If you try to use your smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch to guide yourself around, it will guide you through images and voice cues, telling you when and where to turn or to keep driving straight, and so on. However Yale engineer Adam Spiers decided that maybe this could be improved upon and has since created the Animotus.
This is a 3D printed cube that will be able to shapeshift in order to direct its user where to go. For example the top part can spin in any direction, so if you have to turn left, it will turn left, if you need to turn right, the cube will spin right. However if you need to keep going straight, the top part of the cube will actually move forward on top of its base to let you know to keep going ahead.
It can also be used to tell if you are are approaching the destination or if it is time to turn by sliding back. In fact it seems to be intuitive enough where the device was tested in a room that was completely dark and its users were able to determine where to go based on touching and using the Animotus alone.
Spiers believe that the device will have a fair amount of use in the real world, where it can be used by hikers to enjoy the outdoors without having to deal with the noise and vibrations from their smartphones.
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