hexagonal

2 Articles

Close-up of a woman's neck with a haptic patch

Hacking Haptics: The 19-Sensor Patch Bringing Touch To Life

November 18, 2024 by 14 Comments

On November 6th, Northwestern University introduced a groundbreaking leap in haptic technology, and it’s worth every bit of attention now, even two weeks later. Full details are in their original article. This innovation brings tactile feedback into the future with a hexagonal matrix of 19 mini actuators embedded in a flexible silicone mesh. It’s the stuff of dreams for hackers and tinkerers looking for the next big thing in wearables.

What makes this patch truly cutting-edge? First, it offers multi-dimensional feedback: pressure, vibration, and twisting sensations—imagine a wearable that can nudge or twist your skin instead of just buzzing. Unlike the simple, one-note “buzzers” of old devices, this setup adds depth and realism to interactions. For those in the VR community or anyone keen on building sensory experiences, this is a game changer.

But the real kicker is its energy management. The patch incorporates a ‘bistable’ mechanism, meaning it stays in two stable positions without continuous power, saving energy by recycling elastic energy stored in the skin. Think of it like a rubber band that snaps back and releases stored energy during operation. The result? Longer battery life and efficient power usage—perfect for tinkering with extended use cases.

And it’s not all fun and games (though VR fans should rejoice). This patch turns sensory substitution into practical tech for the visually impaired, using LiDAR data and Bluetooth to transmit surroundings into tactile feedback. It’s like a white cane but integrated with data-rich, spatial awareness feedback—a boost for accessibility.

Fancy more stories like this? Earlier this year, we wrote about these lightweight haptic gloves—for those who notice, featuring a similar hexagonal array of 19 sensors—a pattern for success? You can read the original article on TechXplore here.

Growing The World’s Largest Snowflake

March 12, 2021 by 7 Comments

Plenty of areas around the world don’t get any snowfall, so if you live in one of these places you’ll need to travel to experience the true joy of winter. If you’re not willing to travel, though, you could make some similar ice crystals yourself instead. While this build from [Brian] aka [AlphaPhoenix] doesn’t generate a flurry of small ice crystals, it does generate a single enormous one in a very specific way.

The ice that [Brian] is growing is created in a pressure chamber that has been set up specifically for this hexagonal crystal. Unlike common ice that is made up of randomly arranged and varying crystals frozen together, this enormous block of ice is actually one single crystal. When the air is pumped out of the pressure chamber, the only thing left in the vessel is the seed crystal and water vapor. A custom peltier cooler inside with an attached heat sink serves a double purpose, both to keep the ice crystal cold (and growing) and to heat up a small pool of water at the bottom of the vessel to increase the amount of water vapor in the chamber, which will eventually be deposited onto the crystal in the specific hexagonal shape.

The build is interesting to watch, and since the ice crystal growth had to be filmed inside of a freezer there’s perhaps a second hack here which involved getting the camera gear set up in that unusual environment. Either way, the giant snowball of an ice crystal eventually came out of the freezer after many tries, and isn’t the first time we’ve seen interesting applications for custom peltier coolers, either.

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