New Virtual Reality Interface Enables “Touch” Across Long Distances. Lightweight, flexible patch conveys a tactile sensation directly to the skin
Rogers and his colleagues developed a vibrating disk, only a couple millimeters thick, that can run with very little energy. These actuators (a term for devices that give a system physical motion) need so little energy that they can be powered by near-field communication—a wireless method of transferring small amounts of power, typically used for applications like unlocking a door with an ID card.
The resulting product looks like a lightweight, soft patch of fabric-like material that can flex and twist like a wet suit, maintaining direct contact with the wearer’s skin as their body moves. It consists of thin layers of electronics sandwiched between protective silicone sheets. One layer contains the near-field communication technology that powers the device. This can activate another layer: an array of actuators, each of which can be activated individually and tuned to different vibration frequencies to convey a stronger or weaker sensation. This stack of electronics, slightly thinner than a mouse pad, culminates in a tacky surface that sticks to the skin. The device is described in a Nature paper published Wednesday.
So far, the researchers have tested prototype patches of different shapes and sizes to fit on various parts of the body—a circular one for the back of the hand and an X-shaped one for the upper back, for example. In one demonstration a family video-chatted while using the patch to touch remotely. In another, a lower-arm amputee gripped a beer koozie with his prosthetic hand. Each fingertip was equipped with sensors that communicated with a patch on his upper arm, providing tactile information about the object his robotic arm was holding. Finally, a test subject wore multiple haptic patches while playing a combat video game, so virtual strikes on his avatar’s limbs could be transmitted to the corresponding parts of his real body.
See the full story here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-virtual-reality-interface-enables-touch-across-long-distances/