Frameworks

Haptic proximity radar (continuous direction and distance)

A continuous, distance-modulated haptic example. A draggable target sits on a radar disc around the wearer: its direction selects which body zone fires and its distance sets the intensity.

Source: examples/haptic_proximity_radar/ on GitHub
Hardware required: Teslasuit 4R, connected and powered.
Run: python -m examples.haptic_proximity_radar.main from the repository root (needs the [gui] extra).
Live demo: see Haptic Proximity Radar on the Teslasuit research demo page.

What it shows#

This is the continuous analogue of the discrete arrow-key cues in Haptic navigation. The operator sees a top-down view of the wearer at the centre of a disc and drags a target anywhere inside it. The suit fires a continuous haptic cue whose:

Channel (which body zone fires) is selected by the angle from the wearer to the target.
Intensity (pulse width × amplitude) is driven by the radial distance: close = strong, far = silent.

Capabilities demonstrated:

HapticLibrary subclass: ProximityHaptics declares four named CustomPlayable slots: belly, back, left_shoulder, right_shoulder.
Per-slot intensity multipliers: the strategy writes amplitude_mult and pulse_width_mult on each slot every cycle, instead of only toggling IsMuted.
Custom ControlMessage: ProximityControlMessage carries the target position (obj_x, obj_y) and a master intensity.
Haptic only output: no EMS is produced; self.ems_output is pre-muted in the strategy's __init__.

Project layout#

examples/haptic_proximity_radar/
├── main.py                          ── orchestrator.launch()
├── proximity_radar_strategy.py      ── ProximityRadarStrategy(ControlStrategyBase)
├── proximity_radar_types.py         ── ProximityControlMessage + ProximityHaptics
└── gui/
    ├── main.py                      ── GUI process entry point
    └── radar_tab.py                 ── radar disc, draggable target, zone table

Concept#

                 N (forward)
                 belly
                   │
       W ──────────●──────────  E  (right shoulder)
   (left shoulder) │
                   │
                  back
                   S

The wearer is the dot at the disc centre.
The target can be dragged anywhere within radius R.
Direction picks the body zone, with a cosine-weighted blend on the boundaries so adjacent zones crossfade smoothly.
Distance sets the strength of the cue. At r ≥ 0.95·R all zones are muted.

Signal mapping#

Let (x, y) be the target position relative to the wearer and R the disc radius.

r = clamp(|p| / R, 0, 1)
θ = atan2(y, x) (0 = right / east; π/2 = forward / north)
prox = clamp(1 − r, 0, 1)
Per zone with centre angle θ_zone:
- w_zone = max(0, cos(θ − θ_zone))²
- amp_mult = master · prox · w_zone
- pw_mult = 0.5 + 0.5 · prox
- IsMuted = (prox == 0) or (w_zone < ε)

Cardinal positions excite exactly one zone; 45° positions excite the two neighbours at equal weight (about 0.5 each).

Bone / channel mapping (Teslasuit 4R)#

Same map as Haptic navigation, verified on the reference suit:

Body area	bone_id	Channels	Direction (θ_zone)
Abdomen (belly)	8	0..7	forward (+π/2)
Back	11	0..7	backward (−π/2)
Left upper-arm front	12	0..2	left (+π)
Right upper-arm front	14	0..2	right (0)

Running it#

python -m examples.haptic_proximity_radar.main

A top-down radar window appears with a draggable target. Drag it around the disc to change which body zone fires and how strong the cue is.

Key	Action
Drag	Move the target
Arrow keys	Nudge the target (Shift + arrow for a larger step)
Space	Toggle orbit mode
0	Re-centre the target
`,` / `.`	Lower / raise master intensity
Esc	Stop all zones

Press Ctrl-C in the launching shell to exit.

Safety notes#

This example drives haptic output only; EMS output is muted for the whole session. Esc stops all zones immediately, and the cues are also stopped when the window loses focus. Start with a low master intensity and raise it only if the wearer reports the cue as too subtle.

See Safety for the framework's safety guarantees.