About Haptic

Haptic, originally founded as WearWorks, stands as a pioneering force in tactile navigation technology, focused on the delivery of critical information through innovative touch-based feedback. The core product of the company is the HapticNav SDK that utilizes vibrational feedback to provide intuitive, accessible navigation to all users. Haptic is committed to embedding accessibility and inclusivity within the core of transportation and mobility, transitioning these features from luxury to standard. This mission is vividly illustrated by their historic achievement in 2017, when they enabled the first-ever blind runner to complete a marathon unaided by a guide or tether, a landmark moment in assistive technology.

Since this breakthrough, Haptic has been instrumental in enhancing the lives of people across various global regions — from well-developed areas in North America and Europe to growing markets in Kenya, Ghana, and Mexico. Their goal is to empower every individual with the freedom to navigate the globe independently, guided solely by the sensation of touch.

Revolutionizing the industry with Tactile Technology

The competitive edge of Haptic resides in its proprietary haptic technology, including both wearable devices and SDKs. These advanced vibrations adapt to the user's position, location, or direction, significantly enhancing navigation precision and user experience.

Navigational Challenges

Haptic first partnered with Mapbox nearly eight years ago, driven by the challenge of making navigation more accessible and inclusive through the innovation of vibration feedback technology. 

A pivotal issue was the lack of precise sidewalk differentiation in existing mapping solutions, which was crucial for enhancing urban navigation for visually impaired users, as well as for runners and general pedestrians. This limitation posed a substantial barrier, as the available technologies failed to meet the nuanced needs of these users, who rely heavily on accurate and granular environmental data for safe and effective navigation.

Additionally, Haptic was challenged with the technological constraints of GPS accuracy and network latency, which at the time, significantly hindered the reliability of pedestrian navigation systems. These issues mirrored the complexities faced in environments where accurate positioning is critical to user experience and safety. Despite advancements in GPS technology and the advent of 5G, which have enhanced location accuracy and reduced latency, achieving a seamless transition from indoor to outdoor navigation remained elusive, often necessitating costly hardware solutions.

Redefining pedestrian navigation with Mapbox location intelligence solutions

Haptic needed a reliable and scalable solution to redefine pedestrian navigation through advanced, touch-based guidance systems that adapt to the dynamic conditions of urban environments.The combination of the Mapbox Maps, Navigation SDK for mobile, Directions API, and Geocoding was the answer. 

Mapbox provides best-in-class maps with lightning-fast rendering, precise location data and the unique technology to differentiate sidewalks. The Mapbox Maps SDK enables Haptic to seamlessly integrate the proprietary vibration feedback, to enhance navigation experience and make it accessible for all users. 

Using the Mapbox Navigation SDKs, Haptic added in-app routing and turn-by-turn directions for planned journeys. In addition, the Mapbox Directions API enabled the HapticNav SDK users to adjust routes in real time, thanks to the live-updating travel time predictions made based on current traffic and road conditions. 

Mapbox Geocoding enables location search by turning addresses into coordinates or vice versa. In addition, by placing pins on a map or entering a location users can seamlessly get detailed address information about their points of interest.

Collaboration creates a groundbreaking navigation solution

The close collaboration and rapid feedback loop between the Haptic and Mapbox engineering teams, driven by the Mapbox Social Impact Program, was crucial in achieving the successful development and deployment of this revolutionary navigation solution.

Groundbreaking navigation helps to enhance user experience 

The seamless integration of Mapbox tools has significantly heightened user engagement, contributing to Haptic business growth. The app’s positive user experience reflects a 90% improvement in accessibility for visually impaired users. The partnership between Mapbox and Haptic exemplifies how collaborative efforts can lead to innovative breakthroughs in technology.

The HapticNav, built with Mapbox, continues to innovate with the latest navigation technologies and mapping solutions, empowering users with sight impairment, and aiming to enable everyone with a simple and intuitive indoor and exterior navigation experience.

‍