CyborgNest Ltd is a company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The start-up was the first in the world to commercialise sensory enhancement technology and created a wearable which used haptic technology (vibrations) to convey information to the wearer called NorthSense. The device was released in 2017 to connect wearers to the Earth's magnetic field.

CyborgNest Ltd.
IndustrySensory Augmentation, Human Enhancement, Haptic Technology, Wearables
Founded2017
FounderLiviu Babitz, Olivier de Simone, Scott Cohen
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Websitehttp://www.cyborgnest.net

NorthSense

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In 2017 CyborgNest released the NorthSense, a miniaturized circuit board with over 200 components, with a silicone sleeve. The device was attached to the wearer's chest via steel piercings, and indicated when the wearer faced magnetic north, via a vibration. The device was inspired by a previous wearable called NorthPaw created by Sensebridge. It is unclear whether humans do, or did, possess this sense,[1][2]

 
NorthSense 2017. A miniature circuit board in a silicone sleeve, with steel piercings to attach to the wearers' body.

The device was made in a production batch of 400 units. NorthSense was documented in some technology articles.[3][4][5]

The technology follows the principles of Sensory Substitution Devices (SSD), created by neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita in the 1960s. SSDs are devices which translate one sense into another in order to compensate for an impaired sense.[6][7][8] NorthSense also builds on the research of other similar haptics devices, such as the naviBelt (previously feelspace belt),[9] which gives directional information through haptic motors around the wearer's waist.[10][11] NorthSense was created using SSD principles but as a non-therapeutic device (not for medical use), transmitting non-human sensory information (the Earth's magnetic field), and therefore it is categorised as a ‘sensory augmentation’ technology.[12][13][14]


Sentero

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CyborgNest ran an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the Sentero (presale) in July 2020 where crowdfunders raised approximately £50,000. Sentero was allegedly delivered to 50 of its crowdfunders, however it was never officially released and production has been cancelled. Backers were offered a refund.

Like the NorthSense, Sentero claimed that it would allow wearers to haptically feel the Earth's magnetic field (North), and also added the ability to 'sense' the direction of places and people, and feel their heartbeat.[15][16][17][18][19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Science | AAAS". Science. Retrieved 2022-05-16.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Yirka, Bob; Phys.org. "Possible evidence of human ability to detect Earth's magnetic field found". phys.org. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  3. ^ Frost, Natasha (16 October 2018). "Real-life cyborgs change their brains by enhancing their bodies". Quartz. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  4. ^ "North Sense Is Step One On Your Path To Becoming A Real-Life Cyborg". Digital Trends. 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  5. ^ "Leben mit einem neuen Sinn - Erfahrungsbericht". de.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  6. ^ Bach-Y-Rita, Paul (2006-01-12). "Tactile Sensory Substitution Studies". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1013 (1): 83–91. doi:10.1196/annals.1305.006. PMID 15194608. S2CID 44624575.
  7. ^ Bach-y-Rita, P.; Kaczmarek, K. A.; Tyler, M. E.; Garcia-Lara, J. (October 1998). "Form perception with a 49-point electrotactile stimulus array on the tongue: a technical note". Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development. 35 (4): 427–430. ISSN 0748-7711. PMID 10220221.
  8. ^ Bach-y-Rita, Paul; W. Kercel, Stephen (2003-12-01). "Sensory substitution and the human–machine interface". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 7 (12): 541–546. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2003.10.013. ISSN 1364-6613. PMID 14643370. S2CID 2466391.
  9. ^ "feelSpace – feelSpace naviGürtel". Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  10. ^ Nagel, Saskia K; Carl, Christine; Kringe, Tobias; Märtin, Robert; König, Peter (2005-12-01). "Beyond sensory substitution—learning the sixth sense". Journal of Neural Engineering. 2 (4): R13–R26. doi:10.1088/1741-2560/2/4/R02. ISSN 1741-2560. PMID 16317228. S2CID 74222.
  11. ^ König, Sabine U.; Schumann, Frank; Keyser, Johannes; Goeke, Caspar; Krause, Carina; Wache, Susan; Lytochkin, Aleksey; Ebert, Manuel; Brunsch, Vincent; Wahn, Basil; Kaspar, Kai (2016-12-13). "Learning New Sensorimotor Contingencies: Effects of Long-Term Use of Sensory Augmentation on the Brain and Conscious Perception". PLOS ONE. 11 (12): e0166647. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1166647K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166647. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5154504. PMID 27959914.
  12. ^ Kaspar, Kai; König, Sabine; Schwandt, Jessika; König, Peter (2014-08-01). "The experience of new sensorimotor contingencies by sensory augmentation". Consciousness and Cognition. 28 (100): 47–63. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2014.06.006. ISSN 1053-8100. PMC 4154453. PMID 25038534.
  13. ^ Shachar, M.; Amir, Amedi (2014). "Sensory Substitution and Augmentation - What's Happening". S2CID 18780590. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ Gauttier, Stéphanie (October 2019). "Enhancing oneself with an exosense: Learning from users' experiences". Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies. 1 (4): 317–340. doi:10.1002/hbe2.174. ISSN 2578-1863. S2CID 210645597.
  15. ^ "Becoming Cyborgs w/ Liviu Babitz". FUTURES Podcast. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  16. ^ #3 The influence of technology. Human enhancements from theory to reality - Matt Hayler, 2022-02-11, retrieved 2022-05-16
  17. ^ "NNN / Cyborgnest: redefining human senses". Next Nature Network. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  18. ^ "Inside the broad (sometimes bizarre) world of biohacking". WIRED Middle East. 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  19. ^ "Necsus | Inhabited stories: An enactive media archaeology of virtual reality storytelling". necsus-ejms.org. 19 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-04.