NTX
predicted future
Product design
Haptic learning
wearable technology
NTX - Neuro-tactile experience.
predicting a future of how humans communicate with computers, moving towards a screenless ux which is a natural extension of the human body. allowing our digital selves to be connected with our actual selves
Where does it all come from
The entry point to this was to find a way haptic stimulation can benefit prosthetics. Current day state of the art myoelectric prosthetics or other advanced and expensive alternatives are amazing and allow you to regain this extension to their bodies, but how ‘natural’ is this extension? Can it ever replace your real arm or leg? Can you ever regain proprioception?
By analyzing current trends, 4 foreseeable worlds can be identified:
Wearable Era to Transhumanism
wearables become more and more popular while human augmentation starts to become more popular and accepted
screenless society
screens become obsolete as the harmful effects are widely RECOGNIZED. evolution of brain computer interfaces grows with advanced consumer UX.
haptic revolution
haptics dominate technology and appear everywhere. understanding information through your skin, moving towards digital emotions.
Technology rebellion
with data collection being widely discussed, humans start to reject technology in hopes of preventing machine integration.
By identifying these trends, NTX is born, with the mission to create the future of how humans and computers communicate. Moving away from prosthetics but providing a universal technology in which everyone can benefit from.
NTX are creating a haptic wearable, which in its own haptic language, allows you to understand information just as your brain can interpret words on your phone screen. Through a simple, gamified learning structure, you can start to haptically understand information through neuroplasticity, and this association and complexity only grows with time and experience.
Testing
To provide haptic stimulation, two methods were investigated. VT - vibrotactile stimulation, and ET - electrotactile stimulation. The main tests were to verify level of understanding, learning, extended use, stimulation separation, and overall size
Vibrotactile stimulation
VT is the classic vibration stimulation that is incorporated in some technologies currently already.
With VT, a set of haptic vibrations were created with 3 VT motors to relay the numbers 0 to 9. This was used to test understanding, and the ability to learn the vibrations to a level of subconscious understanding. Many research papers which have experimented with VT have identified the minimum separation distance to be at least 4cm apart, in which the prototype has incorporated.
A second VT experiment aimed to test the ability to subconsciously understand time through haptic feedback. How quickly can we learn the vibrations such that it becomes integrated into our daily lives?
Electrotactile Stimulation
The advantages of ET allow the NTX wearable to become a tangible, consumer product. Electrotactile stimulation can be much more densely packed allowing more information to be felt with the same area of skin but higher currents may pose a problem when it comes to extended use.
With Electrotactile stimulation, an experiment was run on 5 different users to find their sensory thresholds, and the learnability of ET. A simple test was designed on a circular ET patch designed and manufactured in TPU. This was used to test the frequency of errors in the users feelings between axially aligned and radially aligned electrodes.
Full sensory map of the volar side of the forearm with varying currents
This was done on a member of the team to prevent fatigue on any of the EXPERIMENTS
Sensory MAp
Map of electrode positions and mistaken pairs
The results showed mistakes in feelings were 50% directly axial, 16% radial, and 34% unclassified. Nerves in the human forearm run down to the fingers and therefore the same feeling between electrode 1 and electrode 7 will be a very common mistake -hence the dark overlapping purple colour.
Despite the mistakes between axial electrode pairs, the 5 users still averaged a test score of 69% with under 5 minutes of learning and associating electrode, to location. The electrode separation was also under 10mm which can be altered to potentially decrease the number of mistaken electrode pairs.
The product
Through testing with materials, forms, and locations on the body, the best combination has been chosen for the NTX wearable.
Silicone hardness A45. forearm patch fitted by a 3D scan of the users arm. Perfect fit. good texture on skin but was too flimsy.
Silicone Hardness A70. Forearm position, Perfect balance of stiffness/flexibility. Toxic to skin and unsafe for extended use
PLA outer structure. Topology optimised for lightweighting but too uncomfortable directly on skin.
Spring steel snap on attachment with flexible TPU body material. comfortable but pressure not distributed equally and creates a weird sensation when worn.
Using the NTX wearable outside, as it becomes a part of your day to day life
The final wearable is a combination of prototyped concepts. It covers a large part of the forearm and has a hard outer shell which is topologically optimised for its weight and a comfortable but high friction silicon inside. The wearable has embedded haptic feedback which links to 3rd party companies which you choose on a NTX app store. All apps and companies communicate through our NTX haptic language allowing you to create the subconscious association, no matter which app you choose. Customers buying the NTX wearable will also gain access to our learning system, teaching you the basics and allowing you to being your journey of haptic communication.
the Learning
NTX comes with a learning system to get users going when they first receive the wearable.
Modern UIs are designed to be simple and easy to use from the moment you start. But instead of quickly understood intuition, neuroscience suggests that true intuition comes from practice. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways based on repeated input-output association. The ability to carry out a task with almost no cognitive effort relies on practice and time, and with a structured learning system, it can be achieved. Following Hebbian Learning Theory and taking insights from gamified language teaching platforms such as Duolingo, we have designed a lesson and interface that will guide a new user through our number vocabulary, reaching a level of proficiency in under 10 minutes.
the system
NTX links its partners and users directly to NTX. Our partners are provided with the haptic language in which they can create their apps from. Their apps will directly send data to the wearable which users can feel. NTX provide a 3D arm scan and fitting service when you buy a wearable, and this comes with a learning system determined by Machine learning models and AIs. This system can be visualised below:
