directional haptic feedback improves spatial awareness accuracy. This experiment tested 6 different participants (A through F), twice, with randomized approaching directions.

Interpretation / Discussion

These results indicate that directional haptic feedback significantly improves the ability to detect and respond to approaching objects under low visibility conditions. The large increase in accuracy suggests that users effectively interpreted the directional vibrations as spatial information rather than instead of random stimulation. These results support the concept of sensory substitution, since the brain adapts to receiving environmental information through alternative senses using technology. 

The effectiveness of the V.I.S.I.O.N. system likely comes from its ability to provide immediate and intuitive feedback through touch. Unlike visual or auditory cues, vibrations directly stimulate the nervous system and require very little conscious interpretation, allowing users to react more quickly to nearby movement, although reaction time itself was not directly measured in this investigation. Additionally, scaling the vibration intensity with the speed of the approaching object may have helped participants better understand the urgency and motion of the object.

Although the results were positive, some participants occasionally confused the directions of some vibration patterns, particularly between the left and rear sides of the frame. This suggests that future versions of the system could improve directional clarity through a more optimized motor layout. Despite this, users still reported that receiving any indication of an incoming object is still better than receiving none. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses are functional and show strong potential for further development as both a safety and assistive device.

Scientific Thinking & Evolution

Throughout the development of this project, several design changes and engineering decisions were made to improve the functionality of the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses. Initially, the system was designed using ultrasonic sensors to detect nearby objects. However, these sensors were too large to fit comfortably on a wearable glasses frame. To solve this issue, I switched to compact infrared Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensors, which were smaller, faster, and better suited for wearable technology.

I was also influenced by the limitations of previous haptic feedback systems that tried to achieve similar results. For example, there was a "SpiderSense" suit prototyped by Mateevitsi et al. that used full-body haptic feedback based primarily on distance detection. Although the system was effective outdoors, the authors noted that the haptic feedback was "more challenging indoors when the sensor modules overwhelm the user with tactile feedback" (Mateevitsi et al., 2013, p.57). To address this limitation, I designed the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses to detect velocity rather than distance alone. This meant that stationary objects and indoor environments, such as walls, would not continuously trigger the system, while approaching objects and people would still activate directional vibrations. 

The experimental design also evolved during testing. Initially, I planned to use a pendulum that would swing a soft object toward the participant from different directions. However, this approach proved unrealistic because the object remained above the sensor range for most of its motion, only being detected moments before impact. Since approaching people or attackers would naturally activate the sensors through body movement, I adapted the experiment by replacing the pendulum with a confederate carrying a soft object. This created a more realistic testing environment that better reflected the intended real-world applications of the glasses.

Interdisciplinary Integration

This project integrates both computer science and physics to create a functional system. Programming was essential for processing real-time sensor data from the laser, and converting it into readable distances for Python to interpret and use. Physics was used to convert these distances into velocities, to filter for approaching objects. Additionally, neuroscience also played a role, since this project relies on the brain’s ability to interpret directional vibrations as meaningful spatial information through sensory substitution.

Using MicroPython on an ESP32 microcontroller, I programmed the system to continuously read sensor values, calculate changes in distance over time, apply filtering thresholds, and determine whether an object was approaching quickly enough to trigger directional haptic feedback.

Together, these disciplines allowed the system to convert physical environmental changes into digital signals, and then into tactile feedback. Without programming, real-time processing would not be possible, without physics, the interpretation of movement and spatial data would not be accurate, and without human sensory adaptation, the vibrations would not function as an intuitive warning system.

To see how the infrared sensors are able to detect approaching objects, try using the interactive element below!

Limitations & Future Directions

This project represents only the first prototype of the system, meaning that it comes with certain limitations. One of which is portability, as the glasses still rely on an external battery/microcontroller pack that magnetically clips onto the user’s shirt. While this setup was effective for experimental testing and data collection, future versions plan to integrate smaller components and emerging nanotechnology to fully embed the electronics within the glasses frame itself, making the system more compact and wearable for everyday use.

Another limitation involves users with long hair, which (when not tied up) can occasionally obstruct the sensors positioned around the frame. To address this issue, I plan to develop an alternative version integrated into a headband, allowing the sensors to maintain a clearer field of detection around the user’s head.

A technical limitation involves battery life and processing speed. Since the system continuously reads data from multiple sensors and calculates object velocity in real time, prolonged use can drain the battery after a day of use. This means it must be charged at night. The sensor reads distances 15 times a second; however, the processing latency caused by translating these distances into velocities, and those velocities into haptic feedback could reduce reaction time in fast-moving situations. The total response latency was approximately 0.1 to 0.3 seconds. Future versions of the system could improve efficiency by optimizing the code, using faster processors than the ESP32, and integrating lower-power components to increase responsiveness and reliability.

Final Conclusions

This project explored how directional haptic feedback affects spatial awareness accuracy under low visibility conditions. The results showed a statistically significant increase in accuracy when participants wore the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses, supporting the hypothesis that haptic feedback can improve a user’s ability to detect and respond to approaching objects when vision is limited.

Beyond answering the research question, this project also demonstrated that wearable haptic systems have the potential to function as practical assistive and safety devices, which is why I plan to continue developing them further. Although the V.I.S.I.O.N. glasses may have started as an idea inspired by science fiction, this experiment shows that even projects inspired by movies have the potential to save lives.