It uses touch technology to provide real-time performance feedback

Can we ever see too much data? Yes, indeed. In some situations, visual overload can paralyze decision-making. Adding one more screen, one more monitor, one more chart, table, ticker or graph becomes counterproductive.

Since 2022, WashU’s Sensory and Ambient Interfaces Lab (SAIL) has been exploring new non-visual ways to deliver real-time performance feedback in compromised environments.

“We define a compromised environment as any physical situation where a screen either doesn’t exist, is dangerous, or distracts from the primary task at hand,” said lab founder Jonathan Hanahan, an associate professor at the Sam Fox School. of Design & Design. Visual arts.

In this videoHanahan, who also directs WashU’s new Master of Design for Human-Computer Interaction and Emerging Technology, discusses SAIL, its pilot collaboration with WashU Rowing, and the broader potential of haptic technology.

They can have ideas about the sense of touch– such as pulses and vibrations, typically transmitted through a wearable device – be suitable for communicating complex information?

“A lot of my work is about asking questions around that intersection of physical and digital experiences,” Hanahan said. “As they become more and more intertwined, what does that mean? How do they work together?

“What do we understand about the relationship between the two things?”