[CEATEC 2014] At first glance, the Yubi Navi haptic handles from NTT DoCoMo happen to resemble that of a Wiimote, albeit without the thumb joystick and button, of course. Upon closer inspection, it has a far different function, as this cylindrical and soft gadget will be nestled in your palm as you make your way to your destination using it, of course. The Yubi Navi remains as a prototype as at press time, where it intends to function as both a navigation and a communication device that will rely on haptic feedback in order to convey information.
It comes coated with white rubber, and since it shares a form factor that folks are familiar with, adapting to it should not be too much of an issue. The Yubi Navi can be connected to a smartphone over Bluetooth, where there will be tiny actuators within which will allow you to twist it to the left or right, as well as letting you press the slight bulge that is right down the middle.
Using it for navigation, one can arrive at a destination with it prompting the user to turn to the right or to the left, and upon your arrival, it would vibrate. The whole point of the Yubi Navi is to do away with the need to continue referring to a map shown on your smartphone, tablet, or simply one that has been printed out earlier. In other words, you get to concentrate more on seeing the world around you, now how about that? One of the main points of the Yubi Navi’s development is to solve the issue of walking while looking at one’s smartphone.
So far, there has been no release date set for the Yubi Navi just yet, and I believe that it will need to go through a fair bit of testing before it is ready for a commercial rollout.
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