Tactical situation awareness (SA) is critical for ensuring the Warfighters situational dominance, especially during combat. SA can improve security, survivability and optimize lethality. The object of this SBIR is to develop a dual-mode transducer that provides both bone conduction (BC) sound transmission and vibrotactile cues. The merit of each technology alone has been shown to enhance performance and SA: The sense of touch can convey information that would otherwise be conveyed using visual or auditory pathways, and bone conducted audio can convey radio communication in a manner that does not degrade auditory SA of the external environment. Together, a unified bone conduction/vibrotactile device can be expected to ease the burden of information overload on the Warfighter, whether used alone or in conjunction with the traditional visual and/or auditory channels. Based on our extensive prior experience in the design, development and application of vibtotactile transducers, EAI proposes to combine both technologies in one electro-mechanical device, which is optimized for both a tactile and BC signal transmission, so the Warfighter can receive the benefit of both technologies from a single, convenient, small wearable device.
