The Cryoscope brings a haptic element to tomorrow's forecast by letting users feel tomorrow's expected air temperature
Given that touch is generally the best way to determine how hot or cold something is - as long as it's not too
hot or cold - Rob Godshaw has come up with a device that could provide a
more immediately understandable representation of tomorrow's weather
than the traditional abstract number coupled with simplified symbols
seen on the nightly news. His invention is an aluminum cube called the
Cryoscope that adds some haptic feedback to the daily weather forecast
by letting users physically feel tomorrow's temperature - at least in
their
fingertips.
Godshaw, an Industrial design student at the Rochester Institute of
Technology (RIT) and Associate Engineer at Syyn Labs, constructed the
Cryoscope by encasing a thermoelectric Peltier element,
heat sink and cooling fan inside an aluminum cube. The cube is
connected via cable to an external power supply and Arduino controller
that allows it to pull the forecasted temperature off the Internet, with
users providing their location via a Web app.
Once it receives the forecasted temperature, heat is pumped in or out
of the Cryscope until the surface reflects tomorrow's expected air
temperature. The device takes into account humidity, wind chill and the
properties of the aluminum material, with a neutral air temperature of
73°F (23°C) translating to a surface temperature of 85°F (29°C), which
the skin perceives as neutral.
The aluminum shell contact surface has a temperature range of 0 to
100°F (-18 to 38°C) and there's also an LED on the underside of the
device to give a visual representation of the device's current
temperature - red for hot, blue for cold.
The Cryoscope is just a concept at this stage and there's no
indication that Godshaw has any intentions to take it beyond that. But
given the simplicity of its construction, you could probably whip one up
yourself if you had half a mind to.
Source: Robb Me Blind via CNET
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