Lola Gayle, STEAM Register
A new system developed by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers is capable of teaching people Morse code within four hours using Google Glass and passive haptic learning (PHL).
In other words, participants wearing Google Glass learned Morse code through a series of vibration taps between their temple and ear, without even paying attention. As a matter of fact, they played games while the system was passively teaching them through their tactile senses.
Study participants tapped Morse Code into Google Glass after four hours. Credit: Georgia Tech/Caitlyn Seim
After four hours, participants were 94 percent accurate keying a sentence that included every letter of the alphabet and 98 percent accurate writing codes for every letter.
The Georgia Tech researchers — led by Georgia Tech Professor Thad Starner and his Ph.D. student Caitlyn Seim — have also used the same method to teach people braille, how to play the piano, and improved hand sensation for those with partial spinal cord injury.
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Georgia Tech Professor Thad Starner.
“Does this new study mean that people will rush out to learn Morse code? Probably not,” Starner said. “It shows that PHL lowers the barrier to learn text-entry methods — something we need for smartwatches and any text-entry that doesn’t require you to look at your device or keyboard.”
Previous research on PHL used custom hardware to provide the tactile stimuli, but the Georgia Tech researchers decided to use an existing wearable device.
“This research also shows that other common devices with an actuator could be used for passive haptic learning,” Starner said. “Your smartwatch, Bluetooth headset, fitness tracker or phone.”
“In our Braille and piano PHL studies, people felt vibrations on their fingers, then used their fingers for the task,” Seim added. “This study was different and surprising. People were tapped on their heads, but the skill they learned was using their finger.”
Seim’s next study will go a step further, investigating whether PHL can teach people how to type on the trusted QWERTY keyboard. That would mean several letters assigned to the same finger, rather than using only one finger like Morse code.
Since most of us will never get the chance to learn Morse code this way, here’s a handy chart of International Morse Code:
Credit: iStockphoto
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