This paper documents the design, implementation and evaluation of the Unfolding Space Glove—an open source sensory substitution device. It transmits the relative position and distance of nearby objects as vibratory stimuli to the back of the hand and thus enables blind people to haptically explore the depth of their surrounding space, assisting with navigation tasks such as object recognition and wayfinding. The prototype requires no external hardware, is highly portable, operates in all lighting conditions, and provides continuous and immediate feedback—all while being visually unobtrusive. Both blind (n = 8) and blindfolded sighted participants (n = 6) completed structured training and obstacle courses with both the prototype and a white long cane to allow performance comparisons to be drawn between them. The subjects quickly learned how to use the glove and successfully completed all of the trials, though still being slower with it than with the cane. Qualitative interviews revealed a high level of usability and user experience. Overall, the results indicate the general processability of spatial information through sensory substitution using haptic, vibrotactile interfaces. Further research would be required to evaluate the prototype’s capabilities after extensive training and to derive a fully functional navigation aid from its features.

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become increasingly important for designing human-computer interactions and user experiences, designers must prepare for the challenge of developing meaningful, creative, and technically feasible AI-based systems. We present a teaching format that we implemented to equip design students with the necessary intuition for AI technologies to develop sensor-based AI-driven interactions. The format consisted of two parts: a role play, which provided a playful, low-threshold introduction to the basics of machine learning for classifying sensor data; and an exploratory part, supported by readymade hardware and software modules, which enabled active engagement with the technology to support creative ideation processes. With this teaching format, we met our teaching objectives of increasing students' technical literacy, teaching the technical language, and providing the necessary tools and knowledge for working with technology as creative material.