CyborgNest

CyborgNest Ltd is a London-based technology company associated with sensory enhancement, human augmentation, and body-hacking products. Its best-known device is NorthSense, a wearable haptic compass released in 2017. The device was designed to let a wearer perceive the Earth's magnetic field through vibration rather than through any conventional visual, auditory, or tactile representation of direction. NorthSense consists of a compact circuit board containing more than 200 components and a silicone covering. It is worn on the chest and attached through steel piercings. When the wearer faces magnetic north, the device provides a vibratory signal. The product was manufactured in a limited batch of 400 units and attracted attention from technology publications because it presented a practical example of sensory augmentation: information that humans do not ordinarily consciously perceive was converted into a bodily sensation. The concept draws on sensory substitution devices, a field associated with neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita's work beginning in the 1960s. Sensory substitution traditionally involves translating information normally received through one sense into another sense, often with the goal of assisting people with sensory impairments. CyborgNest's approach extended that idea into non-therapeutic sensory augmentation. NorthSense did not seek to restore a lost human sense; instead, it attempted to provide access to information outside ordinary human perception, specifically the direction of the Earth's magnetic field. The product was also conceptually related to earlier haptic-navigation projects such as Sensebridge's NorthPaw and the naviBelt, formerly known as the feelSpace belt. CyborgNest later pursued a second product, Sentero, through an Indiegogo presale campaign in July 2020. Sentero was described as a haptic device intended to communicate the direction of magnetic north, while also adding proposed signals for the direction of selected places or people and the ability to perceive a heartbeat. The campaign reportedly raised approximately £50,000. However, the product was not officially released. Reports indicate that around 50 crowdfunding backers received units, while production was subsequently cancelled and backers were offered refunds. The available reference material does not establish a current corporate website, ownership structure, leadership roster, financial statements, public-listing status, or ongoing commercial operations. CyborgNest is therefore best characterized as a specialist and experimental brand whose documented activity centers on limited-run wearable hardware and crowdfunding-backed sensory-augmentation projects. Its significance lies less in mass-market scale than in its exploration of how electronic systems can become part of a user's bodily perception and how haptic interfaces can convey information about the environment.

CyborgNest is documented as a London-based company working in sensory enhancement and human augmentation. Its work belongs to a broader lineage of technologies that use electronic interfaces to provide information through a sense different from the one normally associated with that information. The company's principal documented product, NorthSense, translated geomagnetic direction into vibration, making magnetic north available as a recurring bodily cue. NorthSense was released in 2017. It used a small circuit board containing more than 200 components enclosed in silicone and worn against the chest. Steel piercings served as the attachment method. The device vibrated when the wearer faced magnetic north, giving the user a directional signal without requiring a display, audible prompt, or handheld navigation interface. CyborgNest produced 400 units, making NorthSense a limited experimental product rather than a high-volume consumer-electronics line. The design was influenced by sensory substitution devices, an area developed prominently through Paul Bach-y-Rita's research from the 1960s onward. Sensory substitution systems generally translate information from one sensory channel into another and have often been discussed in relation to disability and rehabilitation. CyborgNest applied related principles in a non-medical setting. NorthSense was not presented as a treatment or assistive medical device; it was intended to augment ordinary human perception by conveying information that people do not normally experience consciously. The idea also followed earlier haptic-compass work, including Sensebridge's NorthPaw, and shared conceptual territory with wearable directional systems such as the naviBelt or feelSpace belt. CyborgNest's later documented project was Sentero. In July 2020, the company used Indiegogo to conduct a presale crowdfunding campaign. Sentero was proposed as a successor or related sensory-augmentation concept: it would communicate magnetic north through haptic feedback and was additionally described as providing sensations associated with the direction of places or people and with another person's heartbeat. The campaign reportedly raised about £50,000. Sentero did not become an officially released commercial product. Available descriptions state that approximately 50 crowdfunders received devices, after which production was cancelled and refunds were offered to backers. The record does not provide a detailed explanation for the cancellation, nor does it establish whether CyborgNest subsequently continued trading, changed its product strategy, or launched other products. CyborgNest's documented history is consequently concentrated in two experimental hardware projects. NorthSense demonstrated a functioning, limited-run wearable for magnetic orientation, while Sentero illustrates the difficulties of moving an unconventional body-interface concept from crowdfunding into sustained production. The company is associated with sensory augmentation, body hacking, posthumanist design, and the broader question of whether technology can extend the range of information incorporated into everyday bodily awareness. Publicly available material does not establish the company's founders, executives, ownership, current headquarters beyond London, website, or present operating status.

• 2020

  Sentero Indiegogo presale launched

  [1]CyborgNesten.wikipedia.org

  CyborgNest ran a July Indiegogo crowdfunding presale for Sentero, a proposed haptic device with magnetic, directional, location, and heartbeat-related functions.

• 2017

  NorthSense released

  [1]CyborgNesten.wikipedia.org

  CyborgNest released NorthSense, a limited-run chest-worn haptic compass that vibrated when the wearer faced magnetic north.

• Sentero production cancelled

  [1]CyborgNesten.wikipedia.org

  After limited delivery to reported backers, Sentero was not officially released, production was cancelled, and refunds were offered.

Experimental sensory-augmentation technology that converts environmental or interpersonal information into haptic feedback experienced through the body.

• Wearable haptic compass · 2017

  NorthSense

  NorthSense is a wearable sensory-augmentation device released in 2017. Its miniaturized circuit board contains more than 200 components and is enclosed in a silicone sleeve. The unit is attached to the wearer's chest using steel piercings and vibrates when the wearer faces magnetic north. Rather than displaying a direction visually, it turns geomagnetic orientation into a tactile signal. The device was made in a limited production batch of 400 units and was intended as a non-therapeutic sensory-augmentation system.

• Experimental haptic sensory-augmentation device · 2020

  Sentero

  Sentero was a proposed haptic device promoted through a July 2020 Indiegogo presale. Like NorthSense, it was intended to provide a bodily sensation corresponding to magnetic north. Its proposed capabilities were broader, including signals associated with the direction of places or people and the ability to sense a heartbeat. Approximately 50 crowdfunders were reportedly sent units, but Sentero was never officially released. Production was cancelled and backers were offered refunds.

• 2020Sentero Indiegogo presale

  International crowdfunding

  CyborgNest used Indiegogo in July 2020 to seek presale support for Sentero, a proposed haptic system for magnetic orientation and additional location, interpersonal-direction, and heartbeat-related sensations.

  Outcome. The campaign reportedly raised approximately £50,000. Sentero was reportedly delivered to about 50 backers but was never officially released; production was cancelled and refunds were offered.

  Source

• 2020

  Crowdfunding presale for SenteroProduct launch

  Background

  CyborgNest sought financial support for a second haptic sensory-augmentation product with capabilities extending beyond magnetic orientation.

  Action taken

  The company launched an Indiegogo presale in July 2020 for Sentero.

  Aftermath

  The campaign reportedly raised approximately £50,000, but the product was not officially released. After limited reported deliveries, production was cancelled and refunds were offered.

  Crowdfunding amount reportedly raised. approximately £50,000 (July 2020 campaign)

  Source

• 2017

  Launch of NorthSenseProduct launch

  Background

  CyborgNest developed a non-therapeutic sensory-augmentation device based on sensory-substitution principles and related haptic-navigation research.

  Action taken

  The company released a chest-worn haptic compass that vibrated when the wearer faced magnetic north, producing a limited batch of 400 units.

  Aftermath

  NorthSense became the company's principal documented product and an example of wearable technology designed to provide access to information outside ordinary human perception.

  Source

1. 1CyborgNesten.wikipedia.org