Context

"CabTrails" was developped in the pressure project (one week working time) on the theme "De-Teched":

"The first assignment of the class was to set the right state of mind to the general theme ahead, and to "techtox", and have a clear focus in the concept development. Think critically about what digital design is all about, take the essence of the project and try to convey it in ›less technological means‹. What’s the fluff in the project, and what is the indispensable computation in it?"

Original project

CabBoots are shoes with integrated guidance system. The core idea consists of a tactile feedback for the instructions for direction that is perceptible at the users feet. It uses the principle of "walking on a trail" (see CabBoots). The intelligence of the system that knows the position, the destination, the way etc. and that drives the shoes is performed by a computer. The feedback of the path (the edge of the path) is produced by small motor driven flaps.

De-teched version

CabTrails makes it possible to experience the "walking on a virtual trail" without any kind of technology. Splines that are mounted on sticks are pushed under the feet of the walking user by an other person - at the position of the edge of the virtual path. The feedback is nearly the same like with CabBoots or on the real trail. The person that handles the sticks acts as the intelligence that determines the virtual path and guides the user.