This device uses the same principle as the Haptic Radar. However, instead of having haptic feedback on the head, the rangefinders and motor vibrators are placed at the location of the cat’s whiskers. The range data is sent wirelessly to be monitored on the PC – where a MAX/MSP patch takes the data and produces a series of abstract sounds. The haptiKat has been used by Joanna Lumley in the the TV serie Catwoman  to simulate navigation using the sensitive cat’s whiskers.

It is interesting to note that the facial vision effect, experienced on the face surface, is not due to actual haptic feedback on the face, but is mediated entirely by  by auditory processing (synesthesia?):

“An awareness of obstacles without vision, experienced by people who are blindfolded and often highly developed in people who are blind, usually felt as a tactile sensation in the facial area but shown by experiments to be explained by reflected sound waves and mediated entirely by hearing. Also called obstacle sense. ” – Oxford /  Dictionary of Psychology

 

 

 

 

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The following videos shows the device in action (for a live audio-visual performance – the experiments conducted with Johana can be seen in the series Catwoman):