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Unfolding Space (Paper)

The Unfolding Space Paper

  • In the summer of 2021 I conducted a study about the Unfolding Space Glove.
  • In January 2022 I finished my Master’s thesis about this study.
  • And in February 2022 a paper came out at MDPI, that now reached over 30 citations. 
overview image with a picture of the unfolding space glove and the 3 keywords design, implementation and evaluation

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.

MDPI – Sensors | Scientific Paper

Published on 26.02.22 in the special issue "Spatial Perception and Navigation in the Absence of Vision" of MDPI – Sensors.

ResearchGate | All Publications

My profile on ResearchGate hosting all publications. 2018 bachelor thesis and proposal (theoretical paper) are only available in German.

Impressions from the Paper

three pictures: a, showing a person doing a vision test at a computer b, showing the obstacle course used in the study from a top view c, showing the grid system of the obstacle course in closeup
three images (A, B and C tagged) showing different people using the glove in the obstacle course
cards showing different layouts of numbered boxes on a grid system

order

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hi there!

I’m Jakob. I am a creative technologist, designer, maker and (re-)searcher, and this website shares my work and thoughts.

Privacy policy: I don’t track, I don’t collect or retain data.

tech

I often work on interceptions of design and engineering, bringing up some hardware or software (or both) projects, code bases and notes.

design

During my »Integrated Design« studies at KISD in Cologne, Germany, I worked in various design disciplines, fostering a holistic approach to design. While I explored traditional fields such as communication, industrial, service and interface design, my focus sharpened on these broader terms:

  • interaction: (inter-)action possibilities between humans and machines /computers.
  • experience: the aesthetic and sensory reception of audio/visual installations.
  • data: making raw data accessible and processable.
  • product: physical “things”.

research

This section showcases projects from my recent academic work. This includes projects from my own studies and the results of my work as a scientific employee at KISD from 2022 to 2025.

blog

Blogs are outdated. That’s why I started writing one.
All too often, I find myself down a rabbit hole, researching topics that haven’t received enough coverage on the internet yet, or simply stumbling upon ideas that are too valuable to keep to myself.
I’m passionate about sharing, which is why I started this blog. I hope you enjoy it!

music

Praqma is a producer and DJ of electronic music, blending diverse house and techno elements, a temporary utopia to escape the world’s imperfection.

Some of my early work is available on streaming and purchase platforms. Since 2023, I have focused solely on developing new hardware and software for techno live performances. See the »Modulator« and »Clipdeck« projects below, for example. In October 2025, I uploaded the first one-hour live set from this project.