European Space Agency Awards Wearable Computing Company Sensovo

Sensovo, a young startup from Germany won the European Space Agency (ESA) Innovation Prize 2013 in the European Satellite Navigation Competition with the project, which introduces a vibrating belt for the navigation purposes. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) November 11, 2013 - Sensovo, a young startup company from Germany that currently develops a wearable tactile navigation system, won the European Space Agency (ESA) Innovation Prize 2013 in the European Satellite Navigation Competition. The award ceremony took place in Munich during the European Space Solutions Conference between the 5 - 10 November 2013. The international team, led by CEO Jan Walter Schroeder, constructed a belt which navigates via vibration instead of using a screen or audio instructions. For a wearer the belt becomes like a sixth sense and destinations can be headed for intuitively. This solution for way finding will revolutionize personal navigation adding a new segment to the market of wearable computing.

Many people can benefit from this innovative way of navigation, such as tourists, emergency services, cyclists, motorcyclists, and the visually impaired. 'The range of applications that can be implemented with tactile navigation is limited by imagination only', says head of communication at Sensovo, Manuel Salvador. The young startup plans to enter the market by optimizing their system for the geocacher communitiy (www.geocaching.com). Geocaching is an outdoor activity and an advanced form of treasure hunting. At a later stage new applications will be added. The design of the device also allows integrating the technology in other accessories, such as an arm band or bicycle helmet. Ulrich Strauss, responsible for improving the design and functionality of the device says, 'Wearable computing is the future and we will soon see more and more electronics integrated into our clothes. This is just the beginning!'

The product that Sensovo developed is a technical intersection of geolocation (GNSS), navigation, wearable technologies, tactile or haptic feedback, and ubiquitous computing, It can be used for navigation without distracting audio-visual senses. A mobile phone application allows defining landmarks or sightseeing points which are sent via Bluetooth to the navigation belt. The device then uses vibration motors to indicate the direction of the preset target destinations. Those vibration motors, similar to the ones in a mobile phone, are built into a belt that can be comfortably worn around the waist under normal clothes and invisible from the outside.

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