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01Sense
A phone microphone or connected sensor receives an event.
Sensory Awareness & Haptic Technology
Turning meaningful signals into awareness.
Exploring how everyday sounds and other signals could become personalized tactile patterns, clear text, Braille and accessible notifications.
Independent accessibility research concept · Not a deployed detection or emergency system
🚪 Doorbell event🚗 Vehicle horn⌚ Distinct tactile cue
Illustrative concept · Not a working Sensivo interface
Recognize
Research on meaningful sound and sensor events.
Translate through touch
Distinct, learnable vibration patterns.
Multiple access modes
Haptics, Braille, text and visual alerts.
Individual control
Personalized priorities and outputs.
The central research question
Recognize the sound. Differentiate the event. Communicate meaning through touch.
Sensivo investigates whether a person can identify what happened from a distinctive tactile pattern, without depending on hearing or seeing a notification. Detecting any noise is not enough: the system must classify the sound, determine how certain it is, then communicate the event through a learned and personally adjustable haptic cue.
- 1 · Detect
Capture relevant auditory information where permission and privacy allow.
- 2 · Differentiate
Classify a doorbell, running water, a knock, a timer, or another event.
- 3 · Encode
Choose a distinctive pulse pattern, adjusted for the user's tactile preferences.
- 4 · Recognize
Investigate whether the person can identify the event through touch alone.
Illustrative example: Doorbell: long–short–long; timer: three short pulses; running water: a flowing rhythm. These are proposed examples, not validated mappings or currently available alerts.
Explore differentiated pulse patterns See original research documents →
The proposed approach
How sensory awareness could work
A research pathway, not a claim that these functions are already operating.
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02Interpret
Software estimates the event and its relevance, with uncertainty made explicit.
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03Translate
A selected vibration pattern, Braille message or text alert communicates the information.
✓
04Understand
The person decides which alerts matter and what actions to take.
Everyday applications
Familiar devices. More accessible information.
We are investigating an iPhone-first approach, with optional discreet wearables and Braille devices when appropriate.
- Doorbell or knock: a recognizable attention cue
- Appliance timer: a user-selected pattern
- Vehicle horn: a potentially time-sensitive alert requiring careful validation
- Verified building alarm: supplemental accessible communication through approved interfaces
Concept image; displayed outputs are illustrative, not currently available features.
Scientific foundation
Built around research and user choice.
Published work on tactile icons, spatial haptics and sensory substitution informs the questions Sensivo is exploring. Deaf and DeafBlind participants should shape what alerts mean, how they feel and when they are useful.
Explore research & referencesResearch commitments
Research before claims
Privacy and local processing where practical
User-created, customizable tactile patterns
Clear separation between prototypes and life-safety systems
Accessibility must never compromise safety.
Sensivo's emergency-alarm work is a research concept for supplemental notification. Certified alarms detect hazards and remain independent. Initial demonstrations use simulated signals only, never real-world emergency reliance.
Read our alarm communication concept →Sensivo does not make the world louder.
It explores ways to make the world understandable.
An independent, noncommercial accessibility initiative. The project's goal is to remain free to users.
Get in touchRead the complete research
The Fall 2026 research evidence includes the full technical concept brief, alarm and haptics guide, and every slide of the research deck.