"Haptic Feedback" snowboard teaches you to snowboard

[Nick]

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012...rstechnica/index+(Ars+Technica+-+All+content)

Pressure sensors built into the snowboard detected the rider's weight distribution and worked out the riding edge. When the sensors detected the rider switching from frontside to backside they triggered a set of vibrating actuators positioned against the thigh and shoulders. The vibrations reminded the rider of the correct posture to use when attempting the manoeuvre.

Feedback from snowboarding students suggested that the wearable instructions were useful in learning moves but that correcting too many errors at once creates a sensory overload. With that in mind, Spelmezan concludes that the system would work best if the instructor could program it to focus on correcting the single most important error.

Forgive me but I thought haptic systems were designed to give feedback where there usually isn't any. I.E. if you are playing a race car video game and the steering wheel vibrates. Don't you already get haptic feedback from the slope and the activity of snowboarding itself?

I guess posturing might help. I just think it's a lot to think about all at once, perhaps old-school instruction might be the better way still