System and method for haptic navigation

A system for haptic navigation comprising:

• a processor configured to compute an angular deviation between a sensed orientation and a target heading derived from a navigation route stored in memory;
• a vibration actuator coupled to the processor;
• and
• wherein the processor maps the angular deviation to a vibrotactile gradient output in which:
• a vibration intensity is at a null state when the angular deviation is within a threshold of the target heading;
• the vibration intensity increases continuously from the null state as the angular deviation increases;
• and
• the vibration intensity reaches a maximum value at 180 degrees of the angular deviation from the target heading;
• wherein the null state and the vibrotactile gradient output are implemented without a graphical display output.

A distributed haptic navigation system comprising:

• a first computing device comprising a navigation engine configured to:
• receive route data;
• determine a current position and a current heading of a user;
• and
• compute an angular deviation between the current heading and a target heading;
• a second haptic output device communicatively coupled to the first computing device via a short-range wireless protocol comprising at least one of Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, or Ultra-Wideband;
• the second haptic output device comprising a vibration actuator;
• and
• wherein the first computing device transmits vibrotactile output parameters to the second haptic output device, and the second haptic output device generates vibrotactile output encoding the angular deviation as:
• a null vibration state when the angular deviation is within a configurable threshold;
• and
• vibration intensity increases proportional to the angular deviation as the angular deviation increases beyond the configurable threshold.

A method for haptic navigation comprising:

• receiving orientation data from one or more orientation sensors comprising at least one of:
• a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a GPS/GNSS receiver, a camera-based orientation system, or combinations thereof;
• computing an angular deviation between a current heading derived from the orientation data and a target heading derived from a planned navigation route stored in memory;
• encoding the angular deviation as a vibrotactile signal in which:
• a vibration intensity is at a null state when the angular deviation is within a configurable threshold;
• and
• the vibration intensity increases proportionally as the angular deviation increases beyond the configurable threshold;
• and
• delivering the vibrotactile signal through a vibration actuator of a haptic output device worn on or carried by a user.

A proximity-based vehicle identification system comprising:

• a positioning module configured to receive proximity signals from a target vehicle via at least one of:
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) received signal strength indicator (RSSI), Ultra-Wideband (UWB) two-way ranging, Near Field Communication (NFC) field detection, computer vision vehicle recognition, or QR code scanning;
• a vibration actuator;
• a non-transitory memory storing a target vehicle identifier;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• compare a received vehicle identifier against a stored target vehicle identifier;
• and
• generate a vehicle identification heartbeat pattern comprising a rhythmic vibrotactile pulse whose repetition rate and intensity each increase as measured proximity to the target vehicle decreases below a configurable proximity threshold;
• wherein the target vehicle identifier is broadcast by a rideshare application, autonomous vehicle platform, or fleet management system operating on a driver device, vehicle-embedded computer, or vehicle-mounted beacon.

A haptic human-robot guidance system comprising:

• a robotic platform comprising a proximity radio module configured to broadcast a unique robot identifier via at least one of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), or Wi-Fi;
• a human-worn haptic output device comprising:
• a vibration actuator;
• one or more orientation sensors;
• and
• a processor;
• and
• wherein the processor of the human-worn haptic output device is configured to:
• receive the unique robot identifier broadcast and determine a heading toward the robotic platform;
• compute angular deviation between a current heading of a user and the heading toward the robotic platform;
• and
• encode the angular deviation as a null vibration state when the angular deviation is within a threshold and as increasing vibration intensity as the angular deviation increases beyond the threshold;
• wherein guidance is delivered without requiring visual display or audio output from either the robotic platform or the human-worn haptic output device.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by

• a processor of a haptic output device comprising a vibration actuator and one or more orientation sensors, cause the processor to:
• receive orientation data from the one or more orientation sensors;
• compute an angular deviation between a current heading derived from the orientation data and a target heading derived from a planned navigation route stored in memory of the haptic output device;
• cause the vibration actuator to produce a null vibration state when the angular deviation is within a configurable threshold angular range of the target heading;
• and
• cause the vibration actuator to increase vibration intensity proportionally as the angular deviation increases beyond the configurable threshold angular range, reaching maximum intensity at a maximum angular deviation from the target heading.