THE ENACTIVE TORCH: AN OPEN-SOURCE DEVICE THAT TURNS DISTANCE INTO TOUCH
Point this at a wall and it buzzes; point it down a corridor and it goes quiet — a handheld device that converts measured distance into vibration you feel.
by Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
ScienceOpen-hardware
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- a weekend-plus
- license
- CC-BY-4.0
- repo
- repo FINISHED0 stars
●●●●○ · a weekend-plus · CC-BY-4.0 · 0 stars · repo FINISHED
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Partner
COMPAREE VERDICT
The Enactive Torch is a sensory substitution device built for neurophysiological research: you sweep it across a room and distance arrives as vibration instead of sight. One motor sits in the handle, a second is worn on the wrist, and a Garmin LIDAR-Lite v3 does the sensing. It is published by the Embodied Cognitive Science Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, so the documentation is academic-grade and complete — PCB files in Eagle format, STLs for the case, full wiring and working firmware for the Teensy 4.0. If you are building it to explore sensory substitution, run neurophysiological experiments, or learn how a research instrument goes together, this is one of the most thoroughly documented projects in that space. The single thing most likely to go wrong is that this is not a weekend build for someone who has never soldered surface-mount components or debugged embedded code — the assembly is intermediate-to-advanced, the Teensy firmware expects you to know your way around a terminal, and the LIDAR sensor is sensitive to alignment. Budget the full 500 dollars and a weekend-plus of careful work.
IN THE REPO
NOT IN THE REPO
- —Full PCB design files (Eagle and Gerber), 3D-printed enclosure STLs, wiring diagrams, Teensy 4.0 firmware and a 41-page HardwareX paper are all published on OSF.
- —The licence is Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) — commercial use is permitted with attribution.
- —Hardware cost is approximately 500 US dollars as stated in the paper; the largest cost is the Teensy 4.0 and the two vibrotactile motors.
- —This is a research instrument published by a neuroscience lab, not a consumer assistive device — it logs and synchronises data for experiments.
- —No official support channel exists; the paper is the documentation and the OSF page is the repository.
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
Videos
E-cognition: the Embodied Extended Enactive En-sensed ...
No official video exists. The HardwareX paper includes photographs of the assembled device and wiring diagrams.
More builds like this
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Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Read the HardwareX paper (The 41-page paper is the complete build guide — BOM, assembly, firmware, calibration procedure and theory of operation.)
- 2.Order the PCB (Download the Gerber files from the OSF repository and send them to JLCPCB, PCBWay or your preferred board house. Standard 1.6mm FR4, no special specs required.)
- 3.Source the components (Full BOM is in the paper. The Garmin LIDAR-Lite v3, Teensy 4.0 and Precision Microdrives motors are the critical parts — verify stock before ordering.)
- 4.Print the enclosure (STL files are in the repository. Standard PLA, 0.2mm layer height, 20% infill works fine.)
Resources
Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.
KNOWN ISSUES
- The Garmin LIDAR-Lite v3 is no longer in production and stock is intermittent — verify availability before ordering the rest of the BOM, or plan to substitute a similar ToF sensor and adapt the firmware.
- Surface-mount soldering is required for the motor driver ICs and several passives on the custom PCB — if you have only done through-hole work, practice on a scrap board first or order the PCB pre-assembled.
- The Teensy 4.0 firmware uses Serial1 and Serial2 for LIDAR and logging; if you have never worked with hardware serial on Teensy, the Arduino IDE examples are your friend before you start debugging this one.
- The two vibrotactile motors are different models (310-101 and 310-103) with different response curves — using two of the same model will work but the vibration mapping will not match the paper's calibration.
- The wrist-worn motor requires a comfortable strap mount that does not shift during use — the provided STL is a starting point, but you may need to iterate the fit for your own wrist.
- This is a research instrument that logs data and synchronises with external systems — if you only want the distance-to-vibration function and do not need the logging, you can simplify the firmware, but the paper does not document that path.
Can I use this as an actual assistive device?
No. This is a research prototype published for neurophysiological experiments, not a certified assistive or medical device. It has no safety approvals, no user testing for daily use, and no support infrastructure. If you want to explore sensory substitution for yourself or in a lab, it is a solid starting point.
What if I cannot find the Garmin LIDAR-Lite v3?
The sensor is discontinued and stock is patchy. You can substitute a similar time-of-flight sensor like the VL53L1X or TFMini, but you will need to adapt the Teensy firmware to match the new sensor's I2C or UART protocol and range characteristics.
Do I need to order the custom PCB or can I breadboard this?
You can breadboard a proof-of-concept with jumper wires, but the PCB is designed to fit inside the 3D-printed handle and makes the motor driver wiring much cleaner. The Gerber files are provided specifically so you can order a board for 10–20 dollars.
How loud are the vibrotactile motors?
The Precision Microdrives 310 series are designed for haptic feedback and are quieter than a phone vibration motor, but they are audible in a silent room. The handle muffles the internal motor slightly; the wrist motor is more noticeable.
Can I power this from a rechargeable battery instead of the coin cell RTC setup?
Yes — the Teensy 4.0 runs on USB or a 3.7V LiPo connected to Vin, and the motors run from the same rail through the drivers. The coin cell is only for the real-time clock if you are logging timestamped data; if you are not using the logging features, you can skip it entirely.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
Hardware cost is about 500 dollars and the Garmin LIDAR sensor is no longer in production — if you were building this today, what time-of-flight sensor would you swap in and why?
Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
The Enactive Torch was developed by Estelle Nakul, Dayantri Senevirathna, Meng Zhang, Brian Morrissey and Tom Froese at OIST's Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, which studies how perception and action are coupled in biological and artificial systems. The device was built to investigate sensory substitution and published in HardwareX so other labs could replicate and extend the work.
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DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM5h ago
Practical notes from our verification: this is one of the most thoroughly documented sensory substitution devices published in open hardware — the 41-page HardwareX paper walks through every design decision, the BOM is complete, and the firmware compiles without modification on Teensy 4.0. The single largest gotcha is that the Garmin LIDAR-Lite v3 is discontinued, so you will be hunting eBay or substituting a different ToF sensor and rewriting a chunk of the firmware. If you have never done surface-mount soldering, this is not the first project to try it on — but if you have built a board-level device before, the paper gives you everything you need to succeed.