Scientists Develop Artificial Skin That Allows You To Feel In VR - VRScout

According to an article published last week to the journal of Soft Robotics, scientists based out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland, have developed a skin-like material that, when worn over a users' body, simulates a far more realistic sense of touch than that of current haptic feedback technologies. Referred to as "Closed-Loop Haptic Feedback Control Using a Self-Sensing Soft Pneumatic Actuator Skin," the device is composed of a stretchable material only 500 nanometers thick, allowing it to form to a users body. Lined with a series of pneumatic actuators, the ultra-compliant thin-metal film strain sensor creates a highy-realistic tactile sense via vibratory feedback. Put simply, the "skin" uses pressure triggered by inflated membranes to create a sense of touch far more realistic than that of current haptic feedback solutions, which rely primarily on mechanical vibration technology to replicate a sense of impact. This layer of membrane can be altered to various pressures and frequencies by pumping air into it; deflating and inflating the membrane rapidly will cause the skin to vibrate.