GPS navigation
has made getting lost more difficult than ever. But if the act of using your
brain to steer your own limbs is still too difficult -- or you have genuine
problems navigation around unfamiliar places -- a team of researchers has a
novel solution. Actuated navigation is a new concept proposed by a team from
the universities of Hannover, Stuttgart and Munich to combine GPS and
electrical stimulation of the muscles and literally drive you around an
unfamiliar location, without having to consult a map.
Researchers
outline how the idea would combine GPS navigation with a new, direct method of
delivering that information to the human locomotion system. The idea works by
delivering weak electrical signals to the muscles, using non-invasive
electrodes on the skin. The signal interacts with motor nerves, which contracts
the relevant fibres and forces you to change direction. The proposed setup
would provide an actuation signal that is processed directly and affects a
change of direction.
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