The days of a GPS system's monotonous robotic voice giving you directions may be numbered, because these vibrating rings can now quietly indicate which way to go. Designer Gail Knight of the Royal College of Art in the UK designed the system consisting of two tiny vibrating receivers, one worn on each hand, communicating with a control unit that's either hung around the neck or clipped onto clothing.

The user enters an address into the control unit, and then the system can show when and which way to turn by vibrating a ring worn on either the right or left hand. Different vibrations show when to go forward or backward, and when both rings vibrate, that tells the user of a wrong turn. This device could be especially useful for hotel concierges to lend to guests who don't speak the local language, the rings wordlessly directing them to exactly the right location.