Gizmodo Feature

photo of a traveler using Compass H2O's Ephemeral Wayfinding to experience a place without the fuss of handheld devices and overly detailed maps

Compass H2O Medium Rez1 1600 x 1067

Compass H2O: ephemeral wayfinding

Our lives are dominated by the relentless need to get From Point A to Point B. It’s necessary in a fast-paced, deadline-driven world. But it’s both unhealthy and unsatisfying to never stop and smell the roses.

Ephemeral Wayfinding is an invitation to wander, to linger, to loiter, to be a 21st century flâneur.

Compass H2O is a wrist worn compass that enables you to experience a place with another person:
• The Famous: Andy Warhol’s walking tour of New York City
• The Personal: Walking Shanghai with your grandmother when she was young
• The Familiar: Exploring Amsterdam in the company of the breadcrumbs your college roommate left there last summer.

Compass H2O is hands-free and map-free wayfinding that provides a more personal and immerse travel experience. Compass H2O believes that sometimes the road less traveled can make all the difference. It points to discovery and surprise.

Team

Glenn Zucman is a new media & identity artist. He teaches at the School of Art at Long Beach State.

Joseph Kan is a industrial designer with a product design background at Art Center College of Design.

Natalia Fedner is a haute couture fashion designer who has worked in Paris, New York & Los Angeles.

Samy Kamkar is a hacker and security analyst. In 2013 he created Zombie Drone software allowing one drone to hijack another.

Sharon Gong is a senior business system analyst of Newegg Inc, in charge of all mobile channels including one mobile site and seven mobile apps for different platforms.

Susan Zhang is an industrial designer who is working on her second bachelor’s degree in product design at Art Center College of Design.

Vivia Liu is an integrated designer and creative explorer, who has not only aesthetic communication, modeling abilities, and Chinese user probe, but also hand on experience with engineering and manufacturing process.

David Wang is a staff engineer of Qualcomm Technology Inc. working on projects to develop industry-leas multi-mode modem chipsets for smartphone and tablet.

Development Website

CompassH2.Org

Hirez Images

right-click and “save link as”

image of a traveler navigating with Compass H2O

Compass H2O hirez1 5760 x 3840. Hands-free & map-free navigation for a more immersive experience of place.

Compass H2O hirez2 3928 x 2214. On the road less traveled, sometimes less navigational interface is a more immersive experience of a place.

Compass H2O hirez2 3928 x 2214. On the road less traveled, sometimes less navigational interface is a more immersive experience of a place.

Medium Rez Images

photo of a traveler using Compass H2O's Ephemeral Wayfinding to experience a place without the fuss of handheld devices and overly detailed maps

Compass H2O Medium Rez1 1600 x 1067

A traveler using Compass H2O to experience a route: perhaps a famous journey like Andy Warhol's walking tour of New York City, or a personal tour like visiting Shanghai and walking the city with your grandmother when she was a girl, or the familiar, like visiting Amsterdam and following the breadcrumbs (waypoints) your college roommate left there when they traveled last summer.

Compass H2O medium rez2 1600 x 902