Bone Conduction Audio & Vibrotactile Transducer for Dual-Use Communication

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 (B-Tac) 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 refine our Phase I actuator designs and combine these in a head mounted array. We will also measure the effectiveness of the B-Tac system for tactile and BC signal transmission and show how Soldiers can benefit from the system.