Take me by the hand: haptic compasses in mobile devices through shape change and weight shift

This paper compares two novel physical information displays, both of which allow for haptic, non-invasive, non-audiovisual information display: a shape-changing device and a weight-shifting device. As for their suitability in mobile navigation applications, the two haptic systems are compared against each other, and also against a GUI-based solution, which serves as a baseline. The results of the study indicate that the shape- and weight-based displays are less accurate than the GUI-based variant, but may be suitable for simple directional guidance (e.g. walking ahead, or turning left or right) and beneficial in terms of reaction times to visual cues (e.g. traffic lights). This paper concludes with an outlook towards potential future research activities in this field.