For about the past decade, Lynette Jones, a senior research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering has been developing touch-based (haptic) communication systems that convey information via small vibrating motors worn against the skin. Think of rescue workers wearing a belt that buzzes to alert them of danger from the left, or a visually impaired person receiving buzz-based, turn-by-turn directions through a new city.

Now Jones and her team has measured exactly how these motors interact with skin and how people perceive the vibrations, which could help develop more effective haptic devices in the future.