Designing Wearable Tech with a Twist

Screenshot of the HapticTech wearable tactile device website

Jake Rockland, a junior in electrical and computer engineering, is working with startup Somatic Labs to develop wearable technology that uses touch to guide users.

"Imagine me tracing a circle on your wrist with the tip of my finger at a fixed rate or a line that goes forward and bends to the left, like an 'L' rotated at 180 degrees," said Jake Rockland. "These physical, tactile cues can intuitively convey information like the passing of time or upcoming turns during GPS navigation. ... It's information that we're used to interacting with, just through our sense of touch rather than visual cues."